Book Review | The Grownup by Gillian Flynn: Classic Flynn in a Smaller Dose

Title: The Grownup
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Adult – Thriller –  Suspense
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Pages: 64

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.

Review:

The Grownup is a short story, but it still has all the trademark components you love from a full-length Gillian Flynn novel. This short story was originally a part of George R.R. Martin’s Rogues anthology.

“I didn’t stop giving hand jobs because I wasn’t good at it. I stopped giving hand jobs because I was the best at it.”

What an awesome first sentence. I knew at that moment I was in for a crazy ride, and I was right!

Our main female character is one you would expect from Flynn. She is a con-woman who has been manipulating people since she was very young and she has no qualms about doing things that will get her what she wants or needs.

Another notable character was Miles. He was super creepy! I enjoyed him as a character, but I feel like he wasn’t completely believable, particularly near the end. I probably could have believed it more if he was a tad older, but perhaps I’m the only one who feels that way.

There’s something about Flynn’s writing that always makes me feel at home when reading it, so you can imagine that I was disappointed that this was so short. The physical book is about 60 pages long, it’s smaller in height than your average book, and the pages have large margins and text. I read it in about an hour, but that hour was filled with twists and turns and constant doubt.

I don’t mind being confused or not knowing what to believe for the majority of a book or story, but at the end I need things to be spelled out for me. That was the one thing I didn’t get from this book. The ending was left open for you to interpret on your own, which some people may like, but I’m not that kind of person. That’s mostly where my rating decreased for this book.

The overall story was very enjoyable, but I think it would have been nearly perfect if Flynn provided a more decisive ending for us.

If you are a fan of Flynn’s works, I definitely think you will enjoy this short story.

3.5 Stars!

            

I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.