Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Title: Dark Places

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Broadway Books

Release Date: May 05, 2009

Source: Purchased

Find it Here: Amazon, Goodreads

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she had been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben's innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother's? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day... especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.
Who did massacre the Day family?

My thoughts: 

When I read my first Gillian Flynn book, I knew that I had just entered crazy town. I read Gone Girl first because I really want to watch the movie (even though I haven't yet) and as soon as I finished it I knew I had to read her other books! I picked up Dark Places immediately after I finished Gone Girl and, in my humble opinion, it's even better! 

Dark Places takes place in the present and in the past from two perspectives. 1. Libby Day's perspective in the present about fifteen years after the murder of her family. 2. Ben Day in the past, mostly on the day of the murder and sometimes a little bit before that. Ben is accused and convicted of murdering the Day family so his perspective in the past of what happened that day is very interesting and had me on the edge of my seat! I wasn't sure what to believe about who committed the murders. Which is good because the reader finds out everything at the end, thank God! 

Libby is an okay character. And I say only okay because she is one of those annoying people who is help back by her past and she just won't get over it. I know that sounds harsh but I come from the perspective that no matter what, you can always open a new door and choose a new path for yourself. Libby let's the murder of her family control her for at least fifteen years. If she really didn't want to be bothered by crazy murder fanatics trying to solve the mystery than she should have changed her name and moved to Canada. But I digress. 

The story was crazy though! As much as I liked Libby's story, I was on the edge of my seat during Ben's chapters because I just had to know what happened to him and that crazy-ass girlfriend of his! And I would have never even imagined the ending! 

Now lets talk about the movie (did you know they are turning this into a movie too!). Did you also know that Charlize Theron is playing the part of Libby Day!?!? Talk about the worst casting ever! While reading the book I could tell that a lot of what held Libby back was that she felt like she never grew up. She is supposed to be a women in her thirties but she still looks like a teenager.  Barely over five feet tall with a baby face and the same red hair she had as a child. And here comes six foot Charlize Theron who is well into her forties playing a women who is supposed to still look like a teenager. She is exactly the opposite of Libby Day. So I'm very interested to see how this is all going to work out.

Dark Places was absolutely excellent! I can't wait for the next book that Gillian Flynn writes! She is definitely on my auto-buy list.

Review- I Hunt Killers

Title: I Hunt Killers
Author: Barry Lyga
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC compliments of the publisher

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

My thoughts: 

When I was given the opportunity to review I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga, I was so excited and I started it the day I got it in the mail. I had had my eye on it because creepy serial killer books are right up my alley!

I’m sitting here thinking about how I’m going to write this review because I don’t want to sound like some kind of weirdo for liking this book so much! And the reason that I liked it so much is because I felt like I was in an episode of Criminal Minds (one of my favorite shows). Jazz was raised by one of the most infamous and deranged serial killers in the world. His father essentially taught how to be a great killer and how to do it without getting caught. His father is now in prison and he is trying to live as normal as possible.

The major theme of I Hunt Killers is nature vs. nurture which I think is an excellent argument. Jazz is constantly haunted by the lessons his father gave him and believes that he is fighting the serial killer nature within himself. So when people are being murdered in his small town, he knows that he is the most likely suspect so he tries to figure out who is killing according to his father’s pattern.

Howie is definitely one of my favorite characters in the book. Even though he has a rare blood disease where he could bleed out in a matter of minutes very easily, he is still Jazz’s very trusty side kick (and the comic relief). He believes in Jazz more than any other person in the book and knows that Jazz’s strong nature and moral compass will win out over the way he was raised.

I Hunt Killers is a definite must read for all those who are big fans of mystery, suspense, thriller and serial killer books. Even though I was expecting this book to be more of a horror book, I still give it 4 hearts because it was awesome!

Review- The Last Echo

Title: The Last Echo
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #3
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC compliments of HarperTeen

In the end, all that's left is an echo...

Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet's talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it's Violet's job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by "the girlfriend collector" she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new "relationship" and Violet may have caught his eye....

My thoughts:

I love this series! I love this book. I love Violet and Jay. I love her ability. I love her job. I love that she always wants to help. I love Rafe. I love the perspective of the killer. I love the creepiness. I just have such an overwhelming love for everything about the Body Finder Series!

I was convinced that when I got this book it was going to be the last Body Finder book. I was a little bit sad but I also know that all good series have to come to an end. But when you get to the end, you find out that it is, in fact, not the end at all! Which also makes me very happy because I will take more Violet, Jay and echoes to find any day.

As previously stated above, I absolutely love the characters. I fell in love with Jay and Violet in the first book and have been rooting for them ever since. They continue to grow with each other and become better people. What I really loved about the Last Echo is that we get to know so much more about Rafe. Dark, serious, mysterious and sexy Rafe. And there definitely is a reason for that dark and tortured attitude. There is also a big reveal about Rafe and another character that I did not see coming! When I first met Rafe in Desires of the Dead I did not like him because I felt like he was causing problems with Jay and Violet’s relationship. And now I’m so torn! I absolutely love Jay but Rafe has this certain appeal like a guilty pleasure. I’m nervous about the state of Jay and Violet’s relationship in the next book!

The killer in this book is especially creepy! He’s convinced that when a girl looks at him and smiles then that’s the start of their relationship. He kidnaps them because he thinks they’re his girlfriends but he doesn’t see it as kidnapping. He even paints their nails!

The Last Echo is a great addition to the Body Finder series! As long as Derting continues to write fantastic books, I will continue to read them! I give The Last Echo 4 heart because I just love it so much!

Mini Review- The Name of the Star

Title: The Name of the Star
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London #1
Publisher: Putnam
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

My take: 

Ever since high school, I have always thought that Jack the Ripper has been an interesting case.  A series of brutal murders occurring in the nineteenth century that no one was able to catch.  After all this time, people are still obsessed with researching and investigating to see if they can figure it out.  

When I first heard about this book I expected it to be somewhat of a horror book.  Even though it wasn't exactly what I had expected, I ended up really liking it.  Rory is awesome because she's this clueless American teenager when it comes to living with Brits in an English boarding school.  She's really southern which, I think, makes the whole situation funnier.  Rory really learns a lot about herself in this book and I hope in the second book she develops even further.  

I loved the suspense and the thrill of not knowing what was going to happen next or who was doing the killing.  It was a really fun story that I hope will continue to stay good until the end.

Review- Cryer's Cross

Title: Cryer's Cross
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

The community of Cryer's Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace.  Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany's empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on...until Ken's boyfriend also disappears, and also without a trace.  now the town is in a panic.  Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk.  She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nica and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear... and whether that would be so bad.  Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico.  Can he possible be alive somewhere?  Where is he?  And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating....and attractive.  As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble up on some ugly--and deadly--local history.  Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.  

My thoughts: 


Lisa McMann is one of the best young adult writers that I've come across since I started blogging two years ago.  Her Wake series is amazing and while Cryer's Cross still sucked me in with every page, it has the element of mystery.  I'm always really intrigued by stories that have people that go missing, serial killers and things that are a little bit creepy.  So Cryer's Cross was definitely a win for me!

It starts off a couple of months after the first person goes missing and the whole town just assumes that she had ran away from home.  Until Nico goes missing then we know something seriously wrong is going on.  It made me really sad to find out that Kendall's boyfriend went missing because they were a really cute couple in the beginning and I was hoping that they would find him alive.

But of course there is Jacian who is the new transfer who is tall, dark and handsome.  He is a very well built soccer player, dark hair and eyes and some seriously Latino heritage.  He literally made me want to melt sometimes.  So I was quite torn between Kendall moving on from her missing boyfriend and finding comfort in the arms of the gorgeous new boy or keeping her hope alive and doing whatever she could to find Nico.  What is a girl to do?!

Cryer's Cross was also a little bit of a thriller (which is also LOVE).  The dark, scary woods that seemed to surround the whole town and the secrets that the older town members were keeping.  The ending was so good (of course I'm not going to tell you) which made the book worth reading.  It was also nice to read a book that is not part of a series.  If you're easily scared, I would not recommend reading this book at night!