Dark Places by Gillian FlynnMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lyle calls this case a “Whodunnit” which was my exact thought as I was listening. This one differed greatly from Sharp Objects in that the mystery is not as solvable. There were too many suspects in Dark Places. But it still carried that same ‘everybody is fucked up’ trait of Gillian Flynn’s. Her characters inhabit a world where cynicism and lewdness reign supreme which is really the perfect setup for a murder mystery because it seems as if anyone has a dark side to them capable of murder. In some ways, I admire this more than Sharp Objects because the mystery was not so obvious(well…partially true. Her go-to inclusion of a female psychopath reared its head into this story as well). But it was sort of dumb. A big Deus ex debt assassin murdered the mom and then murdered the other sister for reasons…? But even prior to that, it felt awfully gimmicky with its commentary on toxic true crime communities and the McMartin case. But Gillian Flynn’s writing and her commitment to shocking readers and exploring the darkness of her characters is something I cannot help but praise in spite of those aforementioned shortcomings. I will forgive the gimmicks because I can admit I crave a good gimmick. It’s just that mine don’t include an oopsy daisy murder epilogue. Just a lot of internal monologues about misanthropy. Yes, I am a delightful person.
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