Dark Places: A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl, and the basis for the major motion picture starring Charlize Theron

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas." She survived--and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club--a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes--locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben.

Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She'll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club--for a fee. As Libby's search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started--on the run from a killer.

Praise for Dark Places

"[A] nerve-fraying thriller."--The New York Times

"Flynn's well-paced story deftly shows the fallibility of memory and the lies a child tells herself to get through a trauma."--The New Yorker

"Gillian Flynn coolly demolished the notion that little girls are made of sugar and spice in Sharp Objects, her sensuous and chilling first thriller. In Dark Places, her equally sensuous and chilling follow-up, Flynn . . . has conjured up a whole new crew of feral and troubled young females. . . . [A] propulsive and twisty mystery."--Entertainment Weekly

"Flynn follows her deliciously creepy Sharp Objects with another dark tale . . . The story, alternating between the 1985 murders and the present, has a tense momentum that works beautifully. And when the truth emerges, it's so macabre not even twisted little Libby Day could see it coming."--People (4 stars)

"Crackles with peevish energy and corrosive wit." --Dallas Morning News

"A riveting tale of true horror by a writer who has all the gifts to pull it off."--Chicago Tribune

"It's Flynn's gift that she can make a caustic, self-loathing, unpleasant protagonist someone you come to root for."--New York Magazine

"[A] gripping thriller."--Cosmopolitan

"Gillian Flynn is the real deal, a sharp, acerbic, and compelling storyteller with a knack for the macabre."--Stephen King
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Average rating: 7.26

211 RATINGS

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8 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Jan 09, 2024
6/10 stars
Compared to Flynn's other work, this story was below par for me. The main character was just a bit too whiney for my taste and I found it hard to get through the story. The twists however were unpredictable and I liked the way the mystery developed
KikiStoneCreek
Jun 03, 2023
I normally don't take the time to write a review as I'm usually already on to the next book by the time I update my GoodReads bookshelves, but this one is the exception! Awesome writing, great characterizations and terrific storyline. I love books told from the perspectives of several characters--provided it's done right--and it's easy to see why Ms. Flynn is the recipient of book awards. She is the reason readers like me look forward to settling...read more
Anonymous
Apr 26, 2023
10/10 stars
SECOND READ: 08/16/2015
I just have to say that I am so relieved that I loved this just as much the second time around. Whipped through it within a day and can now watch the movie with no guilt of not remembering something. Having a movie night!

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b>FIRST READ/REVIEW: 05/29/2013
What...what the hell just happened?!
Gillian Flynn, you blow my mind.

I bet I flipped to the back flap a dozen times and lo...read more
Sydleigh
Jan 17, 2023
10/10 stars
Gillian Flynn never disappoints! Amazing as always! Such a series of unfortunate events!!
Wendy McIsaac
Dec 06, 2022
3/10 stars
This probably one of the most unsettling book I have ever read! The characters are bizarre and cruel. And the bull thing broke my heart!

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