Review: Dark Places: A Novel by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places
by Gillian Flynn
Published: 2009
Pages: 368

Reason for Reading: I loved Flynn's first novel,
Sharp Objects, and when I saw this one on a Friday Finds post I immediately requested it from the library.
Challenges this book fulfills: The Pub 2009
Borrowed from my local library





My Thoughts:

Goodreads: When Libby Day was seven years old, her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” Thinking about that night sends Libby straight into what she calls her Darkplace

My Thoughts: When Libby enters these parts of her mind that she calls her dark places you're not sure if you can trust what she saw or heard. You find yourself feeling a little unnerved by this character.


From Goodreads: Michelle was strangled. Debby was chopped up with an axe. And Patty Day’s head was blown off with a shotgun.

My Thoughts: The murders are so brutal and chilling. It's hard at times to imagine the gruesome scene that this would have been to Libby and to the person who discovered these murders. Flynn does a great job of painting the picture of how horrific the final minutes of life were for Libby's family.


From Goodreads: As the prosecution’s star witness, Libby testified that she saw her brother Ben—then 15—commit the crime. Little Libby escaped into the freezing January snow, losing a few fingers and toes but saving her life. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and Libby is living off the dregs of a trust fund that was set up for her after the murders.

My Thoughts: As you read this story it flips between the Libby now to the Libby back in 1985 when the murders took place. At times, Libby's thoughts made the hair stand up on my arms. I didn't trust her and questioned how someone could live off of a trust fund that would have been a daily reminder that you received this check because someone hacked your family to death. Her only thoughts are how she's going to continue to make money from her "poor little lost girl" facade.

From Goodreads: When the Kill Club, a macabre social group obsessed with infamous crimes—and believers in Ben’s innocence—reaches out to her, Libby hatches a plan to profit from her tragic history: Contact everyone tied to the events of that January night and report back her findings for a fee. And maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

My Thoughts: The Kill Club---I know that there are people and groups out there like this in the world. But to feel like you're on the inside of one of these groups made my stomach turn. How can people collect mementos from a murder victim? Reminds me of women who would write love letters to Ted Bundy!! and then the crazy one that married him and had a child with him....not enough words to describe how out-of-touch with reality I feel they are.

From Goodreads: Interspersed with Libby’s investigation are the events of that day, told through the eyes of her doomed family members—including Ben. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself back in her Darkplace—and fighting for her life.

My Thoughts: The last 1/4 of the book was nerve wracking and the story came together beautifully. I always feel like I should've seen it coming (the truth) but as usual I was shocked and then amazed at how Flynn was able to make all of the pieces fall into place. This book is not for the faint of heart, there's some graphic language and scenes, but she stays true to the tone of the book. If you read and loved Sharp Objects then you're in for another satisfying read. If you enjoy books that have an undertone of dread, evil lurking behind the pages, and characters that you just can't quite figure out if they're the good guy or the bad guy, then I believe you will like this book.


Also reviewed at:
Bibliophile By the Sea

BoneMan's Daughters- My Thoughts

BoneMan's Daughter's
Author: Ted Dekker
Genre: Christian Fiction/Suspense
Published: 2009 by Center Street
Pages: 416

Short Synopsis from Goodreads:
A Texas serial killer called BoneMan is on the loose, choosing young girls as his prey, His signature: myriad broken bones that torture and kill - but never puncture.Military intelligence officer Ryan Evans is sent to Fallujah and captured by insurgents, he is asked to kill children not unlike his own.Returning home after the ordeal, a new crisis awaits. A serial killer is on the loose, and his method of killing is the same. Ryan becomes a prime suspect, which isn't even the worst of his problems: Ryan's daughter is BoneMan's latest desire.




My Thoughts:

I have read Ted Dekker in the past and enjoyed his books. This one is a fast and compelling read, but there were moments for me that just didn't work. The relationship between Ryan, his wife, and daughter was not developed at all. The reader is just suppose to accept the hatred coming from the wife and daughter towards Ryan. It did not ring true to me. When he comes home from his ordeal of being captured and tortured, neither his wife nor his daughter welcome him home. In fact, they treat his so horribly that I was honestly turned off by it. The other thing that distracted me from my reading was Dekker's habit of writing the same thing over and over again. Here's what I'm talking about:

There were two things Alvin loved, three that he would kill for.

There were two things that Alvin Finch, aka BoneMan, wanted; nay, three that he would cut off his own hands to possess.

This is just a few of them...it happened throughout the book. The flow just didn't work for me and I'm upset by that because the story is pretty good, but my mind kept getting hung up on those little oddities. Dekker does make up for most of this in the ending of the book. It kept me hanging on and wondering if what I read was true or not....I'm still questioning who the BoneMan really was. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, and I'm glad that I took the time to read it. If you've enjoyed Dekker in the past , then I'm sure you will like this one too.

Other reviews that are much better than mine!!
Dar- Peeking Between the Pages

If you reviewed BoneMan's Daughter's let me know so that I can post your link here!!

A Reliable Wife- My Thoughts

A Reliable Wife
by Robert Goolrick
Published: 2009
Pages: 291 fast-paced, quickly read pages!!

From the inside jacket: A condensed version

For Ralph Truitt, the wealthy businessman who had advertised for "a reliable wife," this was to be a new beginning. Years of solitude, denial, and remorse would be erased, and Catherine Land, whoever she might be, would be the vessel of his desires, the keeper of his secrets, the means to recover what was lost. That was his plan. This is a story of two people, each plagued by a heart filled with anger and guilt, each with a destiny in mind. But neither anticipates what develops between them........



My thoughts:

I read this book during the early morning hours last Saturda . Once I opened the pages I was lost in the cold, white, endless winter world of Wisconsin. The beginning seems to be slow and very wordy, but after you get past that point you realize that the author wants you to feel the pain of the cold, and to envision how months of winter can drive people to commit heinous acts against those that they love. I was totally engrossed in the lives of Ralph and Catherine. I couldn't put the book down until I had finished it, which is a pretty good sign that I loved it. This story is one of mystery, love, death, murder, and ultimately human connections. But throughout the book there is a subtle vibration of menace. For me, this story at times, made me recall how I felt while reading "The Tell-Tale Heart." Because you know something bad happened or will happen, it's right there for you to see, yet you still feel that tension of impending doom.

She might wound him, she might lie to him, and still he would do anything to hear one word of kindness from her lips, to feel his flesh touch her flesh without humiliation. He was willing to take the chance. And all this because she had stepped from the train with a small scarlet bird in a cage, and she was coming home to him, bringing a fluttering life. He was at last waiting for someone whose name was known to him. People saw her come home to him, people in his town. She smiled at him, and he knew then that he would die for her.

p.192

I wish I would've read this book during a blizzard, for then I would have been able to totally immerse myself into the story, but even though I read it during a spring day, I still felt the harshness and bleakness of the Wisconsin landscape. This is an author that I would read again without hesitation and one that I totally recommend to my friends!!! You won't be disappointed!!

Other reviews:
Devourer of Books
The Booklady's Blog

If you've reviewed A Reliable Wife let me know so that I can add your link!!

Shelter Me- my thoughts

Shelter Me
by Juliette Fay
Published: 2009
415 pages

From the back cover:
Four months after her husband's death, Janie LaMarche remains undone by grief and anger. Her mourning is disrupted, however, by the unexpected arrival of a builder with a contract to add a porch onto her house. Stunned, Janie realizes the porch was meant to be a surprise from her husband—now his last gift to her. As she reluctantly allows construction to begin, Janie clings to the familiar outposts of her sorrow—mothering her two small children with fierce protectiveness, avoiding friends and family, and stewing in a rage she can't release. Yet Janie's self-imposed isolation is breached by a cast of unlikely interventionists: her chattering, ipecac-toting aunt; her bossy, over-manicured neighbor; her muffin-bearing cousin; and even Tug, the contractor with a private grief all his own. As the porch takes shape, Janie discovers that the unknowable terrain of the future is best navigated with the help of others—even those we least expect to call on, much less learn to love.

This is a new author to me and one that I will definitely be reading more of in the future. This book was truly a great read. I enjoyed how the author went between entries of Janie's journal and then back to the story. I loved Janie's character and even loved her when she would get pissed off and throw a fit. She misses her husband so much that she is drowning in the day-to-day monotony of life. With the help of her cousin and aunt, plus a few other characters you will get to know, she manages to hold on and make it through that first year of grieving. I found myself rooting for her, wanting her life to be good, wanting her to heal and to start enjoying the life she now had, one without her beloved husband Robby. Her oldest child, Dylan, will make you laugh, smile, and tug at your heartstrings. Fay has captured an old soul with this precious character. An added bonus to this book is an outstanding Author Insights Q&A, recipes (very cool!), questions for discussions for a book club (this would make for a fantastic book club read!!) and a funny story about how this book ended up all over I-89 in Vermont. If you're looking for a good book with a heartfelt story then I would totally recommend this to you.

You can visit the author, Juliette Fay here.

2009 Pub Challenge- Sign up People!!!

2009 Pub Challenge hosted by 1morechapter.com
I hope you’ll consider joining the 2009 Pub as well. For those who didn’t participate last year but want to read more 2009 releases, join us. New members are always welcome! The challenge lasts for all of 2009.

Here are the 2009 rules:

1. Read a minimum of 9 books first published in 2009. You don’t have to buy these. Library books, unabridged audios, or ARCs are all acceptable. To qualify as being first published in 2009, it must be the first time that the book is published in your own country. For example, if a book was published in Australia, England, or Canada in 2008, and then published in the USA in 2009, it counts (if you live in the USA). Newly published trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks do not count if there has been a hardcover/trade published before 2009. Any questions on what qualifies? Just leave a comment here, and I’ll respond with the answer.
2. No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
3. At least 5 titles must be fiction.
4. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
5. You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.

I've decided that I'm going to add my titles as I go because I'm just not up on books that are going to be published in 2009.

Book 1 is going to be this one, Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

Book Overview:

Four months after her husband's death, Janie LaMarche remains undone by grief and anger. Her mourning is disrupted, however, by the unexpected arrival of a builder with a contract to add a porch onto her house. Stunned, Janie realizes the porch was meant to be a surprise from her husband—now his last gift to her.

As she reluctantly allows construction to begin, Janie clings to the familiar outposts of her sorrow—mothering her two small children with fierce protectiveness, avoiding friends and family, and stewing in a rage she can't release. Yet Janie's self-imposed isolation is breached by a cast of unlikely interventionists: her chattering, ipecac-toting aunt; her bossy, over-manicured neighbor; her muffin-bearing cousin; and even Tug, the contractor with a private grief all his own.

As the porch takes shape, Janie discovers that the unknowable terrain of the future is best navigated with the help of others—even those we least expect to call on, much less learn to love.

Sounds good and I'm all signed up for it at my local library!! I'm #1.....Yippee!!!