Camille is a reporter for a small newspaper in Chicago. After two children are murdered in her home town, her boss asks her to go cover the story. She returns to this small, dusty town in the boot heel of Missouri, and we begin to understand a lot more about Camille.
She's a cutter, recently released from therapy. She cuts words into her skin--all over her skin. She has lost a younger sister when she was in her teens to a mysterious illness. Her mother never has loved Camille like she loved her sister. And now Camille has a younger sister who is 13 years old and is the terror of her school and town. She's as sweet as pie at home around her mother, though.
Camille finds out her mother knew the two girls that were killed. She visits one of the girl's brother who allows an interview. She befriends the detective that has been sent down from Kansas City to work on the case. She works to figure out who the murderer is. But the entire time the story really focuses on Camille and her fucked up life. (Sorry for the expletive, but it works perfectly here.) To say she has "issues" with her past is an understatement!
I suspected the murderer very early in the story, but was still surprised at the twist at the end. Flynn is famous for those twists. The problem I had was that this novel moved really slowly. There just wasn't enough action, or what action there was seemed tame or insignificant. Camille was just too weird for me. Her family is even weirder.
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Ann Marie Lee, did a good job. I also listened to Dark Places in audio format and didn't have the same problem, so I don't think it was the format.
If you're a fan of Flynn, I recommend that you check our Sharp Objects. Gone Girl is still my favorite, so you might want to start there.
Published by Broadway Books, Random House Audio, 2007
Copy obtained from the library
254 pages
Rating: 4/5
I'd like to up another Flynn read but I'm not sure if I can read the book without comparing it to Gone Girl. I definitely agree that her characters are SO dark and twisted.
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