Broadway; 424 pages; $9.99 |
The fifth episode of the limited series (miniseries) aired on Sunday night, and I believe there are three episodes left. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl and Dark Places. I was hooked to the series after watching the first episode and I later purchased the novel a few days later, but I didn't start reading it until a day prior to the third episode and I ended up finishing the book a few hours after the episode.
The novel centers around Chicago newspaper reporter Camille Preaker, who has a share of personal demons with alcohol and cutting words into her skin. Shortly after spending time in a hospital, her boss, Curry, encourages her to travel back to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri to cover the murder of a young girl, Ann Nash, and the disappearance of another girl, Natalie Keene.
Somewhat against her will, Camille returns to Wind Gap, where she sorta invites herself to stay at her family's home, which she hasn't visited in many years. Camille grew up with Adora, her high maintenance mother, and an emotionally estranged step-father, Alan. Her half-sister Marian, who she was very close to, died mysteriously at a young age, which sent her down an emotional roller coaster that has never stopped. She has another half-sister, Amma, a spoiled thirteen-year-old that she barely knows. Amma has a weird control over the people of Wind Gap.
After the body of Natalie Keene is found with her teeth removed (the same happened to Ann Nash), the town goes into a frenzy, pointing fingers at Natalie's brother, John. Still working on her own emotional problems, Camille works with Richard Willis, a Kansas City cop assigned to help solve the murders, to track down the killer. However, the further she investigates, the more she learns that her past is connected to the murders.
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