Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Product Description
Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

My thoughts
“Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn is a secret yearning to be told. This is the story of Libby Day, whose mother and two sisters were brutally murdered when she was seven years old, and her only brother convicted of the crime. Her testimony put him away. Twenty five years later, broke and desperate, she attends a convention of the Kill Club, a weird assortment of people interested in infamous murder cases. Since they are willing to pay her to find the people that may know something more, but aren’t telling, she goes along with it. Finding answers to questions, she had no interest in; she slowly begins to think maybe her brother is innocent. Flynn alternates between Libby’s present and that fateful night (seen through the eyes of various characters). We get to understand what happened as the truth slowly unravels. I couldn’t put the book down, as each new chapter brought Libby closer to the truth. The ending was a little too fitting but still enjoyable, nevertheless.