Gillian Flynn: Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl was a huge hit and was turned into a seriously popular film, but was her first book as impressive?

I read Gillian Flynn's best selling novel Gone Girl back in 2013 after seeing it pop up over and over again on the Amazon Kindle Store and I was hooked.  I am a bit of a thriller-whore, but I Gone Girl was on a whole new level.  I loved every second, I couldn't put it down and even after I'd finished it, I was still thinking about the plot and the characters (a definite sign of a good book).  I practically dragged Rob to the cinema to see the film a few months ago and we both really enjoyed.  As soon as I got home from the cinema, I bought Flynn's first novel in the hope that it was just as impressive as Gone Girl, but for some reason I didn't get around to reading it until recently.

"Some scars never heal . . . An addictive thriller from the author of the mega bestseller GONE GIRL.When two girls are abducted and killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes.Long-haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family's mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows - a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town.As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming."

I really wanted to adore this book.  I wanted to build relationships with the characters and be sucked into the story line, but I just wasn't.  I never began to care for Camille, I could put it down and the only real reason I read to the end was I had a hunch about who committed the crimes and I wanted to find out if I was right (I wasn't... good job I'm a teacher, not a detective).

I wouldn't say this was a bad book - its not.  Flynn is clearly a brilliant writer, and there is an interesting plot with a few unexpected twists, but it just didn't even come close to my expectations after Gone Girl made such a fantastic impression.

Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects (Amazon link)