Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Read 2/3-2/6)

When Libby Day was 7 years old she lost her entire family, her sisters and mother were brutally murdered, and her 15 year old brother was convicted of the crime. For the next 24 years she has been living off charity and generally has not moved past her 7 year old self. Then she comes in contact with a group that is convinced her brother is innocent and makes Libby start to question everything she thought she knew about that night.  Everybody involved had a secret that 7 year olds were not included in.  If her brother did not kill his family, who did?

This is the second Gillian Flynn book I have read.  I read Gone Girl in June of 2014.  I have become a fan.  She takes us down such an unexpected rabbit hole with her stories.  The twists of this book wasn't as shocking as in Gone Girl, but it still wasn't easily predictable.  I was a bit disappointed in the ending.  I felt that it all tied up a little to neatly, I wanted more left undone.   It seemed pretty neat compared to Gone Girl.  I still flew through the book, 3 days to read.  It was really hard to put down, and I kept staying up past my bedtime to read "one more chapter."  Flynn's writing is so smooth and conversational that it felt more like I was listening to a friend talk than reading a book.  I need to get her book Sharp Objects because I have a feeling history will repeat itself and I will love it!

Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold (Landover Series #1) by Terry Brooks (read 1/5 to 1/30)

This is the next series in BOTM.  Meet Ben Holiday, a trial lawyer from Chicago, grieving the loss of his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He finds an advertisement in an upscale Christmas catalog claiming to offer a magical kingdom for one million dollars by a man named Mr. Meeks. Although skeptical, Ben pursues the offer out of a desperate need to start a new life. Ben receives a magical medallion and is transported through a swirling mist to the kingdom of Landover. Unfortunately, he finds it not exactly as described.
This is my favorite type of book, lightweight fantasy with sarcastic and a bit self-depreciating humor.   I can't believe I have missed this series before now.  I am liking how easy this read is, nothing heavy and maybe I'm not laughing out loud, but I have absolutely caught my self snorting now and then.  I think the simplicity of the story is what is so great, this was written in 1986, so I'm not sure if it is a landmark in the genre, but it wasn't a common style then either, at least as far as I know.  This is light with humor, not a real thinker but something to go hey I feel like reading, and I don't want to be a better person when I'm done, but I want to enjoy it.  Even if my book club doesn't read the rest of the series I will.