Sharp Objects: A Novel

by Gillian Flynn

NOW AN HBO® LIMITED SERIES STARRING AMY ADAMS, NOMINATED FOR EIGHT EMMY AWARDS, INCLUDING OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GONE GIRL

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

Praise for Sharp Objects

“Nasty, addictive reading.”—Chicago Tribune
 
“Skillful and disturbing.”—Washington Post
 
“Darkly original . . . [a] riveting tale.”—People

• ISBN10: 0307341550
• ISBN13: 9780307341556
• Publish Date: 31 July 2007 (first published 1 January 2006)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780307341556

Reviews

[adamfortuna]

I hadn't heard of Sharp Objects before the Golden Globe Awards this year. I was intrigued by the cast and decided to check it out - and I'm glad I did. The story follows a reporter on her journey back to her hometown to investigate missing girls. The story is a complete whirlwind that builds in ways I wasn't expecting, but upon reflection just made sense. I appreciate how well everything ties together.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

*Review to come!*

[mrs_mander_reads]

Roared through this - the story is interesting and sneaks it's way into your brain. Flynn's descriptions of people are also GENIUS. Really enjoyed this.

[justine_manzano]

I read Gillian Flynn's books in reverse order, and I think this one, by far, is the most plausible. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this book sucks you in pretty quickly if you like your heroines questionable and a bit unbalanced, and you understand the destructive power of emotional pain. The main character is a cutter, so stay away if that is triggering or disturbing to you. I enjoy Flynn's use of people who feel real, even the dark and dingy parts, but I must admit that by the time I hit this book, I was starting to get a little frustrated with her penchant for purposefully gross-out descriptions. The twist ending wasn't really quite a twist, but watching the main character get there was most of the fun. I won't say much more, because it's a mystery, but this was a very enjoyable read. Just be ready for the nihilistic back wash of this book into your every day life. For the rest of the day, you'll definitely be thinking everything sucks and the world is awful. But then, these days, that might just be life.

[clementine]

3.5 stars

Gillian Flynn can write a twisting plot and terrifying characters like no one else. Those are the primary reasons I enjoyed Sharp Objects overall. I thought that I'd figured it out from the beginning, and Flynn let me think I had, too - but, of course, I was wrong. And the characters in this book were particularly chilling: Camille is one of the most interesting narrators I've encountered recently. She wasn't likeable nor sympathetic, yet that didn't ruin the reading experience for me.

I didn't find the actual writing quite so compelling as Flynn's other books. The pacing was weird to me; in places it would be quite slow, and then it would move so quickly towards something exciting that I had to take a moment to absorb it. And, as usual with Flynn's novels, I wasn't thrilled with the ending. It felt very rushed and then a bit too perfect. But the conclusion wasn't as bewildering to me as that of Dark Places, which I felt really threw the book off.

I will note, for anyone interested in reading this book, that it is exceptionally dark and disturbing. Dark Places was, too, but I have to say that this one was even more so for me. I can see from the reviews on here that that's not everyone's bag!

[noqas]

I was expecting to love this book, but it didn't happen. After reading Dark Places, I really thought I would like this one as much, but I just couldn't get involved enough in the story. It's still a good reading though.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

Sharp Objects was the first book in my Gillian Flynn Binge of 2014. I decided that I wanted to read her books in order of publication (Sharp Objects, Dark Places, Gone Girl) so I could get on this hype train with everyone else and wait for the books' various adaptations to be released. I had been told that Flynn's writing was disturbing, but oh my god, I wasn't prepared for the uncomfortable feeling that Sharp Objects left me with.

I love thrillers, and let me tell you Sharp Objects was right up my alley on that front. It's a story about a journalist who goes back to her home town when two girls are abducted and killed. Camille goes back to her family home and all sorts of secrets get slowly unveiled as the novel progresses. It's a freakin' creepy story, and not just because of the abduction storyline.

The main source of creepiness came from the characters. They were dark, they were disturbing, and you had no idea what they were going to do next, or what kind of truth they were spinning. Camille, the main character, was unrelatable for me but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy reading about her. She's got a lot of shit going on in her head. Then there's Camille's mother, who you seriously begin to question throughout the novel. And, of course, I can't not mention Camille's young sister, who was the main source of creepiness for me. That girl will haunt me forever.

I was captivated the entire way through, as I was with all of Flynn's books, because I needed to carry on reading to find out how the book was going to end. I needed to know who was killing those girls. Did I figure out the ending? Yes. I thought it was kind of obvious. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't still shocking and it literally made me recoil. You'll understand if you've read it.

I love that Gillian Flynn is on a mission to write about female characters who aren't the victims. As is the case with all of her books, the women are the ones with the issues and the darker thoughts. This is particularly true for this book, as there is no male counterpart to compare to, whereas with Dark Places you have Ben and Gone Girl has Nick. Basically, all of Flynn's characters have a horror story, and that doesn't change just because some characters are missing a penis. They're just as dangerous as the men, perhaps even more so.

As thrillers go, Flynn's books are some of my favourites. Sharp Objects sits firmly at the bottom of my list that ranks Flynn's books, but it's still a great read that sticks with you.

[violetpeanut]

This was creepy and full of very damaged and twisted people. Gillian Flynn definitely knows how to write disturbed characters really well.

[elvinagb]

I read this because I loved Gone Girl and was not disappointed.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Camille Preaker, has just been released from the Chicago psych hospital and returns to her job as a reporter at a second rate paper. Upon her arrival her boss gives her a murder case to report on which took place in her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri. Taking this assignment means that she will have to return to a place she hasn't visited in eight years and must face her haunted past which includes a hypochondriac mother, a sister who died when she was a preteen and another who she barely knows.

The murder victims are two young preteen girls killed a few months apart from each other. Both girls where dolled up so to speak {shaved legs or painted toe nails} both very out of character for Ann and Natalie. Afterward, they were strangled and had all their teeth pulled out. These heinous acts has everyone in the community questioning: who could have committed such a crime in this seemingly pleasant small town?

Sharp Objects is a well paced novel keeping the reader in suspense through out. I tried to savor the last thirty pages but became such a page-turner as the murderer became uncovered I had a hard time doing so. Even after it appears that it is solved, cased closed, the Epilogue tells us differently, it uncovers an accomplice of sorts and reveals a last mystery in the novel.