Dark Places

Genre: Fiction

This is the story of Libby Day, in her mid-20's, suffering from debilitating depression and anxiety and sleeping her days away, and with good reason. When she was five years old, her mother and two sisters were brutally murdered while she saw some of what happened to them and then escaped. Her memory of the event is hazy, but she knows that it is her testimony that put her then fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, away for the murders. Libby has no regular income due to her illness and the trust set up for her by strangers after the murders has depleted. Libby finds a Kill Club, lead by a genial enough man named Lyle Wirth, who promises that in return for researching the events of the past and finding the real murderer (some of the club members don’t believe Ben was responsible), his club will float her financially. Libby and Lyle begin a journey of looking for answers and eventually finding friendship.

This story makes me think of how easily things in life can go wrong. A wrong turn, a wrong word, a wrong encounter and there's no turning back. And yet, there were ample opportunities for the characters in this book to choose the right path. All of the tragedies were so easily preventable. If you’re a Flynn fan, this won’t disappoint. It was a good read. In true Flynn fashion, this book is hard to put down, not because it is mysterious (certainly not like Gone Girl), but it's an interesting story and you want to know what happens to this girl…and of course, there’s that crazy ending!