Book Review: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I devoured this book. That is the only word I can think of to describe it. When I finished Gone Girl a while back I knew I had to read more by Gillian Flynn I picked up the first book of hers I could find in a book shop and was eager to get into it as soon as possible.
It's fair to say that Gillian Flynn has a dark streak. If you thought Amy Dunne was messed up, wait until you meet Camille Preaker. She has different emotional issues to Amy but she's still not quite a reliable narrator.
Sharp Objects has an eclectic mix of characters and not very many of them likeable. When Camille is sent back to her home town to investigate the disappearance of local girl, following the murder of one the previous year, she is thrown back into her dysfunctional family.
Camille's mother Adora is an abomination. I've not read many characters that I hate with some venom but she goes to the top of the list. The way she treats her daughter and people in general is disgraceful. Her wet fish of a husband isn't much better. Camille's younger sister, almost twenty years her junior is everything that is horrible about the teens of today.
But Camille herself is far from flawless. She's generally sympathetic and likeable to a degree. With a mother like Adora it's a miracle that she's even a decent human being. Camille's boss Curry is the only person that seems a hundred percent stable.
Once she returns home to Wind Gap, events unravel revealing the mystery behind the lost girls that keep the reader engaged and enthralled. Nothing is ever as clear as it seems and just when you think you've got a handle on what's going on and who's done it the rug is pulled from under you yet again.
Although not exactly a happy read, it was definitely exciting, full of twists and turns and I can't wait to read more of Gillian Flynn.

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