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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 26, 2006
• ISBN: 9780307351487

Reviews for Sharp Objects

[lycomayflower · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Young reporter Camille returns to her small hometown in hopes of getting a scoop on a possible serial killer of young girls operating there. As she investigates, we learn about her messed up family. This story was populated with unhappy, unpleasant, uninteresting people, and the plot was lackluster. By a third of the way through I wanted to scream at Camille, “Get away from your mother and Google Munchausen’s, for cripe’s sake!” I was certain from early on that the awful things happening were all perpetuated by Camille’s mother, her little sister, or some combination of the two. I was not wrong, and thus the only real propellent behind the story (would there be a twist?) turned out to be a nonstarter. Blech. If I hadn’t been reading for Book Club, I’d have quit before page one hundred.

[trailrunningbooklovr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, I seem to be stuck on books about dysfunction. First Mother, Mother (recommend if you can handle the triggers) then this. Holy dysfunctional family! There's only so much I can say without spoilers, let's just say while I figured it out about 3/4 through (partially) the final twist was not something I expected. There are a ton of trigger warnings in this book (cutting just as a first- I don't consider this a spoiler based on the description and cover image) so if you are sensitive to that, this may not be for you. Not as violent as Dark Places, although it has its fair share of violence. This is more psychologically shocking with characters you just hate even while you feel sorry for them.

[cecilturtle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From the start, I loved Gillian Flynn's gritty style and broken characters who set the stage for gristly murders. The atmosphere is perfectly cloying, sickly-sweet and depraved where love is thwarted to disease. I thought I had it figured out early in the book, gripped by the inevitable denouement. But I was wrong. It's a great read, beautifully crafted and a suspense until the end.

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I remember the stir in crime fiction circles when this novel was first published, but somehow never got around to reading it.And what a page turner it is!Camille Preaker's editor of the Chicago paper she works for thinks she will benefit from returning to her home town of Wind Gap, 11 hours south of Chicago, to cover the story of the murder of two young girls. After all he can save money in accommodation as she can stay with her mother whom she hasn't talked to for 8 years. He thinks also that because she comes from the town that it will be easier for her to pick up rumours and insider information, A real recipe for disaster.Camille feels neither safe nor welcome in her mother's house. She knows for example that her mother does not like her and there lies between them the memory of her younger sister Marian, who died a decade before. She is also haunted by her own memories of being a rebellious and hard to control teenager.

[amalieturner · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm actually surprised to give this such a low score considering it's Gillian Flynn and typically I adore her works. I had really high hopes for this but it just never came together for me. I pretty much called the ending very early on so the shock factor wasn't there like in her other books. I really couldn't connect with the main character, Camille. I just didn't find anything about her to make me care about what she was going through. I will say that I tried to read this book but then switched to the audiobook, which read very quickly, but honestly if I wasn't listening to it on my commute in the car I'm not sure I would have finished it. I didn't feel the pull to find out the ending or to know what happened to any character because I just couldn't make myself care for them. There were parts of this book that were very gruesome and had me squirming. Images of cutting and self-harm are everywhere so just be ready to be uncomfortable if you plan on reading this. If you want Gillian Flynn, my suggestion is Dark Places. It's my favorite of her books by a long shot!

[mhanover10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another dark book by Gillian Flynn. This one as a murder mystery I found it slow and now really about the murders. It was all about the main character Camille and what she is going through. It did have quite the twist at the end which made me think I had read this before. If you like dark, creepy books, then pick this one up.

[dooney-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Even thought it was written before Gone Girl, I found it both more satisfying and more troubling. The writing in Gone Girl was much tighter and the narrative more compelling, and so I would say it is a better book, but for this reader at least the humanity seemed missing. Camille was very compelling even if also completely maddening. But that is the thing, people who are caught in psychosis, who are the victims of abuse, act in ways that to the rest of us seem incomprehensible. Our towns and cities are full of such people, people whom we usually do not even deign to notice. Flynn is very good at uncovering the darkness that can lie hidden behind a veneer of civility and the comfortable stories we tell ourselves about our lives and our neighbors. Yes, perhaps the characters are overdrawn, but that drags us in deeper, disconnects us from our detachment. I suppose this novel also gave me some insight into the later one, in that similar themes are explored, but here we have the softer, more vulnerable underbelly, and in the later novel, a harder shell has been formed. In Sharp Objects there was much that made this reader squirm in both frustration and discomfort, but there was also hope, a hope that had already been sealed off in Gone Girl. You can see where my preferences lie.

[sarahstenhouse · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Truly creepy and disturbing read.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A book I'm quite fond of, and a pretty good TV show as well. This is a very competent thriller, but not for the squeamish. The reader samples mutilation, child murder, and a very odd three generations of mother-daughter relationships. The inbred small town is very well drawn, and the effect of that environment on the survivors is also on display.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an extremely unpleasant book. Deliberately unpleasant, I mean. It centers on Camille Preaker, a journalist who is sent back to her home town to report on the recent murder of one young girl and the disappearance of a second. Camille, as it happens, is a deeply fucked-up person -- sorry, but there's really no other way to put that -- from a deeply fucked-up family in a town that seems to encourage fucked-upeness. The whole novel is basically a cavalcade of human awfulness, from the petty to the grotesque. (Seriously, consider this a trigger warning for just about anything you can think of.) And there are almost no characters who are entirely decent or remotely likable.But that doesn't mean it's a bad book. Well, to be honest, for much of it I was thinking that Flynn just wasn't quite making it work. She has a great eye for realistic details, including the details of how people can be cruel to each other, but her characters, perhaps, feel just a bit too much to be entirely convincing. She did a much better job of pulling off unlikable characters and unpleasant events in Gone Girl, I was thinking, and there is clearly a reason why that was her breakout novel, and not this one.And yet, somehow, by the end, I found myself feeling quite compelled by it, drawn into the messed-up dynamics of Camille's life and even becoming more sympathetic towards her, as well as experiencing a sort of uncomfortable train-wreck fascination with the whole thing. I am thinking, perhaps, that this is the sort of book one has to really be in the mood for, and that I wasn't when I started it, but it dragged me there by the end, whether I wanted it to or not.Rating: Somewhat to my surprise, I think I'm giving this one a 4/5. Even though it's not something I'd go around recommending to most people. Or possibly anybody.

[bdartnall_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another "I gotta finish this" psychological suspense story, this one narrated by a very flawed, but determined Chicago reporter Camille Preaker. She returns to her small hometown in Missouri to investigate the grisly murder of two girls, found months apart but with disturbingly similar circumstances. As usual, Flynn's precise prose and matter of fact, almost cynical treatment of everyone and every part of the little claustrophobic Wind Gap community makes one squirm but ... keep on reading!! I found this debut novel of hers to be a bit more tightly woven, a little less prone to pyschological musings- side trails like her Dark Places, but the tone and the style that made Gone Girl such a smash hit is all here. Graphic in its scene depictions, including sex and flashbacks of Camille's struggles with childhood traumas & subsequent cutting - she is a recovered "cutter". Not a book for the faint of heart.

[jimrgill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book signals a strong start to Gillian Flynn’s career as a novelist—a career that grew with Dark Places (her second novel) and exploded with Gone Girl, the 2012 blockbuster that brought her fame—and has apparently kept her too busy to pen another novel. It’s been 6 years, Gillian. Your fans are waiting!Well, while we wait, we’ll have to content ourselves with rereading one of her three already-published novels. And this one holds up quite well. Even if you’ve seen the HBO miniseries (an excellent adaptation), it’s worth reading the novel (again?) for Flynn’s rich prose and macabre evocation of the contemporary Southern Gothic. There’s nothing supernatural here, but the horrifying family dysfunction is definitely the stuff of nightmares. A fun, thrilling read.

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Camille Preaker, a Chicago reporter fresh out of rehab for cutting herself, is assigned a new story to follow -- the serial killing of young girls in a small town in Missouri. Problem is, this isn't just any small town -- it is Camille's hometown, where she has to come to terms with her own past history and that of her family.This psychological thriller grabs you from the first pages and keeps you hooked. The characters were very interesting and the story is tightly wound. For audio readers, the narrator was fantastic with pacing, character voices, etc. There are some uncomfortable parts in the book so it's not for the squeamish, but otherwise I would recommend it.

[breic-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I suppose that the troubled narrator and the murders and murderers are supposed to be shocking? The story felt flat throughout, was mostly predictable and never very believable.

[almin-70827 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great book by Gillian Flynn, (although this was her first, I read it last), once again I thought I had it figured out and once again I was wrong. I kept wanting to jump ahead to see what was going to happen...glad I didn't because the ending caught me off guard. Highly recommend...warning...it is easy to get caught up in the dark characters she creates...sometimes I had to out the book down to keep from being drawn into that darkness.

[mindea_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Camille Preaker is asked to go back to her hometown on assignment to cover the two murders of 2 young girls and is reunited with her estranged mother, step father and step sister. To get the story and to figure out what is going on Camille must face her own demons. This story is dark and gritty. There were times that I physically felt uncomfortable reading this book. I can't believe this is her first novel. It is so good! I am half way through the new HBO series and I am really loving it. They're doing a great job bringing this suspenseful and creepy book to the screen. I would highly recommend this book!

[wesleyh-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sharp Objects written by Gillian Flynn published in 2006 is a psychological thriller about Camille Preaker, a Chicago-based reporter sent to her hometown in Wind Gap, Missouri to cover a story about the unsolved murder of a girl whose chase bears striking similarities with a murder a year earlier.I heard about this book when HBO started advertising their 8-part mini-series starring Amy Adams based on the book. I’m a fan of Amy Adams, so I wanted to watch it, but before watching it, I thought I’d read the rather short (less than 300 pages) book. Apparently this was the author’s first published novel. She is probably more famously known for writing Gone Girl which was made into a popular 2014 big screen movie.Sharp Objects is a twisted psychological thriller. There is a lot of getting into Camille’s (messed up) head. The story is more about her and her relationships with her mother and half-sister than it is about the girls’ murders. This story is fraught with all sorts of aberrant behavior: sex with teenagers, drug use, alcoholism, bullying, self-mutilation, child abuse, and murder.Throughout the story, Camille battles with her past and her inner mind to keep from succumbing to the vortex of despair brought on by being in the sphere of influence of her deranged mother.At first, I had a tough time reading and understanding the author’s writing style. Don’t use this text to teach proper English grammar! Once I grew accustomed to that style, the story was strangely gripping. Camille clearly has deep psychological problems. She is sucked into engaging in dangerous behaviors during her visit to Wind Gap.As a psychological thriller, there isn’t much action and there is not much to the core story. Most of the interest is generated by learning about Camille and watching her get caught in the whirlpool of buried emotions that swell as she relives her childhood. It’s torturous to watch Camille endure things that would send me screaming back to Chicagothat’. Instead, she sticks to it until she finds the real killer and reconciles with her past.The author does an excellent job of describing the setting and the characters. One noticeable writing characteristic is that she uses “like” (as in simile) in practically every other paragraph which, on the one hand, provides a way to poetically describe something and on the other hand, is annoyingly repetitious.One brief comment about the TV series (since this blog post is a book review, not a TV review). My suggestion is to either watch the TV series OR read the book; not both.

[adaorhell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

THIS BOOK IS FUCKED UP WHAT THE HELL. I'M FROM A SMALL TOWN TOO AND THAT SHIT IS FUCKED. I CAN'T EVEN WRITE A DECENT REVIEW THAT ACTUALLY MEANS ANYTHING BECAUSE I'M MESSED UP OVER WHAT I READ.

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After reading Gone Girl, I went to Barnes & Noble to find other books written by Gillian Flynn because I thought Gone Girl was brilliant. Sharp Objects was good but not as good as Gone Girl. It was quite dark and depressing in some ways but I did read through it quickly, curious about where things were going. I won't spoil anything but I did learn about Munchausen (and Muchausen by proxy) - horrific but interesting.

[5hrdrive · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Picked this up solely due to the tremendous HBO miniseries starring Amy Adams. Would recommend to anyone who enjoyed the show and would like a little more of the Crellin family backstory. Can honestly say that the TV show is better, and that goes against my normal view whenever I compare a book to it's adaptation.

[siri51 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very disturbing story - crime thriller, page turner - girl who cuts, mother murdered daughter, trying to poison other daughter who at 13 murders young girls hwo her mother befriended - complicated and dark.

[jess_reads_books · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Camille Preaker calls a tiny dot on the map named Wind Gap her hometown. Over the years she has distanced herself as much as possible from this town and the dark memories of her childhood there. Fresh from a recent stay at a psychiatric hospital, Camille must make a personal sacrifice for the sake of her journalistic career. She must head back to the town that sent her to the psychiatric hospital.Wind Gap is known best for it’s population of wealthy families and dirt poor families. At the heart of the town is a slaughterhouse, owned by Camille Preaker’s mother, Adora. Living the high life in their Victorian mansion, the Preaker family is made up of Camille’s hypochondriac mother, her thirteen-year-old half-sister who runs the town’s younger crowd, and her quiet, reserved step-father. Camille’s family, much like all the other wealthy families in town, want to sweep the recent murders of two preteen girls deep under the carpet, along with all of their other secrets. Camille must work through her personal issues and put together the pieces of these troubling deaths in order to find out who killed these girls. Will Camille find out who the killer is or will Wind Gap consume her mind once more before she has the chance?Gillian Flynn is no stranger to penning a gripping thriller and SHARP OBJECTS is an excellent example of her abilities. Camille Preaker is a narrator with a haunting childhood, a family that defines the word dysfunctional, and a litany of bad decisions to keep her going for years. SHARP OBJECTS is a trip into each of these aspects of Camille’s life in order to get to the bottom of who is killing girls in her hometown. Throughout the book, the reader is exposed to various characters living in Wind Gap, some who want to help Camille and others that would rather spread enough venomous gossip to send Camille packing her bags and heading back to Chicago. Ultimately, at the heart of the book, is Camille’s family and the relationship she has with her mother. A traumatic childhood filled with the loss of a sister who battled sickness for years and the destruction that loss caused physically for Camille are recurring themes that tug on heartstrings, while raising red flags about Camille’s present situation. SHARP OBJECTS is creepy, unsettling, and a downright intoxicating read that will have you saying “did that really just happen” until you hit the last page.Note: I read this book back in 2014 and this time around I listened to it on audiobook in order to squeeze in a refresher before the HBO series launches. For those looking for a great narrator, I highly recommend giving SHARP OBJECTS a listen!

[mahallett · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

very disappointing. about 100 pages too long. no likeable characters. i read the whole book again and was very surprised/shocked that i had read it before in 2006.

[stephlaymon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There is a lot that works for me in Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Lord knows I love me some good crazy fictional characters, and Sharp Objects has a town full of them! Let's see...We have cutting, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and all sorts of manipulation just zinging all over the town. Seriously, there isn't anyone who I liked in the sense that I would want them within ten feet of me, but, I did have a real understanding for the main character, Camille. I love how Gillian Flynn creates characters who are so **** unlikable, yet ones who I feel drawn to know more about. I love her writing style in general. It is super casual, real, and to the point. She says what she needs to say and moves along. The unfortunate piece is the serial killer reveal that comes as no surprise. Come on, Gillian! It was so obvious that I thought you were pulling my leg. There are so many oddballs in this story, why couldn't you have masked it more?

[jesskahlow · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is dark. And not in a good way. In a way that makes you wish the book was over. It's uncomfortable and awkward, but maybe that's the point. To me, it felt forced, like the point was that women can be just as cruel, abusive, and self-destructive as men. As far as the story goes, I felt too much was given away in the beginning of the book, which made the middle seem unnecessary (especially because it didn't pose any convincing, plausible alternatives). It felt like I was just waiting to get to the end, not waiting to see what happens, which (to me) takes the suspense out of it.

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book but it was a little predictable. There were also no redeeming characters to root for. Not always a problem for me but it did make this book a little harder to get into.

[jdifelice-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5/5 stars.
Well that was more than a little disturbing. Gillian Flynn wove together this enticing, twisted tale that I could not put down. I enjoyed this a lot more than Gone Girl (which I struggled to get through). This isn't a genre that I normally go for, but the Creepalong Readalong chose it so I decided, why not? I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but I liked it. The story sucked you in and I just had to know what was going on. It was a little slow in the middle, but it was a short book so it didn't really affect my reading experience. The end seemed a little rushed, but it wrapped quite nicely. Overall, good read.

[jamiebh-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book made my skin itch for many reasons. This is hands down my favorite of Flynn's novels so far. I really hope this also gets picked up for film. If you liked Gone Girl, you need to read this...and Dark Places. This woman is a demented genius.

[kk1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I mistakingly thought Gone Girl was a debut novel, cos it was so caught up in the hype around Girl on a train. This is actually her debut and makes more sense as one in a collection of fairly dark, female centred crime novels. It is set among a beleaguered community, with the whole culture of wild teenage behaviour laid bare. Having also read her follow up to this, I'd choose to read them interspersed with something a bit more jolly in between, but when you feel up to it, they are an interesting place to visit.

[sukieclaus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Disturbing, but interesting. I found it slow-moving at times, but the protagonist was unique and compelling.