Review: Dark Places

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books 2009

Format & Page Count: eBook 373 pages

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Date Read: December 21, 2014

My Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (from book): Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in "The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived - and famously testified that her fifteen year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club - a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes - locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She'll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club for a fee. As Libby's search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started - on the run from a killer.

My thoughts: Immediately after reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galibrath, I was enthralled with the mystery genre. I also had much more free time, since I was home from college for break, which led me to want to get my hands on another mystery novel as soon as possible. I had heard nothing but good things about Gillian Flynn's books and decided to give this one a shot.

Dark Places is a captivating and entrancing story that kept me guessing until the very end. The book is written through varying perspectives of Libby's mother and brother on the day of the murders and also of Libby currently. During each chapter, a tiny piece of information is shared that alters any perception previously formed. I was constantly changing my predictions about what happened to the family, but never was able to piece everything together on my own.

If you enjoy unsuspected endings, this book is sure to satisfy. Personally, the ending is what dropped the rating of the book down a star. Although it was surprising and unpredictable, which I normally enjoy, it felt entirely unsatisfying. Based on the circumstances provided, it was definitely a realistic conclusion, but I was hoping for something a bit more shocking, scandalous,  and jaw dropping than what was provided in this story.

Overall, Dark Places is a well written and captivating thriller that any mystery lover will enjoy.

Review: The Cuckoo's Calling

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galibrath

Publisher: Mulholland Books 2013

Format & Page Count: Paperback, 384 pages

Genre: Crime, mystery

Date Read: December 16, 2014

My Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads): A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide. After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office. 
Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man. 
You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

My Thoughts: By now pretty much every book enthusiast knows that Robert Galibrath is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, which generated most of the publicity for this book. I had only heard about it after Rowling was revealed as the author, otherwise I doubt I would have heard of this book, let alone read it. I am very glad I discovered this book because it has sparked a love for crime and mystery novels, which are genres I generally do not find myself compelled to read. This is definitely a good book to read by the fire in the winter when you can curl up in a comfy chair with a blanket and a hot cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate.

This was a book that took me awhile to really get into. The beginning was interesting, but the exposition tended to feel dragged out. The information about the crime was repeated multiple times and reviewed with a fine-tooth comb before something of significance seemed to stand out and grasp interest. It wasn't until halfway through the book that I found myself finally grasped in the story. I ended up staying awake util 3am just to finish the last 200 pages of the book because I was so engrossed in the story. All the clues finally began to erupt and melt together to slowly for a satisfying and realistic conclusion.

My favorite thing about this book is that it was never predictable. I constantly tried to put the clues together myself in order to figure out who the culprit is, but never could guess the actual conclusion. In the end, I was completely taken by surprise, but after everything was revealed, I was completely satisfied, for the motive remained completely realistic.