Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
As the lone survivor of the night when most of her family had been murdered and her brother convicted of the crime, Libby Day grew up feeling as though something bad lived insider of her that was as real as any of her organs. The feeling of "being bad" consumed her, creating her own world where she needed nothing or no one normal. She stayed isolated from the real world until she was forced to find a way to support herself financially. In a bid to capitalize on the uniqueness of her situation, Libby decides to charge those interested in her family's turbulent history and strikes out on her sort of investigation. She follows where the leads take her until she reaches what could very well be her own "dead" end.

Review:
It took me a few chapters to catch onto how the story was being told. Once I found my groove, the story took hold of me and I was pulled along for the ride. The story is told by the point of view of several characters including the main character, Libby, and various other family members. Each chapter begins by naming the POV character, date and time in which the chapter took place. That bit of information made it easier to keep track of where I was taken in the story.

Overall, I loved how the story kept me guessing up to nearly the very end. There was plenty of evidence to convict any number of suspects put forth in the story but the ending wasn't exactly what I had pictured. As each layer of the investigation was examined, a new set of questions would spring up and lead the reader in an entirely different direction. I was also impressed by the author's ability to capture the essence of the "Satanic panic" that took place within the late 1980's. Being a child during that time period, I remember being instructed on what to watch for very well. If you like mysteries with several twists and turns to keep you guessing, this is definitely a book for you.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn is available at many major retailers in hardback, paperback and Kindle forms. It can be purchased through Amazon.com at the link listed below.
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn