Hello everyone!
I think I fell back in love with writing reviews. The secret? Mini-reviews! The truth is, I never have that much to write about a book, even one that I love very, very much. After seeing some bloggers nail this approach (such as Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books, and The Orangutan Librarian), I couldn’t help but give this a try.
Gillian Flynn is one of my favourite authors. After reading Gone Girl on my plane ride to China, I couldn’t help but devour Dark Places and Sharp Objects as well. I am amazed by her writing style and her mastery at psychological suspense.
Gone Girl
From the back cover
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?
What I liked
- Humorous and witty writing that makes you smile and wince at all the right places
- Plot twists that keep you guessing
- Main characters (Nick and Amy) who are flawed, messed-up, and very fascinating to get into the heads of
- Sharp, quick pacing that will have you turning the pages
What I didn’t like
- Without spoiling the story: The antagonist of this story is very thorough, methodical, and calculating in their ways, making it difficult to relate to this character
Overall: 4/5
Gone Girl is a roller-coaster ride without a single dull moment. It must-read for anyone who is a fan of the mystery and thriller genre.
Dark Places
From the back cover
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 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.
What I liked
- The plot twists!! There is never a dull moment
- Libby and her family. Even though Libby’s mother and sisters are dead in present day, we get to learn about their personality and quirks through Libby’s memory
- The disturbing details of the backstory
What I didn’t like
- Libby’s character isn’t immediately likeable – she is bitter and calculating. However, I feel that this is the intention of the author, and Libby grew on me over time
Overall: 4/5
Yet another amazing novel by Gillian Flynn. As much as this is a murder mystery about Satanic rituals, Dark Places is also a story about the love that underlies a family. I absolutely loved this novel, maybe even more so than Gone Girl.
Sharp Objects
From the back cover
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.
What I liked
- Amazing prose and dialogue
- A well-developed main character (Camille) who has depth and flaws
- An intricately woven story line with plot twists that will keep you guessing
What I didn’t like
- For a thriller, the pacing was incredibly slow. Nothing much happens for the first 80% (and then it is like %&$*#?!)
- Repeated use of certain phrases, like “she is the type of woman who holds your hair back when you vomit”, and “smell like sex”
Overall: 3/5
If you can put up with the slow pacing, Sharp Objects tells a haunting tale about dead (and very, very sick) people that will raise the hairs at the back of your neck.
PS.
Sophie Li 
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