Since I loved “Gone Girl”, my brother-in-law gave me “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn for Christmas. This is an earlier novel by her, her debut novel in fact, but it has the same fast-paced, can’t-put-it-down quality that “Gone Girl” has.

“Sharp Objects” follows Chicago reporter Camille Preaker as she returns to her hometown and dysfunctional family to cover the murders of two young girls. Camille has never fully dealt with the death of her young sister years ago, and she has never truly met or bonded with her step-sister who is thirteen. The deaths of the two victims are both bizarre and disturbing, and Camille gets far too involved in the investigation. Camille’s own ghosts come back to haunt her. She’s a former “cutter” – carving words into her body. She has a promiscuous past. She has serious issues with her relationship with her mother. The list goes on. The more Camille unveils the darkness underlying the relationships in her town, the more she revisits her own past and inner self.

This book was a fascinating read for me as it felt like both a psychological thriller and a mystery story. Right when things became so uncomfortable that I almost had to put the book down and stop reading, there’d be a reprieve.  There were some disturbing things in here – but they almost always were more hints of malice and depravity as opposed to graphic descriptions.

Gillian Flynn is a gifted writer. I liked this book but I can’t say I “enjoyed” it — I “enjoy” things that are lighter and happier. It certainly stayed in my mind after reading it, much like “Gone Girl” did.

If you liked “Gone Girl” then you will most probably enjoy “Sharp Objects”, too.

Here’s what I had to say about “Gone Girl”:

https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/review-gone-girl-by-gillian-flynn/