A Pleasant Journey into Dark Places

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I devoured this book like a cupcake, in three bites, and enjoyed every crumb. Like Gone Girl, this book has a kind of mystery that slowly unfolds as the main character goes through some self-discovery. The narrator goes a bit out of her way to make it clear that she's not very likeable, although I don't think she's as bad as she thinks she is.

Also like Gone Girl, this book comprises several flashback stories -- this time, told from the points of view of several of the important characters, including the dead mother -- as well as the present-day journey of the lone surviving sister.

I found it really interesting to have We Need to Talk About Kevin in the back of my mind as I read this. Lionel Shriver made a very different decision there; we knew the whole time who committed the violence. Here, neither the reader nor the victim knows who the guilty party is for most of the book, but there are similar explorations of the parent-child relationships and the psychology of the suspects.

TL;DR: read it. It's a fast, enjoyable, twisty plot with a great hook and interesting characters.