Halcyon's Reviews > Dark Places
Dark Places
by
by

The Days were a clan that mighta lived long
But Ben Day’s head got screwed on wrong
That boy craved dark Satan’s power
So he killed his family in one nasty hour
Little Michelle he strangled in the night
Then chopped up Debby: a bloody sight
Mother Patty he saved for last
Blew off her head with a shotgun blast
Baby Libby somehow survived
But to live through that ain’t much a life
—schoolyard rhyme, circa 1985
This certainly sets the tone of the book.
You’ve heard the cautionary tales—the dark tragedies that shake a town, the crimes that leave ripples, still whispered about years later. Well, that was the Day Massacre in Kinnakee, Kansas. But what if the the truth is not what it seems after all?
At seven years old, Libby Day survived the brutal massacre of her family, and her testimony sent her older brother to prison for the crime. Decades later, directionless and desperate for money, she crosses paths with a group obsessed with re-investigating infamous murders. They believe her brother is innocent, pushing Libby to dig into a past she’s tried to forget. But the deeper she goes, the more she realizes that the truth is far more complicated than she ever imagined.
Grim, macabre, and unapologetically disturbing—this should have been my twisted cup of tea. But I was just... bored and detached, despite the brilliant writing and how the premise hooked me instantly at the beginning. As the story unraveled at agonisingly slow pace, I felt nothing (see, the story'd pacing drags, at least it would be because the characters are being fleshed out and developed, but that was sadly not the case). By the end and the supposed banger of a reveal, I wasn’t shocked or satisfied—I just didn’t care.
But Ben Day’s head got screwed on wrong
That boy craved dark Satan’s power
So he killed his family in one nasty hour
Little Michelle he strangled in the night
Then chopped up Debby: a bloody sight
Mother Patty he saved for last
Blew off her head with a shotgun blast
Baby Libby somehow survived
But to live through that ain’t much a life
—schoolyard rhyme, circa 1985
This certainly sets the tone of the book.
You’ve heard the cautionary tales—the dark tragedies that shake a town, the crimes that leave ripples, still whispered about years later. Well, that was the Day Massacre in Kinnakee, Kansas. But what if the the truth is not what it seems after all?
At seven years old, Libby Day survived the brutal massacre of her family, and her testimony sent her older brother to prison for the crime. Decades later, directionless and desperate for money, she crosses paths with a group obsessed with re-investigating infamous murders. They believe her brother is innocent, pushing Libby to dig into a past she’s tried to forget. But the deeper she goes, the more she realizes that the truth is far more complicated than she ever imagined.
Grim, macabre, and unapologetically disturbing—this should have been my twisted cup of tea. But I was just... bored and detached, despite the brilliant writing and how the premise hooked me instantly at the beginning. As the story unraveled at agonisingly slow pace, I felt nothing (see, the story'd pacing drags, at least it would be because the characters are being fleshed out and developed, but that was sadly not the case). By the end and the supposed banger of a reveal, I wasn’t shocked or satisfied—I just didn’t care.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
(Hardcover Edition)
December 26, 2019
– Shelved
(Hardcover Edition)
December 26, 2019
– Shelved as:
to-read
(Hardcover Edition)
March 16, 2025
–
Started Reading
March 16, 2025
– Shelved
March 16, 2025
– Shelved as:
thrillers
March 16, 2025
–
Finished Reading
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Esta
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 16, 2025 02:21AM

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I read your review and I'm glad you enjoyed this, Esta. Onwards it is!


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