Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

(from goodreads.com)

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Every once in a while I stumble across a book that I cannot put down, even after I'm done reading it.  Dark Places is one of these books.  It is such a page-turner that I finished it in only a couple of days.  It went everywhere with me and whenever I had a minute of downtime, I had my nose in its pages.  I can't quite put my finger on why, but there's something about this book that really makes me want to sit and think.  It's a psychological mystery.  It has honest, grainy human emotions and it looks so deeply into Libby Day's tainted soul that the reader can't help but root for her.  She's so pathetic and yet compelling at the same time.  It's hard to explain.  Maybe it's like when you were a child and went to the sketchy part of town for the first time.  There were homeless people in various states of griminess (yes, I probably made up that word) and as an adult, we know better than to stare at the worst of them.  But, as a child, it's mesmerizing and no matter how many times your mom yanks on your hand or knocks you on the back of your head, you just can't stop staring.  I think that's kind of what it's like when I read this book. 

SPOIILER ALERT*********SPOILER ALERT**********SPOILER ALERT**********

Flynn is a master at creating people and relationships.  Libby and Ben.  Ben and Diondra, both in the past and the present.  Ben and Patty Day.  Patty and Diane.  Krissi and Ben in the past.  Krissi and Libby in the present.  Runner.  Ben and Trey with Diondra.  Libby is a pathetic character, in the beginning of the book.  She is a manipulative, lying, stealing woman who never got over the violent loss of her family.  She witnessed something so horrible that the country seemed to rush to her aid, but rather than being helped to heal, she found herself manipulated by a political agenda then left alone to "deal" and "move on".  Sure, she received therapy, but her aunt had to drive her far for it, so it was only natural that she eventually stop going.  Her Aunt Diane lived in a trailer.  She worked as a doctor's receptionist.  Libby's childhood went from dismal (on the farm) to depressed (with her Aunt Diane) to pathetic (in her adulthood).  She had obvious issues with anger, depression, and trust.  But then again, who wouldn't, in her situation?  How could she have grown up, set goals, overcome small obstacles like the SAT's, when her psyche was trying to deal with her witnessing the murder of everyone she loved and the world was telling her that the murderer is her one surviving family member? 

I love stories with twists.  This book is full of 'em.  I loved how Flynn revealed present and past stories simultaneously, so you constantly wondered what actually happened and whether or not Libby was safe in the present.  I loved how there are so many different things going on and in the end, Flynn manages to tie everything in together.  The Angel of Debt and Patty and Debby.  Diondra and Michelle.  Ben and his choice of inaction.  This makes me wonder if he would have stopped Diondra if Libby and Michelle had been in each other's places that night.  Libby and her choice to flee the house.  Krissi and all her lies.  She was only a little girl who wanted to brag about her high school boyfriend.  When it got her her parent's attention, she embellished.  When her parents told other people, she was stuck.  Her friends then got caught up in the excitement of it all and it was too late.  The stones against Ben were piling up and it's our privelage as readers to get to follow along as Libby digs through the rubble.