May's competition is The GrownUp by Gillian Flynn x1 paperback

Guys this is just a wee short story, in paperback, only 79 pages.





As always, the competition will run until the end of the month, entries by the rafflecopter below. As this is a tiny thin book the competition is open worldwide. Good luck if you are entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn

The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - <20 minutes

Pages - 79

Publisher - Weidenfield & Nicholson

Blurb from Goodreads

'I watched the house. It watched me back through long, baleful windows so tall a child could stand in the sill. And one was. I could see the length of his thin body: gray trousers, black sweater, a maroon tie perfectly knotted at the neck. A thicket of dark hair covering his eyes...'

A young woman is making a living faking it as a cut-price psychic (with some illegal soft-core sex work on the side). She makes a decent wage mostly by telling people what they want to hear. But then she meets Susan Burke.

Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year-old stepson Miles. They live in a modern Victorian house called Carterhook Manor. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home. The young woman doesn't believe in exorcism or the supernatural. However when she enters the house for the first time, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time...


My Review

The opening line refers to the main characters skill set which may offend some readers, she is a soft core sex worker as well as a "psychic". This is where she meets Susan, Susan doesn't believe in this stuff really but she must do something about her step son and home. What the main character doesn't realize is, there is a real threat at Susan's home and she herself may be in danger!

The protagonist gives us some insight into her life and how she came to be where she is however the main focus is on the here and now with Susan and her problem. The story really ends quite abruptly I felt and I suppose it is one of the reasons short stories is not my first port of call for reading choice. However the author does pack a punch with only 70+ pages, we have some twist and turns along the way considering how tiny the book is. I would have certainly liked more insight into both Miles and Susan, it would be good if Flynn revisited these characters. Overall a decent and surprising read as I thought it was about one thing but really went in a completly different direction, 3/5 for me this time, I have read this author before and I would read her again.

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Dark places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 424

Publisher - Phoenix

Blurb from Goodreads

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben's innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her borther's? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day... especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family?


My Review

Libby Day is the survivor of her family being butchered, well apart from her brother who is serving time in jail for killing them. Libby was only seven years old when it happened and her testimony put Ben in jail. Twenty four years later Libby is stumbling through life, doing not a lot when she is contacted by crime group fanatics who believe her brother is innocent. Libby is desperate for money and agrees to go, before long she is questioning what she remembered that night and could Ben actually be innocent?

This is my third book by this author, she has a unique style to her writing. I find it hard to feel anything akin to liking or even tolerating most of her main characters. Libby is despicable, getting through life exploiting what happened to her family. Her past is littered with stealing, animal cruelty, lies and having a sole interest in herself. You can appreciate, after all she has been through, she will be affected however she is not a very nice or likable human being.

Libby does as the group bids her, speaks to people she hasn't in decades, tracks down witnesses in a bid to discover what actually happened to her family. The journey the reader sees her go through is one of discover and self examination. The tale is spun in a way that is keeps the readers interest but again, I felt I needed a good scrub after reading it. There are some twists and turns throughout. If you liked Sharp Objects and Gone Girl I am sure you will like this. 3/5 for me this time, there was a few things I guessed correctly and others I didn't see coming. Well worth a read if your familiar with this author and like a dark tale.

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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Phoenix

Pages - 321

Blurb from Goodreads

When two girls are abducted and killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes. Long-haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family's mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows - a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town. As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.



My Review

Camille Preaker is our main character and a journalist. When a child goes missing from her home town and one had gone missing previously she is sent home to get the scoop. Camille has many issues that stem from a strained childhood and troubled relationship with her mother. She has a 13 year old sister who has some major issues and controls and dominates some of the town. Trying to break down the barriers to get the story in town, deal with her sister and cope with her mother and their relationship proves to be quite a task for Camille.

This story is really quite disturbing I found to be honest. Camille has scars all over her body, her way of coping with her issues growing up. As the story progresses we discover just how dark Camilles past is and why she behaves as she does. The previous murder of the little girl was uncomfortable to read about, any ill to a child is however this killer makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Whilst this is a book about a troubled reporter investigating in her own home town it is largely more about her dysfunctional family. Her coping mechanisms of trying to deal with it, her personal demons being quieted or confronted. There is some uncomfortable references to sexual encounters that some people may be fine with but worth giving a heads up. There is also a reference to some animal cruelty, in my opinion, that makes for uncomfortable reading too.

It is a dark tale that, for me, was like a car crash, horrific but you find it hard to look away. I felt I needed a shower after reading it, dark, gritty, brutal but very enthralling, 3/5 for me. I have read Gone Girl and have Dark Places still to read by this author, she has a specific tone to her writing, if you liked Gone Girl I think you may well "enjoy" this one.

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