Book Review: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

Format:  Hardcover

Pages: 64 pages

Published: November 3, 2015

Publisher: Crown

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

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.

I honestly think that Gillian Flynn is the female version of Stephen King. Albeit a short story, I believe this was another great example of Flynn’s gift of twisting plots into what we think it is going to be at first…then altering our first impressions altogether.

After reading this, I had take a second glance around my surroundings, questioning people’s personalities around me. That is what this story does, makes you question other people’s personalities, their true identities. It is so creepy and well thought out, you don’t know how Flynn comes up with this stuff. This novella is very similar to Gone Girl, along the lines that they share similar themes…unreliable narrator, unlikable characters, unexpected twist and turns, and an ending that no one will actually like. Flynn has managed to take a typical classic haunted story and turn into a psychological thriller. The one thing I wish that it was longer. This has true potential in becoming a longer novel.

Regardless of the length, The Grownup is another example of Gillian Flynn’s great talent of creating a creepy, haunting tale that will leave you unsettled but admiring another great work of Flynn’s. This is a perfect read for Halloween. Can’t wait to read more of her books!

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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