Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Crown
Publication Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 542
Libby Day was just seven years old when her older brother massacred her family while she hid in a cupboard. Her evidence helped put him away. Ever since then she has been drifting, surviving for over 20 years on the proceeds of the 'Libby Day fund'. But now the money is running out and Libby is desperate. When she is offered $500 to do a guest appearance, she feels she has to accept. But this is no ordinary gathering. The Kill Club is a group of true-crime obsessives who share information on notorious murders, and they think her brother Ben is innocent.
Ben was a social misfit, ground down by the small-town farming community in which he lived. But he did have a girlfriend - a brooding heavy metal fan called Diondra. Through her, Ben became involved with drugs and the dark arts. When the town suddenly turned against him, his thoughts turned black. But was he capable of murder? Libby must delve into her family's past to uncover the truth - no matter how painful...
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Libby Day is a survivor of her family massacre. When she was 7, her brother shot her mother, killed her sister with an axe, and strangulate her other sister to death. The murder case became famous and even dubbed by the media as “Farmhouse Satan Sacrifice”. Because of the reputation of the case, people from all over have been donating to the Baby Day. 24 years later, Libby grew up to be a cynic woman. She has been living off the Baby Day trust fund money, but the money is running low. So she accepted an invitation from the Kill Club, a secret group for people who are obsessed with true crimes. Apparently, the member of the club believed that her brother, Ben, is innocent and they would pay Libby to help them prove it. Started out as a necessity to survive, Libby then got sucked into her investigation and believed that Ben might be innocent after all.
Dark Places is told from three perspectives, Libby Day, her mother Patty Day, and her brother Ben Day. While Libby gives a view of the present day, Ben and Patty give us a peek on what’s really happen on the day of the murder. These three narratives complete each other and give us the whole view of the mystery. I love the narrative structure in this book. As I read through Libby’s narrative, I feel like I get closer to the unraveling of the truth which could change Libby and Ben’s lives. In the other hand, Ben and Patty’s narratives helped me edge closer to the disaster that we know would happen to their family. It’s dreadful and engrossing at the same time.
As with Flynn’s other books, Dark Places also follows a flawed woman with a dark and twisted past. Flynn is never afraid to show the darker side of human. The ending also reveals that this book is not only a mystery, but it’s also a tragedy. The mystery is compelling enough that it invites the reader to investigate the case along with Libby and draw a conclusion. Whereas the ending is so tragic that we can’t help but sympathize to these damaged characters.
All in all, even though some people might say that Dark Places is not as good as Gone Girl, I still think that this book is worth to read. Especially for those who love mystery/thriller, I recommend this book.
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