Dark Places

by gillian flynn | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0307341577 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/27/2018
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, November 27, 2018
I got this softcover from a local Goodwill thrift shop. I've read a lot of true-crime, including some fascinating and wrenching accounts of killings that were either unsolved or that left some unexplained elements behind, so when this book presented a main character who was the survivor of the brutal killings of her mother and two sisters - apparently by her own brother - I was intrigued. All the more so when a group of murder buffs invited her to their little convention... I admit I felt some guilty pangs there, as any interest in the details of someone else's tragedy can cross the line from empathy and a desire to solve a problem into intrusion and ghoulish curiosity. (The fans in this book cross the lines, some clearly having their own purposes and others basking in the attention.)

Protagonist Libby is not easy to like; we gradually learn about her family's background, troubled even at the best of times, and of course the trauma of that night and the ongoing challenges of subsequent years didn't do Libby any favors. But she admits to herself that she doesn't try very hard to get out of the rut of depression and anger that she's in - so the intervention of the crime fans is a change for her. She goes into it for the hope of some money, but is gradually drawn into actual curiosity as to whether her memories of that night tell the whole truth...

The story unfolds in different viewpoints, past and present, with the past segments gradually leading up to the night of the crime, and deftly presenting the reader with many, many suspects, clues, and red herrings. If anything, I found that the reveal was a bit too much out of left field, though there were vague hints earlier on; still, the untangling of the truth, the decisions about how much to reveal to whom, and the hints of a slightly brighter future all made for an intriguing and dramatic story.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the book and the 2015 film, with some entertaining tidbits]

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Chelmsford (See Notes For Details) in Chelmsford, Massachusetts USA on Monday, December 17, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (12/17/2018 UTC) at Chelmsford (See Notes For Details) in Chelmsford, Massachusetts USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book, bagged against the elements, on the kiosk at the Janet Rd. trailhead of Thanksgiving Ground Forest; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2018 D for December release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2018 Movie release challenge. ***

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