The Grownup – Gillian Flynn

It has been almost a decade since I finished Gillian Flynn’s trifecta of books starring unpleasant people, and I forgot how much I enjoyed her sardonic take on the mundane aspects of life.

While “The Grownup” is nowhere near as enthralling as “Dark Places” or “Gone Girl,” — my two favorites from her bibliography — it did capture my attention and had me racing to the end, even if it was a bit of a let down once I got there.

From the blush inducing opening sentence to a first act that was equal parts “where is she going with this?” and “wow, that’s genius!” the story is a little all over the place, but she mostly ties it all together. Mostly.

Our unnamed narrator is a con-artist, and she pleasures in beguiling her targets. During her latest con as psychic, she sees the desperate, upper crust Susan as an easy target, but after a few weeks she begins to wonder who is playing whom.

Flynn builds the tension with a possible is-it-or-isn’t-it haunted house/possession tale, and the (maybe) truth proves to be twisted, but domestically tinged versus supernaturally informed.

Few authors can make you root for a scoundrel the way Flynn can. While this isn’t a great spooky season read, it’s still a worthy way to spend an hour. Now if we could just get her out of Hollywood and back to writing novels...

Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): N/A

Formats: eBook (library loan)

Dates read: October 19 - 20, 2021

Multi-tasking: N/A