---
product_id: 119785762
title: "Dark Places: A Novel"
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---

# Dark Places: A Novel

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## Description

Dark Places: A Novel - Kindle edition by Flynn, Gillian. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Dark Places: A Novel.

Review: This book was twisted, but in the best possible way! - From my blog: www.girlathome23.blogspot.com Tumblr: www.girlathome.tumblr.com My Thoughts: No Spoilers Rating: 4-5 Stars Okay, so, this is the first Gillian Flynn novel I have ever had the privilege of reading, and I must say I was not disappointed. This was a very taut, fast paced, psychological thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. I've read some reviews where readers have found the characters in the novel unlikable or they couldn't really connect to them some what. That was not the case for me. I connected with each character from the very beginning. Libby, the main protagonist throughout the novel is a very traumatized young woman. Her defenses against everyone and everything is to shut down, and ignore them after the hell she's been through. I related to Libby from the very first page. Her whit and dark sense of humor reminded me a lot of myself which made me connect with her even more, and made me want to learn her story. If you're looking for an amazing light easy read, this is your go to book. Gillian Flynn surprised me countless times throughout the book. Her writing is flawless and she adds a sense of mystery and suspense with each chapter. I HIGHLY recommend this book! My Thoughts: Spoilers Included This book gutted me, and left me with a serious book hangover. After finding out what really happened of the night of January 3, 1985 I felt so angry, heartbroken, and sad for the Day family. They seemed like such a normal family, I mean they had their fair share of problems, but what family doesn't? The Day's had little money, they lived a seemingly poor life. No new clothes, hardly any food in their home. I have so many feelings for each character in this novel that I would like to take a minute and talk about each one. Patty, was a mother to four children, Libby, Ben, Debby, Michelle, struggling to make ends meet on her broken down families farm. She had no money, no husband, well she had an ex husband Runner, but he was a drug addict and lowlife that I wanted to punch in the face several times. Her farm was being ceased, and her son was in serious trouble, for supposedly molesting a middle school girl named, Krissy. She was frazzled, and frantic during most of her chapters in the book, trying to find Ben before the police did and try and figure out how to come up with the money to save her home and provide for her family. I really felt for this woman, she had a lot on her plate and honestly didn't know how to handle half the situations life put her in I think. She was desperate for money, and wanted to save her children from living a horrible life, so she hired someone to kill her so her kids would receive her life insurance policy. Only, things didn't go according to plan on that night, and her daughter Debby ended up waking in the middle of the night to find her mother stabbed in the kitchen, forcing the man that was hired to kill Debby too, because she saw his face. Libby, was the youngest of the Day clan and the main protagonist throughout the novel. When she was seven she "saw" her brother Ben murder her entire family on January 3, 1985, except she didn't see anything, she heard it, but still the police coerced her into testifying that her fifteen year old brother Ben had committed the crimes, ultimately putting him in jail. Twenty or twenty five years later Libby is an emotional wreck, unable to properly function because of the events of that night. She hides in her home and does as little as possible just barely making it by, much like her mother. She's running out of money, the money she got from donors and book profits after the murders is now gone. A guy named Lyle offers her money to look into what really happened to her family on that night, and so she does. I loved Libby, honestly, I did. Her sarcasm and dark sense of humor made me connect with her because I'm the same way. Ben, was the oldest sibling, and the main suspect in his families murder. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for crimes he didn't commit. Ben was an odd kid, a loner, a freak. He had dark thoughts, but never acted on any of them until his girlfriend Diondra and her friend Trey made him murder a cow as a sacrifice to Satan. He let himself become so closed off from the world that when put in situations he didn't know how to respond, which pissed me off. He was your typical teenaged boy, he defied his mom, wanted sex, and did drugs. He was very influenced by the people around him, always giving in to peer pressure. He needed some damn will power, something! He stood by and watched his girlfriend Diondra kill his little sister Michelle, strangle her because she knew about him getting Diondra pregnant. He did nothing, he didn't stop her, and for that I hated him by the end of the book. He was a follower and did whatever Diondra told him too, and she loved it. I wanted to feel for Ben, and I did, until i found out he let his pregnant cranked up crazy girlfriend murder his little sister. Sure, Michelle was a little blackmailer and a nosy kid, but did she deserve to be killed, no! Ben heard his mother being shot, and his sister being hacked to pieces, but did nothing. By the end of the novel, all the sympathy I had for him vanished and turned to hatred. He may not have killed his family, but he didn't try and stop it either. He was a coward, and yeah I know he was just kid, but still. It was obvious by the end of the book, he did feel guilty for never being able to stand up to anyone and letting it happen, it was why he protected Diondra and went to jail for a crime he didn't commit. The police in this novel were a freaking joke. All the evidence gathered from the murder scene was pushed aside or looked over. The signs were there that Ben hadn't killed everyone. Someone else was involved. But, everyone involved/working on the case wanted to make a name for themselves and brushed him over and the evidence. This book was twisted, but in the best possible way.
Review: Ugly, raw, suspenseful and unforgettable - About one-third of the way through Dark Places, I found myself just wanting to know how the book ended. The mystery had already built up so much in the first third that I didn't feel like I could handle waiting any longer to discover who killed Libby Day's family. The question plaguing Dark Places is whether or not Ben Day has been unjustly imprisoned for killing his family or whether he really did do it. It's a testament to Gillian Flynn's skill as a rider that the suspense doesn't let up until the last fifteen pages. After finishing, I remember thinking to myself: "Well, now that I know what happened, I have no intention of ever reading that book again." It wasn't that I didn't like the book, per se. It was more that what had propelled me through the dark and twisted story was the need to have resolution, more than pleasure in the journey. The title pretty much says it all. This book takes the reader to some very Dark Places. Within the book's 368 pages, you will encounter Satanism, gruesome murders, frank sexuality, drugs, alcohol, child molestation, prostitution, and foul language. There is a whole lot of ugly in this book. It's all realistic and I don't believe that the author, Gillian Flynn, revels in any of it exactly, but she certainly doesn't shy away from details that other authors might find distasteful. The characters in Dark Places are remarkably well-realized. Most books, you're lucky if you can remember the name of the main character when the story is done. After reading Dark Places, I remembered the names of practically every character. Libby Day is one of the most compelling leads in any novel I've read this year. From her kleptomania to her self-described "meanness," Libby is far from being traditionally "likable" but the first person narration makes us feel almost everything that she does and forces the reader to empathize with her almost in spite of ourselves. Surprisingly, Libby Day is not Dark Place's most compelling character. From the tempestuous Diondra to Runner Day, Libby's leach of a father, who makes Frank Gallagher on Shameless seem like a tame parody, the characters are simultaneously fascinating to read about and people we would want to stay far away from in real life. Flynn's ability as a prose writer is also quite strong. She has a knack for giving gritty details that fill in many cracks in our pictures of the characters and their lives. The story is told with flashbacks that gradually reveal the answers to the mystery as the story progresses. The suspense and horror we feel as we realize what the flashbacks are leading up to is mirrored by the suspense and horror felt by Libby Day in the present as she seeks to solve the mystery. By the time the murders are described, your anticipation and fear will be at a fever pitch and you will have trouble containing your emotions. This is the kind of book that sucks you in and keeps you reading long after you intended to stop and haunts you for days afterwards. The work is moody, adult and complex and depressing if the truth be told. I had to shake the book off me whenever I stopped reading like a cat shakes itself to get dry. It clung to my mind and heart and was never far from my mind on the days that I read it. Do I recommend it? Well, if you've read everything I said and still want to read it, then I certainly recommend it to you. If, on the other hand, you're wondering if you can handle it or if it's too dark and disturbing for your taste, I recommend you look elsewhere, cause reading it is an experience you can't take back. This book will take you to Dark Places and won't let you leave them behind you.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #11,691 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #130 in Contemporary Literary Fiction #340 in Women Sleuths (Kindle Store) #381 in Literary Fiction (Books) |

## Images

![Dark Places: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81sc7DMQEVL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book was twisted, but in the best possible way!
*by J***R on June 21, 2015*

From my blog: www.girlathome23.blogspot.com Tumblr: www.girlathome.tumblr.com My Thoughts: No Spoilers Rating: 4-5 Stars Okay, so, this is the first Gillian Flynn novel I have ever had the privilege of reading, and I must say I was not disappointed. This was a very taut, fast paced, psychological thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. I've read some reviews where readers have found the characters in the novel unlikable or they couldn't really connect to them some what. That was not the case for me. I connected with each character from the very beginning. Libby, the main protagonist throughout the novel is a very traumatized young woman. Her defenses against everyone and everything is to shut down, and ignore them after the hell she's been through. I related to Libby from the very first page. Her whit and dark sense of humor reminded me a lot of myself which made me connect with her even more, and made me want to learn her story. If you're looking for an amazing light easy read, this is your go to book. Gillian Flynn surprised me countless times throughout the book. Her writing is flawless and she adds a sense of mystery and suspense with each chapter. I HIGHLY recommend this book! My Thoughts: Spoilers Included This book gutted me, and left me with a serious book hangover. After finding out what really happened of the night of January 3, 1985 I felt so angry, heartbroken, and sad for the Day family. They seemed like such a normal family, I mean they had their fair share of problems, but what family doesn't? The Day's had little money, they lived a seemingly poor life. No new clothes, hardly any food in their home. I have so many feelings for each character in this novel that I would like to take a minute and talk about each one. Patty, was a mother to four children, Libby, Ben, Debby, Michelle, struggling to make ends meet on her broken down families farm. She had no money, no husband, well she had an ex husband Runner, but he was a drug addict and lowlife that I wanted to punch in the face several times. Her farm was being ceased, and her son was in serious trouble, for supposedly molesting a middle school girl named, Krissy. She was frazzled, and frantic during most of her chapters in the book, trying to find Ben before the police did and try and figure out how to come up with the money to save her home and provide for her family. I really felt for this woman, she had a lot on her plate and honestly didn't know how to handle half the situations life put her in I think. She was desperate for money, and wanted to save her children from living a horrible life, so she hired someone to kill her so her kids would receive her life insurance policy. Only, things didn't go according to plan on that night, and her daughter Debby ended up waking in the middle of the night to find her mother stabbed in the kitchen, forcing the man that was hired to kill Debby too, because she saw his face. Libby, was the youngest of the Day clan and the main protagonist throughout the novel. When she was seven she "saw" her brother Ben murder her entire family on January 3, 1985, except she didn't see anything, she heard it, but still the police coerced her into testifying that her fifteen year old brother Ben had committed the crimes, ultimately putting him in jail. Twenty or twenty five years later Libby is an emotional wreck, unable to properly function because of the events of that night. She hides in her home and does as little as possible just barely making it by, much like her mother. She's running out of money, the money she got from donors and book profits after the murders is now gone. A guy named Lyle offers her money to look into what really happened to her family on that night, and so she does. I loved Libby, honestly, I did. Her sarcasm and dark sense of humor made me connect with her because I'm the same way. Ben, was the oldest sibling, and the main suspect in his families murder. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for crimes he didn't commit. Ben was an odd kid, a loner, a freak. He had dark thoughts, but never acted on any of them until his girlfriend Diondra and her friend Trey made him murder a cow as a sacrifice to Satan. He let himself become so closed off from the world that when put in situations he didn't know how to respond, which pissed me off. He was your typical teenaged boy, he defied his mom, wanted sex, and did drugs. He was very influenced by the people around him, always giving in to peer pressure. He needed some damn will power, something! He stood by and watched his girlfriend Diondra kill his little sister Michelle, strangle her because she knew about him getting Diondra pregnant. He did nothing, he didn't stop her, and for that I hated him by the end of the book. He was a follower and did whatever Diondra told him too, and she loved it. I wanted to feel for Ben, and I did, until i found out he let his pregnant cranked up crazy girlfriend murder his little sister. Sure, Michelle was a little blackmailer and a nosy kid, but did she deserve to be killed, no! Ben heard his mother being shot, and his sister being hacked to pieces, but did nothing. By the end of the novel, all the sympathy I had for him vanished and turned to hatred. He may not have killed his family, but he didn't try and stop it either. He was a coward, and yeah I know he was just kid, but still. It was obvious by the end of the book, he did feel guilty for never being able to stand up to anyone and letting it happen, it was why he protected Diondra and went to jail for a crime he didn't commit. The police in this novel were a freaking joke. All the evidence gathered from the murder scene was pushed aside or looked over. The signs were there that Ben hadn't killed everyone. Someone else was involved. But, everyone involved/working on the case wanted to make a name for themselves and brushed him over and the evidence. This book was twisted, but in the best possible way.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ugly, raw, suspenseful and unforgettable
*by A***E on December 24, 2013*

About one-third of the way through Dark Places, I found myself just wanting to know how the book ended. The mystery had already built up so much in the first third that I didn't feel like I could handle waiting any longer to discover who killed Libby Day's family. The question plaguing Dark Places is whether or not Ben Day has been unjustly imprisoned for killing his family or whether he really did do it. It's a testament to Gillian Flynn's skill as a rider that the suspense doesn't let up until the last fifteen pages. After finishing, I remember thinking to myself: "Well, now that I know what happened, I have no intention of ever reading that book again." It wasn't that I didn't like the book, per se. It was more that what had propelled me through the dark and twisted story was the need to have resolution, more than pleasure in the journey. The title pretty much says it all. This book takes the reader to some very Dark Places. Within the book's 368 pages, you will encounter Satanism, gruesome murders, frank sexuality, drugs, alcohol, child molestation, prostitution, and foul language. There is a whole lot of ugly in this book. It's all realistic and I don't believe that the author, Gillian Flynn, revels in any of it exactly, but she certainly doesn't shy away from details that other authors might find distasteful. The characters in Dark Places are remarkably well-realized. Most books, you're lucky if you can remember the name of the main character when the story is done. After reading Dark Places, I remembered the names of practically every character. Libby Day is one of the most compelling leads in any novel I've read this year. From her kleptomania to her self-described "meanness," Libby is far from being traditionally "likable" but the first person narration makes us feel almost everything that she does and forces the reader to empathize with her almost in spite of ourselves. Surprisingly, Libby Day is not Dark Place's most compelling character. From the tempestuous Diondra to Runner Day, Libby's leach of a father, who makes Frank Gallagher on Shameless seem like a tame parody, the characters are simultaneously fascinating to read about and people we would want to stay far away from in real life. Flynn's ability as a prose writer is also quite strong. She has a knack for giving gritty details that fill in many cracks in our pictures of the characters and their lives. The story is told with flashbacks that gradually reveal the answers to the mystery as the story progresses. The suspense and horror we feel as we realize what the flashbacks are leading up to is mirrored by the suspense and horror felt by Libby Day in the present as she seeks to solve the mystery. By the time the murders are described, your anticipation and fear will be at a fever pitch and you will have trouble containing your emotions. This is the kind of book that sucks you in and keeps you reading long after you intended to stop and haunts you for days afterwards. The work is moody, adult and complex and depressing if the truth be told. I had to shake the book off me whenever I stopped reading like a cat shakes itself to get dry. It clung to my mind and heart and was never far from my mind on the days that I read it. Do I recommend it? Well, if you've read everything I said and still want to read it, then I certainly recommend it to you. If, on the other hand, you're wondering if you can handle it or if it's too dark and disturbing for your taste, I recommend you look elsewhere, cause reading it is an experience you can't take back. This book will take you to Dark Places and won't let you leave them behind you.

### ⭐⭐⭐ Bleak, depressing story about bleak, depressing people
*by K***M on January 2, 2013*

Gillian Flynn's DARK PLACES is not an easy book to read. I came to it, like many others, after reading GONE GIRL . . . and there are definitely similarities (in both style and tone) between the two novels. But while GONE GIRL is essentially a story about marriage gone wrong (as well as the perversity of love), DARK PLACES is just depressing. The story is certainly intriguing enough - at seven, Libby Day witnessed the slaughter of her mother and sisters in rural Kansas; her testimony put her fifteen-year-old brother Ben in jail for life. Now, twenty-five years later, Libby is a total mess. She doesn't work (she's been living off the pity donations she received when she was a child, but that money is running out), she has no friends, and many days she can't even bring herself to get out of bed. She's depressed, morose, and totally unlikable. It's no surprise that Libby has psychological issues - but she's so unsympathetic, so completely lost in her own swamp of self-pity, that it's hard to relate to her. When she meets Lyle, a member of a fanatical group called the "Kill Club" (they are obsessed with mass murders), she figures she can make money by selling her family memorabilia and by interviewing key figures in her own murder case (members of the club are desperate to get inside info). Lyle and his friends are convinced Ben didn't kill anyone, and that little Libby was manipulated by the police and psychologists to turn against her admittedly fractured brother. DARK PLACES is told through a series of alternating viewpoints - Libby's present-day story is told in first person, while the events of 1985 are told from the perspectives of her mother, her brother Ben, and her two sisters. Flynn is an expert at weaving together an intricate mystery and keeping her readers on the hook to find out what happens next. I was totally engaged from the start. But at the same time, I wasn't particularly interested in what would happen to adult Libby, or to imprisoned Ben, or to Lyle and his freaky friends. All of them were so perverse, so lacking in any real humanity, that I felt distanced from them. I did want to know what happened that night in 1985. Did Ben really kill his mother and sisters? Or did something else happen, something even darker and more horrible? Those of you who have read GONE GIRL will know that endings are not easy for Gillian Flynn (she has admitted as much, and the ending of GONE GIRL has inspired quite a bit of controversy). Here, the ending is almost ridiculously contrived, as if Flynn just threw it together in the minutes before her manuscript was due at the publishers. If you don't mind an incredible series of absurd coincidences, it won't bother you. If you expect something that makes any kind of logical sense, it will. It bothered me. And Flynn's rather flimsy attempt to wrap things up for Libby in the last few pages (to give her some sort of positive resolution) just seemed too little too late. Every single character in this novel is deeply disturbed, tragically flawed, and very depressing. This is a depressing book. If you're one of those people who believe in the ultimate depravity of all humanity, then DARK PLACES will resonate with you. It left me feeling very, very tired . . . and in need of a brisk walk around the block. Flynn is a good writer. DARK PLACES is a well-written and interesting novel. It's also very hard to read, and even harder to forget. Those aren't bad things. I guess you just need to be in the mood for a book like this.

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*Last updated: 2026-02-16*