Every avid reader has at least one book or book series they find themselves reading over and over again. Sometimes these books remind us of our childhood or mark the discovery of a new genre; sometimes they simply give us comfort in a way we can’t quite explain. This week, I’ll be talking a little bit about my “go-to” books, and what makes them so significant to me.
I’ve mentioned the work of author Gillian Flynn in one of my previous articles, but I was first introduced to her writing through her 2015 novel, Gone Girl. Flynn’s dynamic characters and unpredictable plot twists had me completely captivated halfway through the book, and my love for Gone Girl led me to Flynn’s other novels: Sharp Objects and Dark Places. These are the three books that I read (or listen to as audiobooks) in constant repeat. Each time I cycle through them I find fresh nuance or foreshadowing I missed previously, so every rereading feels like walking down a familiar path with new surprises along the way.
I believe I’m so drawn to Flynn’s work for two reasons: the first is her incredible ability to mask the true intentions of her characters. Every person met within her stories will inevitably do morally questionable things, but only until the end of the novel do you find out if a character is simply corrupt, or truly evil. The second reason is that her books contain all the dark and disturbing content that also draws me to the true crime genre, yet they are crafted with the poetic writing and striking imagery of narrative fiction . If you too enjoy sinister, whodunit mysteries, I highly recommend checking out any of Gillian Flynn’s work!