Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn a Winner!

Last night I finished reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Since this was her debut novel and I read it last, I just realized I read her books in reverse order:

• I read Gone Girl first; she wrote it last.
• Then I read Dark Places; she wrote it second. Well, I read this one in the right order!
• And I just finished Sharp Objects, her first novel.

And they were all good. Very good. I liked Sharp Objects for its frank look at a woman who cut herself. The lead up to this revelation made it all the more plausible. Frankly I wouldn't do that, but Flynn made it seem like a logical act by this character. (I don't want to give anything away so won't say the character's name or say more.)

This novel was suspenseful while being realistic. No earth-shattering tricks were played, and I did figure out whodunnit (sort of!). Some weird little details played out in the final pages, making this quite a pleasure to read!

This quote by Stephen King sums up this book well:  "An admirably nasty piece of work, elevated by sharp writing and sharper insights."

Have you read any of Gillian Flynn's books? If so, what did you think?

Book Read:  Sharp Objects
Author:  Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Okay, I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn last month, and loved it so much I decided I had to read her other two books. I think Dark Places was better! This book is fiction but has the mundane details of real lives of characters that read like real people. 

Ben Day is a 15-year-old in 1985, and life is messed up. His younger sister, Libby, is 7 and the story alternates between "Now" and 1985 and among three characters, for the most part:  Ben, Libby, and their mother.

I'm not going to give away even a little of this story because that would be a disservice. If you love thrillers, mysteries, or just plain good books, read Dark Places.

A few words I'd use to describe Dark Places:  scary, gross, realistic, hilarious

Book Read: Dark Places

Author: Gillian Flynn
ISBN:  978-0-307-34156-3

Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Okay, for whatever reason I didn't post about reading Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark when I finally finished reading it. In fact, the book is mostly forgotten. The book was interesting but too damn long (and not that interesting, I guess. Not to me.). 

I agree with a review I read where the reviewer said something like "if they'd cut out the smoking parts, the book would have been a quarter as long." Seriously. The main character smoked. A lot.

 At 481 pages, this book took me more than 2 weeks to finish.  Way too long and uninteresting.

Book Read: Beautiful Lies

Author:  Clare Clark

ISBN:  978-0-15-101467-5

 
And then I picked up Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to read. Wow! What a difference! I'd been hearing about Gone Girl for months but didn't really know anything about it. I could guess from the title that it was about a girl (woman) who was missing.

Yessir, it is. And so much more! This is the best book I've read in ages. Run to the store, the library, wherever you can find it and start reading Gone Girl. It's captivating and thrilling!

At 411 pages, I read this book in 3 days. Fabulous!

Book Read:  Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

ISBN:  978-0-307-58836-4