Sharp Objects

So I read Gillian Flynn's debut novel, Sharp Objects, because I like her writing in Entertainment Weekly. And I did like her writing well enough in this, but here's the thing: it's not really my kind of book. I mean, yes, it's kind of Val McDermid-ish, but with Southern U.S. sensibilities instead of Scottish. (By the way, Scottish mystery authors are crazy. Talented, yes. But also crazy.) And the critical swooning mainly seemed to be about how dark the story is. Which it is, but that can't really be all that surprising, right? It's a dark genre. In my opinion, the swooning was really about Gillian Flynn (a woman!) writing about a damaged main character (also a woman!) who uncovers the killer (another woman!) and her enabler (a woman again!). Yes, people, women who aren't Angelina Jolie can be dark. And here's the kicker: these women can be dark without any vampires around at all. Really! It's true!