"Dark Places" by Gillian Flynn

I've been on a Gillian Flynn kick lately.  I saw all three books of hers in Barnes & Noble and thought that they would all be quick reads.  Since I read two out of the three, I thought I would pick up the last, "Dark Places."

It's taken me a little longer than I would have liked to have read this book.  I can attribute part of it to me being busy, but I just didn't get super invested in this book.  It wasn't bad, but it just didn't capture and keep my attention like Gone Girl did.

I don't want to spoil the ending.  But as I started to near the ending, I was worried about how the book was going to end.  I kept thinking of a certain ending in my head and thinking "Please don't let it end like this."  Fortunately, that ending did not happen.  But I wasn't super satisfied with the ending either.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves crime mysteries.  But if I had to pick my favorite Gillian Flynn book to recommend, this would be my last pick out of "Gone Girl" and "Sharp Objects."

Overview from Barnes & Noble:

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.

"Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn

I brought "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn to the beach with me to read after I read her other book, "Gone Girl."  It was a pretty quick read.  I liked the suspense of "Gone Girl" better, but actually liked the ending of "Sharp Objects" vs. "Gone Girl" (did not like the ending).  It was a very interesting book.

Overview from Barnes & Noble:

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn

As I was perusing books about a year and a half ago, another lady in the recommended "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn to me.  As I normally do, I took a picture of the book to remember to buy it later, and forgot it about it.  When I was at the movie theater a few weeks ago, I saw the preview for the movie "Gone Girl" and knew I had to read the book before I watched the movie (I won't read a book if I've already seen the movie).  So I picked up the book and read it over our beach vacation last month.

The book was a little hard to get into at first, but it picked up pretty quickly.  It was captivating and kept me on edge waiting to find out what was going to happen next.  I loved the book up until the last few pages.  I hated the ending.  As not to spoil it, I won't go into why I hated it, but if you read the book, you will probably agree.

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

I'm also attaching a link to one of the trailers.  I hope I am happier with the movie than I am with the book.  This is one movie that I wouldn't mind having a different ending than the book.