What a depressing book. It stayed on my mind long after I'd read it. Note to self: be thankful for everything you have. 
 Dark Places took me to a dark place. I couldn't stop reading this train wreck, but at the same time, I didn't want to know what would happen next. It was like watching a horror movie with my hand over my eyes, but peeking between my fingers at the same time. 
 This is a murder mystery about the Day family. They became famous when Ben Day was accused of devil worshipping and convicted of killing his sisters and mother. The testimony of Libby, his 7-year-old sister, helped to convict him. Ben was awkward, unpopular, and freaking sad. I pitied him and the entire Day family, really. 
 The story opens with a grown up Libby short on cash (after spending all the money that had been donated to her over the years by well-wishers). She doesn't work, and she lives a very simple life. In an effort to make additional money, she agrees to sell mementos from her past to a group of people who are obsessed with murders. She even agrees to look into the case again (for money), and that's when she starts to have doubts about what happened all those years ago. 
 Little by little, we get to see the life of the Days and what happened the night of their gruesome murders. Once the truth was revealed, I couldn't believe it. It was nothing like I'd expected. The type of sacrifice this mother was willing to make for her kids made me think she was either foolish or brave or some combination of the two. Tears came to my eyes at the dire straits they were in, which prompted her to take such drastic measure. Her ex-husband, by contrast, was a selfish, evil prick who added no value to his children's lives. A taker, not a giver. 
 The story ended on a somewhat positive note, which I absolutely needed after reading something so dark and depressing. Even though I found this novel to be grim, I'll be reading more by Gillian Flynn. I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment...