SHARP OBJECTS by Gillian Flynn

I had pretty high hopes for this one. I was smitten with Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, one of the most fascinating examples of modern noir in my opinion. But to my disappointment, Flynn's first novel happens to be a big fat bore in comparison. It's another one of those banal mystery books where most of the story features the "detective" walking around town conducting seemingly endless interviews looking for clues. If these scenes were integral to character development, or worked on a surface level with cool dialogue, I would've been more interested. But all this could've been forgiven if the mystery was interesting, but it's pretty obvious who the killer is almost immediately. And that wouldn't have been a big issue if I was really engaged in the characters and the family story depicted here, but I really just didn't care about any of them, aside from Camille.

The idea of a chronic cutter protagonist could've been really gripping, and Camille was the best part of the book, but I still felt like Flynn should've gone further with her development; it just wasn't enough to make the book fully enjoyable. Crime/mysteries are at their best when character and plot are inseparable and dependent on the other to succeed and I wish that these elements here worked in tandem more with one another. You can tell that Flynn grew and improved as a writer in a big way between this and her third book.

GRADE: C-

GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn

GRADE: B+

There's not a whole lot I can say to promote this book any more that it already has been. But I'll start off by saying that Gillian Flynn has a new reader, and I'll jump into her other novels soon! The story is pretty well known and deceptively simple: Nick Dunne's wife Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, sparking an intense manhunt to find her. Doesn't sound all that special does it? But as many already know, that is only the tip of Gone Girl's decadent little plot iceberg. To say more about the story would lead to spoilers and a disservice.

Flynn is a talented writer with an assured voice, a great sense of pace, and a knack for keep you turning the pages with twists that could easily feel like gimmicks, but don't. The reason for this is that she takes the time to flesh out the characters so fully, that the reader is completely immersed in their story, and each subsequent plot point feels like they naturally build on everything stem we have learned.

The structure is great as well too, alternating between Nick's point of view in the present, and Amy's diary entries throughout the years of their relationship. This provides important back story as well as conflicting POV's on different pieces of the back story, revealing that many couples might not truly know one another.

An entertaining read all around.