Sharp Objects

Before her mega-hit Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn penned this diabolical noir set in the deep South. It’s an edgy story, presenting a gallery of disturbed characters—including the deeply troubled protagonist, a journalist who returns to her hometown to report on the murders of two young girls.

Some books I forget a week or two after reading, others just stick with me for a year or more, and some leave bootprints in my mind forever. This is one of the latter.

This is Flynn’s debut novel and my favorite. I liked it even more than Gone Girl. Camille, the protagonist, had me cheering for her at every turn, yet I couldn't shake a persistent sense of dread.

Some scenes are so vivid and disturbing that they’ve stuck with me long after I finished the book—especially the chilling scene at a pig farm. And Camille’s mother, Adora? Let’s just say she isn’t adorable.

The ending? Bone-chilling and unforgettable.

I loved this story because it had the rarest combinations: a great twist ending I didn’t see coming when I read the novel and a different but effective vehicle for the big reveal when HBO made it into a limited series. As I approached the end of the series, I was a little jaded, assuming they’d hew to the source material in a way that wouldn’t surprise me given my familiarity with the plot, so when they caught me off guard with their new ending, it was like I got to enjoy it twice!

Further, Gillian Flynn did a great… show more.

I appreciate that this is a slow burn. It’s the perfect way to unfold a mystery while focusing on what’s going on in the character’s head–and, let’s face it, this book is really about the character more than the mystery. Don’t get me wrong: the mystery is still there. It’s strong. It’s interesting. But the protagonist–and what happened to her–is far more thrilling than the murders are.

I was stuck inside her head all the while I was reading, and I was uncomfortable. She made me squirm. This book reassessed my view of other people, making me more compassionate toward… show more.

I love this book because a sense of unease fills this novel from page one. Camille returns to her hometown to cover the unsolved murder of a preteen girl. It’s not an assignment she wants, preferring to avoid her family and her memories. Her recollections of her disturbing, abusive childhood and the death of her sister make this a compulsive read.

Her own fragile mental state and self-harm force the reader to question her even as she questions herself. I loved this book because it made me so uncomfortable while I was reading it that I just had to know… show more.

I’ll always read Gillian Flynn, for the simple reason that her writing style is the closest thing to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood written by a modern writer. She’s just that good.

This book is my favorite because of how it explores taboo topics (see the theme here?) and because she creates richly complex characters that showcase the range of what people are capable of—the greatest kindness and the darkest cruelty.

I just love a dark family saga with disturbing characters. I was obsessed with thrillers, and many just made me yawn. This one didn’t disappoint.

The story crept in with shivering twists. I canceled all appointments to finish the book. The small-town dark mentality was so sick. I simply admired the storytelling.

The ending hit me hard. I was paralyzed in bed for a while after finishing the last page. I wanted more. Luckily, HBO turned it into a major limited series which allowed my obsession for the book to linger on. 

I am a sucker for a psychological thriller that revolves around a character with a troubled past.

This story tackles so much from the protagonist’s own traumatic history and strained relationships with her family, but it is the deep dive into the relationship with the overbearing mother that had me hooked. The matriarch was so strict and emotionless, and that made her relationship with her daughter fraught with hate. 

I loved Flynn’s intense and atmospheric storytelling and the unexpected, horror-filled ending that has never quite left me.

There is no question (in my mind anyways) that Gillian Flynn is the master of suspense and we’re all just spectators in her ring.

This is the suspense book that really did it for me and made me want to run to my laptop and write. Yes, the infamous Gone Girl, that launched her career is likely more well-known. But I vividly remember getting chills, tingles, and inspiration as I read this terrifying yet thrilling story about troubled reporter, Camille Preaker and the demons she faces going back to her hometown. 

Sometimes there is nothing darker than confronting unresolved issues… show more.

Scarred by a manipulative and narcissistic mother Flynn’s brilliantly drawn protagonist Camille Preaker is a lonely, disturbed, alcoholic, self-harming mess.

But her spiky resilience and Flynn’s wonderful prose, fearless exploration of intergenerational trauma, and depictions of small-town American life drew me into Camille’s inner and outer struggles and made this book strangely uplifting. The novel drips with dirt, blood, grime, and brutality, so beautifully and unflinchingly described I devoured it in one gulp.