Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn · first published 2006 · ISBN 9781101902875
Camille Preaker, a damaged journalist fresh out of a psychiatric hospital, returns to her hometown to cover two girl murders. She's haunted by the small town's ugliness, her family's dysfunction, and her own scars, both literal and psychological. The deeper she digs, the less clear it becomes whether she's tracking a killer or her own ghosts.
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The Best Psychological Thrillers
Flynn's debut is nastier and less playful than Gone Girl, built from genuine dread rather than twist mechanics. Camille's self-harm and her fractured relationship with her family create a kind of domestic horror that has nothing to do with jump scenes. The small-town Southern Gothic atmosphere curdles into something truly unsettling.