This novel works on many levels
What is the overall quality of the book?
A fast-paced, yet intricate and disturbing read, that's almost impossible to put down. (I read it in one setting.) "Dark Places" will resonate, and possibly give you nightmares, long after you're done reading it.This novel works on many levels: as a psychological drama, whodunit (the ending is highly unpredictable and there are a lot of red herrings) and grisly (emphasis on the "gris") crime thriller.The main character, Libby, is at once almost completely unlikable and highly empathetic. The survivor/witness (though she remembers nothing) of a violent rampage that wiped out her family when she was young, adult Libby meets up with a group that thinks the man convicted, based on Libby's (coached) testimony, is innocent. To complicate matters further, the convicted man is Libby's older brother, Ben, a teenager at the time of the crime. And the memories Libby does have of him are confused, at best.The story ricochets from violent, in-depth descriptions (there is a LOT of gore; not a story for the faint of heart) of the almost unthinkable crime and the quiet, tortured thoughts in Libby's own head.This very well written story is scarier than any horror novel. Because, as in reality, there is nothing supernatural that is as creepy, or gruesome, as what people do to one another. 