Dark Places: Book Review

I haven't done a book review in a long time, it's not that I haven't been reading any books, it's just that I haven't been able to find the time (surprise, surprise) to do so. I still have some pending book reviews to work on (The Casual Vacancy, The Silkworm, Where She Went) but I will go ahead and write a review for Dark Places, given that the movie adaptation will be hitting cinemas on Aug. 12! 

It is rather unfortunate though that I wasn't able to read or watch Gone Girl when it made a huge buzz last year but I'm determined not to make that mistake with Dark Places- hence making sure I read the book before seeing the movie. 

Going through Gillian Flynn's dark places and finishing it in a few days was easy to do, simply because it was such a dang good book! 

On a cold January night in a quiet farming town in Kansas City, 7 year old Libby Day witnesses the horrific massacre which take the life of her mother and two sisters. The only other survivor is her 15 year old brother Ben, whose teenage angst and alleged dabbing in the occult helped him to be convicted of the murders, it is Libby's testimony at 7 years old, which seals Ben's fate. 

Twenty-five years later Libby is still haunted by the murders, she is unable to live a normal life, she doesn't have a job and lives on donations from strangers who feel sympathy for her (of course that book deal also helped-sort of) with the money running out (given that there are new victims each day for people to dole out money to) Libby is forced to work with 'The Kill Club' a group obsessed with murders and murderers, who believe that her brother is innocent. As Libby does her own investigation of that fateful night she discovers that the truth is not what it she thought it was. 

Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult reunite after Mad Max: Fury Road
in the movie adaptation of Dark Places. 

Dark Places follows the classic 'who-did-it' plot but is told in a very unique narrative as it takes the readers to the day of the murders in 1985, to the present day. The story is told through different characters in these two timelines. You read it in a fevered pace, wanting to find out what really happened that night. There is a lot of violence and some pretty Dark Places (pun intended) in the book, I found myself wincing away at some graphic scenes. 

Paul and I watch a lot of Crime Investigation (CI) on cable TV and I have read a lot on famous serial killers so the disturbing plot and scenes that take place is sometimes too real for comfort. It's something you've seen on the news and that's just scary. 

Chloe Grace Moretz plays wild child Diondra Wertnzer. 

Dark Places is a good read, it will have you thinking throughout with little clues left for the reader like the bread crumbs left by Hansel. While I didn't really appreciate the soap-opera-like-coincidences that happen too much in the novel. It's like being at the wrong place at the wrong time throughout. If you can let that slide then you will definitely enjoy the book. 

A movie adaptation of Dark Places is set for release in local cinemas on Aug. 12. Charlize Theron will play Libby Day, I love her but in the book, Libby is described as 4'10-4'11 ft tall (like me) and of course statuesque Charlize Theron at 5'9 ft fall is anything but petite. I know it's a small detail to get upset about but there aren't many characters who are as tall (or rather short) as I am. 

Nicholas Hoult will be joining Charlize Theron after their Mad Max: Fury Road collaboration as Lyle Wirth, a member of "The Kill Club". Chloe Grace Moretz plays the free-spirited, wild child Diondra Wertzner. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, then maybe I can do a movie review with some book-movie comparisons.