This book review was originally published on The Wordy Nerd Books on October 27, 2014.

Gillian Flynn is known for writing the hit novel Gone Girl but she actually has several other books that are just as dark and enthralling.  Sharp Objects is one of those novels.  This novel follows reporter Camille Preaker as she travels back to her hometown to cover the gruesome murder of two young girls for the newspaper for which she works. It has been years since Camille has visited her childhood home and it is an understatement to say that her relationship with her mother is strained.  As she tries to uncover who is behind the murders, Camille begins to find skeletons from her own past. Dark things about her mother and family begin to come to the surface and it forces Camille to reconsider her own memories of those dark times growing up in her mother’s house.

While all of the books that I have read by Gillian Flynn often have dark subject matters, this one is probably the darkest and most disturbing for me.  The main character was mentally fragile and often makes terrible decisions, such as drinking and taking drugs with her thirteen year old sister.  Some of the things the main character thought and did made me cringe a bit.  However, while I was frustrated with Camille and her decisions, Flynn does a fantastic job of writing a character that is very well-developed.  Flynn is a fantastic writer and has an amazing ability to weave quite the web of deception and darkness in her novels.

My only complaint about this book was that I found it to be a bit more predictable than Flynn’s other books.  I had this book figured out about half way through it for the most part.  Seeing the details play out, however, was still engaging.  If you are okay with dark subject matter and mental illness, then pick this book up.  It’s fast-paced and interesting.  Overall, I rated this book three stars.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you).