The GrownupAuthor: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Short Story
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Crown
Description:
A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.
The Grownup is a chilling short story that will leave the author's fans begging for more. I personally have been a die-hard fan of the author's since reading her first book - Sharp Objects - years ago. Since then, I've stalked followed her every move and freaked out when I learned about a new novel that was going to be released. There never seems to be enough of her work to keep me (and other fans) satisfied, and I'm constantly checking the web for any talk of a new book.
When I heard that Ms. Flynn was going to be releasing a new book - I freaked out and immediately started learning as much as I could. I was really disappointed to find out that it was only going to be a short story though. Any of her fans know that we need a full length novel in order to get as much of the dark and twisted goodness we all are dying to read. I knew I was going to read this one though, purely for the fact that she wrote it (and the description sounded intriguing). Once again, Ms. Flynn messed with my head with loads of twists and turns, characters who may (or may not) be who they seem, and basically no possible way of guessing what was going to happen or how it would end. It's the kind of writing that I expect from the author - and it's also the reason I'm such a huge fan. It's hard to imagine that all of these attributes could be attained in a mere 64 pages - but she manages to do it. There's lots of twists and turns, odd characters, strange happenings, and her trademark dark and twisted writing style. The only negative thing I have to say about the story is that it was way too short! There's a ton of potential and promise in those 64 pages - plenty enough to craft a full novel from. If it had been a full length book, I would've given it 5 stars (my seemingly normal rating for her works) - but she had to go and give us a little taste of something unique - and then leave us hanging; begging for more. I highly recommend this short story to fans of the author's other books, along with those readers who enjoy short stories, thrillers, horror, suspense, and mysteries. If the author happens to read this review, I would like to say one thing: PLEASE write a new book - a real, full length novel - to help keep your rabid avid fans from going completely crazy!
When I heard that Ms. Flynn was going to be releasing a new book - I freaked out and immediately started learning as much as I could. I was really disappointed to find out that it was only going to be a short story though. Any of her fans know that we need a full length novel in order to get as much of the dark and twisted goodness we all are dying to read. I knew I was going to read this one though, purely for the fact that she wrote it (and the description sounded intriguing). Once again, Ms. Flynn messed with my head with loads of twists and turns, characters who may (or may not) be who they seem, and basically no possible way of guessing what was going to happen or how it would end. It's the kind of writing that I expect from the author - and it's also the reason I'm such a huge fan. It's hard to imagine that all of these attributes could be attained in a mere 64 pages - but she manages to do it. There's lots of twists and turns, odd characters, strange happenings, and her trademark dark and twisted writing style. The only negative thing I have to say about the story is that it was way too short! There's a ton of potential and promise in those 64 pages - plenty enough to craft a full novel from. If it had been a full length book, I would've given it 5 stars (my seemingly normal rating for her works) - but she had to go and give us a little taste of something unique - and then leave us hanging; begging for more. I highly recommend this short story to fans of the author's other books, along with those readers who enjoy short stories, thrillers, horror, suspense, and mysteries. If the author happens to read this review, I would like to say one thing: PLEASE write a new book - a real, full length novel - to help keep your rabid avid fans from going completely crazy!
* I received a copy of the book from the Blogging for Books Program in exchange for an honest review.
Hey, I didn't know about this one. I like the sound of it - kind of creepy and dark. I'll add this to my to-read pile, thanks!
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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