This little story went up and down for me like a roller coaster. (I should say I have a thing about authors like Flynn and Palahniuk: sometimes I think they're too much about the dark or nasty shock factor, and it really annoys me. I had this problem with Sharp Objects and decided to skip Dark Places altogether.) After I pushed through the beginning, I got reallyreally absorbed in the middle, then sorta disliked the third act but enjoyed the very end. So, see? Down and up, down and up.