Sharp Objects

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Sharp Objects

Camille Preaker left the small town of Wind Gap, hoping never to return. Working as a newspaper reporter in Chicago, the last thing she expects is to be sent back to Wind Gap to cover a murder investigation. To write her story, Camille must face a mother who never loved her and a town with dark secrets. And when she begins to pry up those hidden bits of the past, she'll discover more than just who murdered the girls.

Sharp Objects tackles tough subjects like self-harm and substance abuse. Camille is a gritty and intense character. Being forced to relive her past brings to light cruelties that some readers may not want to read. While some small towns in fiction can be charming places, Wind Gap is everything but pleasant.

Gillian Flynn has a blunt writing style. She is unafraid of showing a person's disturbing attributes and painting them for all the world to see. At times I felt appalled at what happened in such a small town. The amount of trauma Camille endured and the outlets she provided herself are a hard pill to swallow, but not something that should be ignored. The emotions Sharp Objects pulled from me proves how skilled a writer Gillian Flynn is.

My only wish was that the ending wasn't so abrupt. After such a great story, the wrap up lasted all of a minute and everything came to a quick end. While the ending was fitting, a few more chapters to see how the characters reacted and felt would have helped ease the reader out of the story.

Sharp Objects is not for the faint of heart. While it is a shorter book, it is by no means an easy read. If you are a reader that isn't afraid to tap into the darker side of humanity, this just may be the book for you.