Sharp Objects: A Novel

Gillian Flynn

Sept 2006 · Sold by Crown

About this eBook

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

Ratings and reviews

This book is terrible. It may be okay for someone in their teens or twenties but it is pretty sophomoric. It seemed the author thought that by being disgusting, nasty, and gross - the shock value would make up for the poor writing and plot. How could this be a show? I guessed the outcome toward the beginning and the rest is just filler with little real substance. How disappointing! (as in I paid good money for this garbage. Can I have that two hours of my life back?)

Just could not get into this story. None of the characters seem real and to have so many seemingly nasty, hateful and mentally off center people in one small town just does not fly. The writing seems to be the authors interpretation of either a hard-boiled investigator or a seriously mentally messed up person speaking, neither of which worked for me. From the characters to their behaviour to the sexual exploits of young girls to the authors excessive sexual theme words, none of it seemed to ring true. Too much psycho-babble mental deficiencies involved with all the main characters.

I picked this up after loving 'Gone Girl'...the book left me though with feelings of disappointment and repulsion. I knew this was going to be a sick story, but it's a bummer the murders were pretty quick to figure out from the beginning. Definite signs of a first novel, but a quick read nonetheless. Read "Gone Girl' if you want to read Flynn at her finest---watch CNN if you want a sick murder story instead. Don't bother with this book.

About the author

Gillian Flynn is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Gone Girl, for which she wrote the Golden Globe–nominated screenplay; the New York Times bestsellers Dark Places and Sharp Objects; and a novella, The Grownup. A former critic for Entertainment Weekly, she lives in Chicago with her husband and children.