“Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn (2009)

At the beginning of the 80s, Libby Day was seven years old when her mother and her two sisters were murdered at their family farm.

Rescued by miracle, the little girl denounces the murderer to the police: it’s her brother Ben, fifteen years of age. This crime moves the whole country, and the young Libby became a symbol of innocence flouted.

Twenty-five years later, her brother is still in jail, and Libby, who has never recovered from the tragedy, suffers from chronic depression.

Encouraged by an association of a very special type, she agreed to revisit the dark places of her past for the first time.

In this desolate Midwest, devastated by economic and social crisis, an unimaginable truth begins to emerge. And Libby will have no other choice, in order to rebuild herself, and perhaps finally to start to live again, than to shed light on the case, whatever the consequences.

　

Author: Gillian Flynn was born in Kansas City, on February 24, 1971. Gillian has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Later she moved to New York City and joined Entertainment Weekly magazine, where she wrote articles for 10 years.

Flynn’s first novel, the literary mystery “Sharp Objects”, was an Edgar Award finalist and the winner of two of Britain’s Dagger Awards.

Flynn’s second novel, “Dark Places”, was a best seller. Her third novel is titled “Gone Girl”.

Flynn’s work has been published in twenty-eight countries. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Brett Nolan, and their son.

　

My thoughts: I have rarely read such an involving thriller. This is an exceptional novel in capital letters. Please read the book before watching the movie, which is coming out soon. I read it during the summer holidays, August 2010. I recommend you to do as I did, in the sun with plenty of happy people around me, otherwise, you might think that the world is a terrible place. But don't get me wrong, as I said previously this novel is fantastic. You will dive into this mystery straight away and immerse yourself in the disturbing but awesome story.

“Dark Places” is complex and full of mystery (much to my liking) and extremely well-written: no wonder Hollywood adapted into film.

“Dark Places” alternates between 1985 and present day. The main character is Libby Day, an unstable young woman who leads a chaotic life, and is forced to accept a difficult job in order to earn her living. The job is investigating the massacre of her family, although the supposed murderer Ben, Libby's brother, is in jail. A secret society believes in Ben’s innocence and wants to solve this notorious crime...