Dark Places: Book Review

I just finished reading Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn. I have already read Sharp Objects (and I have a review of that), and I rather enjoyed that book for its atmosphere and its characters, even if the twists at the end were rather predictable. That motivated me to pick up another book by Flynn, and this is the next one on the block. This book is primarily about Libby Day, the sole survivor of a massacre of her whole family by her brother. She was the witness that helped put her brother behind bars. Now, she is pulled back into case twenty-five years later when a member of a true crime club contacts her. What follows is another novel steeped in dark emotions, disturbing sexuality, and violence, complete with a twisty plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

As usual, for mysteries, I think the story is best consumed with as little information as possible. That the author is Gillian Flynn should be enough of a pitch. As such, I will only be doing a spoiler review.

Overall, I loved the book. I will give the book an 8/10.

Overall (Spoilers)

I think my favorite part of the story is the overall atmosphere. Just like Sharp Objects, the atmosphere is smothering, dark and twisted, and completely unsettling. I think the best example of this are the chapters written from Ben's perspective. He is an angry, fifteen-year-old boy dealing with all the frustrations of someone that age, especially while engaging with older teenagers. Those chapters hit me so hard because they reminded me of all the worst parts of growing up. The anger, the humiliation, the alienation, just makes you so agitated.

Likewise, the chapters from Patty are also disturbing, but for completely different reasons. Her perspective oozes helplessness, which is borne of her single motherhood and her inability to make things work for her and her children. As she uncovers the scandal surrounding Ben, her horror, combined with the underlying terror of losing the farm, weighs so heavily on her and the reader. The scene that stands out most to me is when she confronted the parents of Ben's accuser, and she is subjected to condemnation and judgement for her son's behavior. Her helplessness is just palpable. Her choice to give up her life in the end for the sake of her children follows so naturally from everything we are subjected to through her perspective.

The ending of the story is another thing that I want to talk about. In particular, the final twist. I really enjoyed it, though maybe I have some questions about the execution of the twist. What appeals to me most about it is the concept behind it. The idea of someone going around killing people for the sake of assisted suicide is just a fascinating concept to me. And I think that Patty making the decision to hire this man was a great character revelation tied to the twist. A good plot twist is not just what surprised you, nor is it just something that feels natural, but also something tied to characters, revealing or resolving certain character conflicts in the process.

Moreover: the fact that the plan went south so horribly. The plan was done out of love, but it ended up getting her child killed and then her son framed, along with the mother. Finally, I also love how the reveal was put onto the page. We get the description of the massacre from Patty's perspective, not specifying who the killer was. It was just some unnamed man. We already saw the oldest daughter get killed by Deondra, and then this other man just shows up. And Patty strangely doesn't freak at his presence, only at the failure to strike her heart and then the man's intent to kill her daughter.

On the other hand, I wonder if the execution of the twist could have been tweaked. The reveal that the killer was this assisted suicide killer is on the fence of coming out of nowhere and being well set up. I know from some reviews that there are some who think it did come out of nowhere, while others think the twist was amazing. I belong to the latter camp more. What Flynn did here was incredibly well done. My critique is more from an analytical perspective of a writer. I immediately recognize that this is a balancing act. On one hand, Flynn could have mentioned the assisted suicide killer more often, better hinting at the twist, but that also makes it less of twist, as readers will wonder why it is being mentioned as much as it is.

I wonder if there is a way to shift this balance a bit from Flynn's decision, providing a bit more set up for the pay-off that came. Maybe she could have mentioned multiple other crimes that were ongoing in the story, and even introduce a reason for the characters to consult these other cases along the way. I'm being so vague, lol. A specific example would be for Libby to join the club more wholly and have to talk with others about these other cases in order to get information or set up the right relationships. The overall idea is that with multiple other cases being mentioned on the side, you are able to keep them relevant in the story and have a few red herrings to distract people.

One thing that continues over from Sharp Objects is Flynn's ability to write characters. I generally prefer unlikeable characters. I want characters with strong flaws, characters who might even be straight up villainous. Flynn is not afraid to avoid neutering her characters in the hopes that people will like them. I read a few reviewers who absolutely despised her characters, to the point that they hated the novel. But I have never felt that way. The precise opposite. Even by the end, Libby has problems with being a klepto and is obviously motivated by selfishness throughout. She feels so realistic.

Finally, I want to talk about significance of the story to Libby's character. While there is obviously reason for Libby to be affected by the discovery of what happened, I did not think this was explored as much as it could have been. I know that Hello Future Me, in his own review, mentioned that he did not think the character's psychological state was focused on enough, and I agree. I do not think it is bad, but I still got the sense the Libby was a bit of a neutral observer despite her obvious connections to the events.

Conclusion

Overall, I loved the book. I will give it an 8/10.