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1-Page Summary of Dark Places
Overall Summary
Dark Places, a mystery published in 2009 by Gillian Flynn, deals with class issues and the Satanic cult hysteria that swept America in the 1980s. Libby Day is the sole survivor of a massacre in the fictional town of Kinnakee, Kansas. She reveals that she was seven years old when her entire family was murdered and that it appeared to be a ritualistic killing done by her older brother Ben. After escaping from her house through an open window, she testified against him in court at age nine.
Libby has been living off of money that was left to her by her family. She also received donations from people who wanted to help take care of Libby after the death of her immediate family members, since she was so young at the time. Now, twenty-five years later, Libby is running out of money and does not have any employable skills.
Lyle, who runs the Kill Club, approaches Libby. The Kill Club is a group that studies crimes and criminals. They are interested in Libby because many of the members believe Ben is innocent. Lyle offers to pay Libby for her time with them because she needs money. The club members bring up details from the case that were either overlooked or ignored by police, which point out flaws in Libby’s testimony as well as how popular satanic cults were during this era. However, they still believe Ben was innocent of his crime due to other information about Diondra (Ben’s secret girlfriend) and accusations against him for child molestation even though he was never convicted of it.
The story is told in alternating perspectives of the present and flashbacks to the time when Libby’s family was murdered. The author uses these two timelines to give a broader picture of her life before she killed her family, which includes poverty, abuse, and abandonment.
At first, Libby doesn’t believe her club members, but she keeps going to their meetings because they’re paying her. After a few more visits with them, she finally gets the courage to visit her brother in prison. She starts out not believing that he’s innocent but learns that he is still holding something back from her.
As time passes, Libby learns more about what happened. She finds out Ben’s former girlfriend is Diondra and manages to find her. When she meets Crystal, Ben’s child with Diondra, she discovers that Diondra killed one of Libby’s sisters because of the pregnancy. They try to kill Libby but fail when she escapes from them again.
Lyle helps Libby find evidence that Ben and Diondra were planning to run away together with their child. They stopped at the farm so they could get money from Patty, who had been trying to arrange her own death so she wouldn’t be a burden on her family. The murderer showed up at the same time as Ben and Diondra, killing both of them along with Patty. Because of his bad reputation in town, Ben was blamed for everything because he didn’t want anyone else to know about Diondra’s pregnancy or that they were going to run away together.
After learning about the evidence that clears Ben’s name, Libby and Lyle present it to the police. They are able to free Ben from prison and get him back with his family. He doesn’t know what he wants to do now since he has been in jail for so long. However, Libby is there to help him figure out his future. She is finally able to move on from her past trauma and focus on a better future as well.
