While on spring break vacation to Bermuda, I finished another book that will serve as inspiration for my novel-in-progress: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

While I loved Flynn’s runaway success Gone Girl (the book, not so much the movie), I found the characters in Flynn’s debut novel Sharp Objects a little too unlikable for my taste. Dark Places lands in between the two, with characters I can at least feel empathy for, even if their lives are unsavoury. And the who-done-it aspect made it hard to put down, with several characters vying in my mind for the role of murderer.

With each of Flynn’s novels progressing talent-wise, I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

My main writing takeaway:

Sometimes it’s good to have readers already know the truth behind a character’s lie. Suspense is then built not by having the readers wonder what the truth is, but by having them wonder why the character lies.

Have you read all of Flynn’s books? What do you think of them?

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