Dark Places
by Gillian Flynn
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Description
For a price Libby Day will reconnect with the players that murdered her mother and two sisters in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas." Having testified that her brother Ben was the murderer on that fateful night twenty-five years ago, now she is not so sure as, piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started--on the run from a killer.Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
anonymous user Dark Places was undoubtedly influenced by In Cold Blood, but brings an interesting form of storytelling to superficially similar plot lines.
50
RidgewayGirl A similarly troubled protagonist and an equally tensely-plotted and well written mystery.
10
amyblue Both books have a strong sense of place, compelling main characters and involve both a present day and a past story. Also both are very intricately plotted thrillers.
01
BookshelfMonstrosity These intricately plotted, fast paced and suspenseful murder mysteries feature young women struggling with dark family secrets and intense drama. Both expertly switch between past and present to slowly reveal disturbing truths.
BookshelfMonstrosity These psychological suspense novels feature characters who, as young children, witness horrible crimes and must now revisit their painful pasts to discover the truth. The stories are fast paced, chilling, and atmospheric.
12
Member Reviews
Another extremely fast read for me, Gillian Flynn manages to make the deeply unpalatable, the horribly unpleasant and the simply unlikable into something compulsively, even easily, readable.
Decades after the horrific massacre of her mother and sisters, Libby Day's fund of donated money runs out and she finds herself taking money from a group of True Crime aficionados to investigate aspects of her own case, forcing herself to unwillingly confront a history she has not hitherto had the strength or the will to consciously think about. Almost immediately, doubt is cast on the guilt of the convicted perpetrator that her own testimony helped put behind bars: her brother Ben. Meanwhile, the narrative divides to follow Ben and Patty, their show more mother, on the fateful day before the murders.
Stephen King's blurb praises Flynn's gift for the macabre, but the horrors of Dark Places are all pretty much real. The widespread Satanism and pedophile-ring scares that destroyed countless lives and the grinding poverty that ultimately proves to be the real villain of this whodunnit. As the day goes on and the ugliness worsens with every hour, they close like a trap around the doomed family, while years later the survivor struggles with the appalling damage done to her psyche and her personality. show less
Decades after the horrific massacre of her mother and sisters, Libby Day's fund of donated money runs out and she finds herself taking money from a group of True Crime aficionados to investigate aspects of her own case, forcing herself to unwillingly confront a history she has not hitherto had the strength or the will to consciously think about. Almost immediately, doubt is cast on the guilt of the convicted perpetrator that her own testimony helped put behind bars: her brother Ben. Meanwhile, the narrative divides to follow Ben and Patty, their show more mother, on the fateful day before the murders.
Stephen King's blurb praises Flynn's gift for the macabre, but the horrors of Dark Places are all pretty much real. The widespread Satanism and pedophile-ring scares that destroyed countless lives and the grinding poverty that ultimately proves to be the real villain of this whodunnit. As the day goes on and the ugliness worsens with every hour, they close like a trap around the doomed family, while years later the survivor struggles with the appalling damage done to her psyche and her personality. show less
What an interesting setup! Libby is, not surprisingly, a complete mess. The story shifts between the present day and the days leading up to the murder. She’s an unreliable narrator simply because she doesn’t remember what happened that night, so she’s as surprised as we are by what she finds. Great, believable characters and a hard to swallow resolution, though I was happy to go along with it.
Complicated plot, crazy people, improbably coincidences, but still fantastic. For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they (we) like.
Complicated plot, crazy people, improbably coincidences, but still fantastic. For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they (we) like.
this was on all accounts disturbing.
This novel is a fascinating murder mystery, but it is so much more than that. It is a wise, evocative character study -- a glimpse into the lives of people who are lost and are struggling to find their way in a dangerous world. Some never find a path, some show others a path, and some find refuge -- which can be either heaven or hell. But all of these people -- for better or worse -- matter, and their intertwined lives are a lesson to the reader that even the tiniest action may have huge unintended consequences.
This novel is a fascinating murder mystery, but it is so much more than that. It is a wise, evocative character study -- a glimpse into the lives of people who are lost and are struggling to find their way in a dangerous world. Some never find a path, some show others a path, and some find refuge -- which can be either heaven or hell. But all of these people -- for better or worse -- matter, and their intertwined lives are a lesson to the reader that even the tiniest action may have huge unintended consequences.
Some people are doomed from birth, it seems. Libby Day is one of those unfortunates. When she was seven, her family was murdered. Her teenaged brother was convicted of the crime based on Libby's testimony. And twenty-five years later, she's at the end of the money raised for her while she was that sweet-faced surviving tot, and earned from the book she published about the tragedy while she in her 20s. With no education, no job skills, and no family except an aunt who won't return her phone calls, a brother serving a life sentence, and a deadbeat father -- whereabouts mostly unknown -- Libby faces the almost-certain probability of destitution and homelessness. Then a letter arrives in the mail, inviting her to appear at a convention of show more murder buffs and offering her $500 for the appearance.
As it turns out, these murder buffs think her brother Ben is innocent. And Libby sees an opportunity to milk her tragedy for profit yet again, by making these pathetic fools pay her for finding and interviewing all the remaining players and reporting back any information she discovers. Not that she expects to find anything, or even make much money, for that matter. But when $500 is the difference between having a roof over her head and living in her car, she'll take what she can get.
The story structure alternates between Libby's search in the present, and the events of that terrible day in January 1985 when her mother and sisters died. There isn't a single likeable person in this entire cast of characters: Ben Day is surly and not very bright; Michelle Day, the oldest sister, is nosy and selfish; Patty Day, their mother, is weak-willed; Libby herself was whiny and clingy as a child, self-absorbed and larcenous as an adult. But they -- especially Patty and Libby -- struggle so hard, and fight so desperately for their day-to-day survival, to find a piece of solid ground where they can stand tall and be safe.
I know these people. I see them every day in my work. And while I may dislike them on one level, I still love them on an entirely different level, a "there but for the grace of God" level. These are the denizens of the trash-strewn trailer parks and the ramshackle tumbledown farmhouses. This is the mother too proud for food stamps but terrified she can't feed her children. This is the teenage boy learning to be a man in today's world and lacking any positive role model to emulate. This is the young girl bounced from relative to relative because no one wants her to stay for long, but everyone refuses to let become a ward of the state because she's family and "we take care of our own." They break my heart with their failure, their abject poverty, with being beaten down by a trick of circumstance and the consequence of poor choices.
But in the end, I admire Libby. She had a tough row to hoe. She's a survivor. I hope she finds some happiness someday. show less
As it turns out, these murder buffs think her brother Ben is innocent. And Libby sees an opportunity to milk her tragedy for profit yet again, by making these pathetic fools pay her for finding and interviewing all the remaining players and reporting back any information she discovers. Not that she expects to find anything, or even make much money, for that matter. But when $500 is the difference between having a roof over her head and living in her car, she'll take what she can get.
The story structure alternates between Libby's search in the present, and the events of that terrible day in January 1985 when her mother and sisters died. There isn't a single likeable person in this entire cast of characters: Ben Day is surly and not very bright; Michelle Day, the oldest sister, is nosy and selfish; Patty Day, their mother, is weak-willed; Libby herself was whiny and clingy as a child, self-absorbed and larcenous as an adult. But they -- especially Patty and Libby -- struggle so hard, and fight so desperately for their day-to-day survival, to find a piece of solid ground where they can stand tall and be safe.
I know these people. I see them every day in my work. And while I may dislike them on one level, I still love them on an entirely different level, a "there but for the grace of God" level. These are the denizens of the trash-strewn trailer parks and the ramshackle tumbledown farmhouses. This is the mother too proud for food stamps but terrified she can't feed her children. This is the teenage boy learning to be a man in today's world and lacking any positive role model to emulate. This is the young girl bounced from relative to relative because no one wants her to stay for long, but everyone refuses to let become a ward of the state because she's family and "we take care of our own." They break my heart with their failure, their abject poverty, with being beaten down by a trick of circumstance and the consequence of poor choices.
But in the end, I admire Libby. She had a tough row to hoe. She's a survivor. I hope she finds some happiness someday. show less
Wow, I just don't know. This book was so fucked up.
So... fucked up.
The characterization was absolutely brilliant. Especially the main character: Libby was such a flawed human being, and yet I couldn't help but root for her. I think that in itself is an amazing achievement for a writer.
And the thriller aspects of this book, as well, were top-notch. I mean, the plot kept pulling you forward, kept you on your toes, guessing and guessing and always wrong, somehow. I never saw it coming, the truth of what happened that terrible night. However, I do have to say that I was, maybe, just a tiny bit disappointed. At least with part of the solution: Somehow, it didn't sit all the way right with me. Even though there were some well-placed show more foreshadowing elements... I don't know. I still need to give that turn of events some thought.
It was a crazy ride, anyway. And pretty enjoyable in a gritty, horrifying kind of way, mostly all the way through. Definitely worth a read. show less
So... fucked up.
The characterization was absolutely brilliant. Especially the main character: Libby was such a flawed human being, and yet I couldn't help but root for her. I think that in itself is an amazing achievement for a writer.
And the thriller aspects of this book, as well, were top-notch. I mean, the plot kept pulling you forward, kept you on your toes, guessing and guessing and always wrong, somehow. I never saw it coming, the truth of what happened that terrible night. However, I do have to say that I was, maybe, just a tiny bit disappointed. At least with part of the solution: Somehow, it didn't sit all the way right with me. Even though there were some well-placed show more foreshadowing elements... I don't know. I still need to give that turn of events some thought.
It was a crazy ride, anyway. And pretty enjoyable in a gritty, horrifying kind of way, mostly all the way through. Definitely worth a read. show less
Libby Day, 31, is encouraged to examine whether her brother Ben is guilty of killing their mother Patty and two of their sisters. She testified that she saw her 15-year-old brother commit the crimes but she was only 7 years old when the murders occurred. She goes to visit her brother in prison, after refusing any previous contact with him since 1985, and comes away not convinced of his innocence but open at least to considering it. She sets out to visit everyone involved in the case who might have information.
The book has alternating narration. Libby’s story is set in the present and is narrated in the first-person; Ben and Patty’s stories are flashbacks to the day of the murder and are narrated in the third-person.
Libby is not a show more likeable person; on the first page she admits, “I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs” (1). She describes herself as feral and begins her narration by stating, “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ” (1). She is lazy, angry, and manipulative and an obsessive thief – clearly a damaged person. In the end the reader comes to at least understand why she is as she is, and may even admire her knowledge of self.
There is a great deal of suspense. Some is created by Libby getting closer to learning the truth; more is created in reading about Patty and Ben’s activities as the time of the killings approaches. Often a chapter ends with a cliff-hanging revelation.
The ending is a surprise, but clues are given early on, so the reader does not feel cheated. The problem I have is with the motivation of some of the characters. There is a very unique motive for murder – which I didn’t find convincing because it is unlikely the Day family would possess the necessary pre-requisite. The motivation of one minor character who serves as a catalyst for some of the events is not satisfactorily explained. Also, Ben’s girlfriend remains an enigma and her relationship with Ben left me puzzled. What was in it for her? In fact, most of her relationships are strange.
The book is more than a mystery. It examines how children can cause “something to happen, something that got bigger than they were.” The portrayal of children and their motivations is very realistic. Children do lie and exaggerate to please adults or to get attention and are subject to peer pressure – and this is not necessarily a description of Libby since the actions and statements of several children in the novel impact others as well as themselves.
The novel is a compelling read; the reader will find him/herself drawn in quickly. Parts are reminiscent of Truman Capote’s "In Cold Blood", but it is a thriller well worth reading. show less
The book has alternating narration. Libby’s story is set in the present and is narrated in the first-person; Ben and Patty’s stories are flashbacks to the day of the murder and are narrated in the third-person.
Libby is not a show more likeable person; on the first page she admits, “I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs” (1). She describes herself as feral and begins her narration by stating, “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ” (1). She is lazy, angry, and manipulative and an obsessive thief – clearly a damaged person. In the end the reader comes to at least understand why she is as she is, and may even admire her knowledge of self.
There is a great deal of suspense. Some is created by Libby getting closer to learning the truth; more is created in reading about Patty and Ben’s activities as the time of the killings approaches. Often a chapter ends with a cliff-hanging revelation.
The ending is a surprise, but clues are given early on, so the reader does not feel cheated. The problem I have is with the motivation of some of the characters. There is a very unique motive for murder – which I didn’t find convincing because it is unlikely the Day family would possess the necessary pre-requisite. The motivation of one minor character who serves as a catalyst for some of the events is not satisfactorily explained. Also, Ben’s girlfriend remains an enigma and her relationship with Ben left me puzzled. What was in it for her? In fact, most of her relationships are strange.
The book is more than a mystery. It examines how children can cause “something to happen, something that got bigger than they were.” The portrayal of children and their motivations is very realistic. Children do lie and exaggerate to please adults or to get attention and are subject to peer pressure – and this is not necessarily a description of Libby since the actions and statements of several children in the novel impact others as well as themselves.
The novel is a compelling read; the reader will find him/herself drawn in quickly. Parts are reminiscent of Truman Capote’s "In Cold Blood", but it is a thriller well worth reading. show less
The plot certainly isn't all it could be in retrospect, but Flynn keeps us going long enough and well enough that that doesn't really matter. Some really fine, full realizations of "common as dirt" characters. Not very much sentiment or romance or moroseness in them. No overt play for our guilt. Just people--tough, resourceful, feckless, stupid, hopeful, dishonest, hopeless Midwestern people. That's pretty uncommon. And a story that has much intrigue and is managed wonderfully well, in spite of the less-than-hoped-for payout.
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Author Information
9+ Works 51,407 Members
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 24, 1971, Gillian Flynn earned English and journalism undergraduate degrees from the University of Kansas. She wrote for a trade magazine in California before moving to Chicago, where she received a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Flynn moved to New York City and wrote for show more Entertainment Weekly for 10 years. She was the magazine's television critic for four years. Her debut novel, Sharp Objects, was published in 2006 and won two Dagger Awards. Her other works include Dark Places and Gone Girl. In 2014 Gone Girl was released as a major motion picture which starred Ben Affleck. Her books have been on the New York Times bestseller list for many weeks. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Dark Places
- Original title
- Dark Places
- Original publication date
- 2009-05-05
- People/Characters
- Libby Day; Ben Day; Diondra Wertzner; Lyle Wirth; Trey Teepano; Runner Day (show all 12); Patty Day; Calvin Diehl; Michelle Day; Debby Day; Diane Krause; Krissi Cates
- Important places
- Kansas, USA; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kinnakee, Kansas, USA (fictional); Missouri, USA
- Related movies
- Dark Places (2014 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- The Days were a clan that mighta lived long, But Ben Day's head got screwed on wrong, That boy craved dark Satan's power, So he killed his family in one nasty hour, Little Michelle he strangled in the night, Then chopped up D... (show all)ebby: a bloody sight, Mother Patty he saved for last, Blew off her head with a shotgun blast, Baby Libby somehow survived, But to live through that ain't much a life --Schoolyard Rhyme, circa 1985
- Dedication
- To my dashing husband, Brett Nolan
- First words
- I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.
- Quotations
- “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it. It’s the Day blood. Something’s wrong with it. I was never a good l... (show all)ittle girl, and I got worse after the murders.”
“I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.” - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I just wanted to be some woman, heading back home to Over There That Way.
- Blurbers
- King, Stephen; Slaughter, Karin; Atkinson, Kate; Coben, Harlan; McDermid, Val
- Original language*
- Inglese
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
- Canonical LCC
- PS3606.L935
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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