Dark Places

Since I first read it a few years ago, I've consistently said Gone Girl was my favourite book. Dark Places has been sitting on my shelf, and I've been itching to read it, putting it off so it'd be all-the-more satisfying when I got to it.

Ironically, I guess, I didn't really enjoy the book - although that might be a little harsh. For the first third or so, the pacing was sloooooow and I constantly had to force myself to keep reading. Most flashback scenes were boring, and I found myself annoyed by Libby's character.

Eventually, however, the pace started to increase and I became hooked. I read the second half of the book in one night, when I was in a foul enough mood to palate the horrible themes. I know dark content isn't a bad thing - hell, it's implied by the title - but I found myself uncomfortable for a lot of the book. If the mystery hadn't started to come together by the halfway point, I expect I would have abandoned the book, to the chagrin of my past self.

I'm unsure how exactly to score the book. The plot was interesting enough to keep me invested, and I enjoyed the changes in perspective. On the other hand, I found almost all the characters (in present-day, at least) pretty boring, and spent parts of the book actively disliking the time I spent with it. Whether or not that was Flynn's intent, I can't say. I'm hoping when I eventually get to Sharp Objects it'll have the same magic Gone Girl had for me years ago.