December Mini Musings

A Spark of Death: I think I've had this one for a long time in my TBR Pile.  I'm not sure what made me finish the book, but I think I was hoping it would get better.  While it's a decent mystery, it's really slow.  The killer was a surprise.  I also thought the electricity parts were interesting. I'm not sure if I will read any more of the series.

Wild Sky: I was disappointed in this sequel to Night Sky. It was OK, just not as good as I was hoping it would be. For the length of the book, not much happens.  Sky and her friends are still on a quest to find Dana's sister.  Cal is accidentally injected with Destiny and can walk.  But, he is a ticking time bomb.  The gang meets a new male Greater Than who is pretty powerful.  That's about it.  Honestly, I feel like this one could have been shorter than it was and maybe combined with the next book?  The ending was kind of left with the possibility of another book and a maybe evil Lacey.  I would also suggest reading Night Sky first.  I don't fell like this one works too well as a stand alone.

The Grownup:  I'm a huge fan of Gillian Flynn.  This little short story of hers was a fun, little, screwy story.  It's about a con artist that sort of meets her
match.  It's not very long at all, in fact it's almost disappointingly short!  It's definitely read worthy!

Winter Stroll:  Another writer of which I'm a huge fan, Elin Hilderbrand.  This book is a follow up to last year's Winter Street.  It has all the same characters and how their lives have changed one year later.  I think this is a fun alternative to her beach books and well worth the read.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

by:  Gillian Flynn
published by:  Crown Publishing Group
publish date:  June 5, 2012

Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war...

I'm a huge fangirl of Gillian Flynn.  I discovered her last year and I wanted to go find her and become her worst nightmare demanding her to write more books...NOW!  I didn't (obviously), but maybe some of my persuasive thoughts made it her way, because now we have Gone Girl.  Yay!  It's all the messed up, dark and dirty storytelling we all love from Gillian Flynn.

Gone Girl surpassed my expectations.  It made me a little afraid of my husband.  It made me a little afraid of myself.  Every now and then, one of those "wow, if I really wanted to I could...." thoughts would pop in my head.  It will definitely make you think about marriage and the people close to you.  The smallest little thing can mean so many different things to the other person.

Gone Girl is told from the alternating viewpoints of Nick and Amy.  This a particularly effective method to get the mindset of each character.  One would think this would give too much away, but Flynn is a master setting up her story, only giving away a little bit at a time.

This book was an amazing thrill ride.  I don't want to talk about it too much, because I don't want to give anything away.  If you like mysteries, or thrillers, psychological suspense, whatever...pre-order this book today!  Gone Girl is one of those books that will burrow into the dark places of your brain and stay there and force you to think about it for a long time.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

by:  Gillian Flynn
published by:  Shaye Arehart Books
publish date:  May 5th, 2009

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

I read Sharp Objects several months ago and found it to be dark and twisted in the way that I generally like my books to be.  After reading Dark Places, I think Gillian Flynn has earned a spot in the My Favorite Authors Club.  According to Goodreads her next book Gone Girl should be coming out some time this year. 

Flynn creates a very unlikeable character in Libby Day.  She's obviously suffering from her past, but she's made no attempts to heal herself.  She's sullen and bitter and only interested in how she's going to cash in from what's happened to her and her family.  However, she's a memorable character and eventually I found myself wanting things to turn out right for her.

The best part of this book is the pacing.  I was kept on my toes throughout the whole book.  Even though little clues are sprinkled throughout, and I suspect most people might get an idea of what actually happened, I promise you will not guess the entirety of the events of that night.  That's the kind of awesome writing I love!

Autumn's Most Anticipated for 2012

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

by:  Gillian Flynn
published by: Shaye Areheart Books
publish date:  September 2006

"My sweater was new, stinging red and ugly." An edgy first line, and it provides the perfect opening for this gritty debut novel by journalist Flynn. Her protagonist, Camille Preaker, is a reporter for a second-rate Chicago newspaper. A solitary woman with a cynical bent, she appears to have carved out a workable life for herself despite a painful past and an estranged family. But when a second young girl turns up missing in Camille's hometown -- shortly after another local girl was found murdered -- Camille's editor sends her home to Missouri to cover the story. The question is, can Camille get to the bottom of the story before her demons get the best of her?

A classic whodunit, Sharp Objects is an gripping page-turner. Readers follow Camille to the field as she examines crime scenes, interviews the friends and family of the victims, and probes reticent investigators for information. After all, the world of investigative reporting is tantalizing. Take, for example, the provocative flirting between Camille and a Kansas City detective assigned to the cases. Is it sex they're after, or simply information? And the gradual unfolding of Camille's alarming past will keep readers riveted until the very last page.

Autumn's Thoughts:

This book has been on my To Be Read list for a long time.  I happened to notice the audiobook at the library and snapped it up.  First off I will say that the audiobook was good.  It was well read.

I'm not very familiar with cutters, but that seems to be one of the topics du jour.  I could probably start listing on my fingers all the books I've read in the last year or so that have dealt with the issue in some fashion.  This book far transcended all the ones I've ever read though.  Camille took cutting to a level I sure haven't heard of before. 

This book is described as edgy and gritty.  I would agree with that.  It was dark and at times I felt kind of dirty listening to the audiobook.  At times I felt sure I knew who did it, then something would happen and I would second guess myself and focus on a different character only to be wrong.  I'll just say I should have stuck with my first instinct! 

Kari's Thoughts:

I read this a while back this is what I wrote on Goodreads: "This was one twisted story. I liked it, but I'm not sure it is for everyone. The main character is very messed up. The ending was just disturbing."  That really sums up the book for me, Dark, dirty and disturbing!  Like Autumn, I kept waffling over who did it in the end.  The end was very disturbing to me and left me feeling kind of depressed.  I listened to the audiobook as well, and I liked the narrator, Anna Marie Lee.  She did a great job!