Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

Publisher: Crown (May 10, 2010) Page count: 349 pages Formats: ebook, audiobook, paperback, hardback

Don’t read Dark Places if you believe people are good. It pulls no punches and explores the dark side of the human experience. I absolutely loved it. It’s been a while since a book captured my attention so completely.

Dark Places tells the tragic story of the Day family. In January 1985, someone slaughtered Libby Day’s mother and two sisters. Libby’s testimony sent her brother, Ben, to prison for life.

Years later, Libby’s financial situation becomes dire; not surprising since she has no work and lives off donations and insurance cashed years ago. Desperate for money, she gets involved with the Kill Club, true crime enthusiasts interested in famous murder cases. They believe Ben was innocent and share wild theories with Libby who, subsequently, questions what exactly she saw the night of the tragedy. They're also ready to pay for family memorabilia and further investigation of the case.

The story moves fluidly between the present-day first-person narration of cynical and selfish Libby and the hours leading up to the murders seen through the eyes of Patty Day (Libby’s killed mother) and Ben (Libby’s brother sentenced for murders). The narrative is addictive as it slowly and methodically reveals the chronology of what happened on that tragic day. Flynn provides pieces of the puzzle along the way, but I assure you that whatever you suspect is wrong (unless you have a really twisted mind!) I won’t spoil it, but wow, just wow.*

Every character here is nuanced and feels real. I wouldn’t call any of them likable, but their distinct voices kept me glued to the pages. They’re all survivors ready to make selfish decisions to remain on the surface. Especially when the money is short.

Take Libby, who literally fed off the murder of her family all her life, living on donations made by compassionate donors moved by the history of a lone survivor of a family massacre. Libby, whose testimony sent her brother to jail for life and who’s not really sure what she saw (or didn’t see) on a feral night. If she hadn't run into financial difficulties, she might never revisit her tragic past. Still, it was refreshing to get a heroine as complex and psychologically scarred as this.

Ben? Well, I don’t find angry and brooding teenagers who get mixed up in devil worship relatable. But that doesn’t mean his voice didn’t engage me. Quite the opposite.

I loved this book. It’s genuinely disturbing, suspenseful, and full of surprises.

* It's genuinely surprising. Probably in both a good and a bad way. Some readers may be disappointed. Some will appreciate it. I definitely appreciate it.