Sharp Objects

Camille Preaker works as a journalist at The Daily Post, a small newspaper in Chicago. She is dissatisfied with her job, which involves covering stories about crime and human suffering. Camille has a complicated relationship with her boss, Frank Curry, who supported her after a recent hospitalization for self-harm. She has a history of carving words into her skin, driven by hallucinations. Curry assigns her to cover the case of a murdered girl and a missing child in her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri.

Once in Wind Gap, Camille gathers information from the townspeople, including the family of Ann Nash, the murdered girl. The local police offer little insight, but Chief Vickery, the town sheriff, confides off the record that he believes the perpetrator is a local resident. When the missing girl, Natalie Keene, is found strangled with her teeth removed, Camille's editor, Curry, asks her to stay in town to continue reporting the unfolding events.

Camille reconnects with her estranged mother, Adora, and her 13-year-old half-sister, Amma. Camille's relationship with her mother has always been troubled, especially after the death of her younger sister, Marian, from an illness during Camille's youth. Amma, born after Marian's death, is a manipulative teenager who hides her rebellious behavior from Adora. Camille also forms a relationship with Richard Willis, a detective from Kansas City investigating the possibility of a serial killer.

As Camille continues her investigation, she enters into a sexual relationship with Richard but avoids revealing her scars. She also grows closer to Amma, who takes her to a party where they drink and use drugs. Afterward, Camille wakes to find her mother giving her medication, which makes her ill. Camille soon realizes that Adora suffers from factitious disorder imposed on another and was responsible for Marian's death. A letter from a nurse who cared for Marian confirms these suspicions. Camille also learns that Richard suspects Adora of murdering the two local girls.

Camille returns to her mother's house, where Adora poisons her and tries to "care for" her. Camille passes out but is rescued when Richard and the police arrive to arrest her mother. Richard is shocked by Camille's scars, and their relationship ends. Adora is charged with the murders of Marian, Ann Nash, and Natalie Keene. Amma is sent to live with Camille in Chicago. Initially, Amma seems to adjust well, but after a classmate is found murdered with six of her teeth pulled, it is revealed that Amma was responsible for the murders of Ann and Natalie: jealous of the attention Adora gave to the victims, she killed the girls. Amma is arrested. Distraught, Camille resumes self-harming but is stopped by Curry and his wife, who take her in as their own daughter.

Flynn wrote Sharp Objects while working as a reporter for Entertainment Weekly, writing the novel during nights and weekends, a few hours at a time.{{Cite news |url=http://thegazette.com/2013/06/23/author-gillian-flynn-reveals-madness-behind-writing/ |title=Author Gillian Flynn reveals madness behind writing |date=June 23, 2013 |work=The Gazette |access-date=January 21, 2014 |publisher=The Gazette Company |location=Cedar Rapids, Iowa}} She described the process of maintaining the book's "moist", "gothic tone" as challenging, contrasting with the more upbeat style required for her day job.{{Cite news |last=McClurg |first=Jocelyn |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-09-27-new-voices-flynn_x.htm?hiddenMacValue=0&hiddenMacPrintValue=0 |title=New voices: Gillian Flynn makes thriller debut |date=September 27, 2006 |work=USA Today |access-date=January 21, 2014 |publisher=Gannett Company |location=Mclean, Virginia}}

Sharp Objects attained critical acclaim.{{Cite web |title=Book Marks reviews of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn |url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/sharp-objects/ |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=Book Marks |language=en-US}} Literary critics praised Flynn for her exploration of psychological complexity, dark family dynamics, and her sharp prose.{{Cite web |title=All Book Marks reviews for Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn |url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/sharp-objects/ |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Book Marks |language=en-US}} The novel was often lauded for its disturbing atmosphere and its handling of deeply flawed – yet compelling – characters.

Writing for Chicago Tribune, Alan Cheuse described the book as "a first novel that reads like the accomplished work of a long-time pro", adding that it "goes deeper than your average thriller", blending "the narrative drive of a serious pop novel" with the psychological depth of a "mainstream character study". He called Sharp Objects "a terrific debut".{{Cite web |title=Sharp Objects |url=https://penguinrandomhouselibrary.com/book/?isbn=9780307341556 |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Penguin Random House Library Marketing |language=en}}

The Kansas City Star hailed it as "one of the best and most disturbing books" in recent memory, commending Flynn's skillful blend of tragedy and suspense. The Plain Dealer also praised the novel, describing it as "a sad, horrifying book" with characters that "will worm their way uncomfortably beneath your skin". The review noted that Sharp Objects felt more like a "literary novel than simple mystery".

The Washington Post lauded Flynn's writing as "skillful and disturbing", praising her ability to write with both lyricism and sharpness, all while maintaining an "unsparing eye for human imperfection".

• New Blood Fiction Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association (2007, won){{Cite web |url=http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2007/newblood.html |title=Gillian Flynn wins with Sharp Objects |publisher=Crime Writers' Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207155637/http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2007/newblood.html |archive-date=December 7, 2007 |access-date=January 21, 2014}}
• Ian Fleming Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association (2007, won)
• Duncan Lawrie Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association (2007, nominated)

In 2008, British director Andrea Arnold was set to direct a film adaptation of the novel for French production company Pathé, but the project did not materialize.{{Cite magazine |last=Mitchell |first=Wendy |date=August 6, 2008 |title=Forward, Slingshot start shooting UK school horror Tormented |url=http://www.screendaily.com/forward-slingshot-start-shooting-uk-school-horror-tormented/4040179.article |access-date=October 7, 2014 |magazine=Screen Daily |publisher=Media Business Insight |location=London, England}}

The film rights to Sharp Objects were purchased by Blumhouse Productions and Alliance Films in 2012,{{Cite news |last=Nordyke |first=Kimberly |date=November 30, 2012 |title=Hollywood's Most Powerful Authors: Gillian Flynn on Adapting Gone Girl, Being Too 'Wimpy' for Crime Reporting and Her Best Advice to Writers (Q&A) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gone-girl-author-gillian-flynn-395337 |access-date=January 21, 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Eldridge Industries |location=Los Angeles, California}} with Flynn initially working as the screenwriter. By 2014, Flynn became an executive producer for an eight-episode television miniseries, alongside Jason Blum and Charles Layton. Marti Noxon wrote the pilot and served as showrunner.{{Cite magazine |last=Highfill |first=Samantha |date=July 9, 2014 |title=Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects is coming to television |url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/08/gillian-flynn-sharp-objects/ |access-date=July 10, 2014 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |publisher=Meredith Corporation |location=New York City}} The well-reviewed series,{{Cite web |date=July 6, 2018 |title=Sharp Objects should be first choice for summer appointment TV |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/7/6/18385355/sharp-objects-should-be-first-choice-for-summer-appointment-tv |access-date=October 22, 2024 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}} also titled Sharp Objects, was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, filmed in California and Georgia in 2017, and premiered in July 2018, starring Amy Adams as Camille Preaker.{{Cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/sharp-objects-hbo-drama-series-amy-adams-star-eone-marti-noxon-1201728892/ |title=HBO Orders Sharp Objects Drama Series Starring Amy Adams From Marti Noxon, Gillian Flynn, Jean-Marc Vallée & eOne |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=April 1, 2016 |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=August 8, 2016}}{{Cite magazine |last=Wagmeister |first=Elizabeth |date=February 19, 2016 |title=Amy Adams to Star in Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects TV Adaptation |url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/sharp-objects-television-show-amy-adams-cast-1201710883/ |access-date=February 20, 2016 |magazine=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |location=Los Angeles, California}}

{{reflist|2}}

• {{official website|http://gillian-flynn.com/sharp-objects/}}

{{Gillian Flynn}}

Category:American mystery novels

Category:2006 American novels

Category:Fiction about self-harm

Category:Fiction about filicide

Category:American novels adapted into television shows

Category:Novels set in Missouri

Category:2006 debut novels

Category:Novels about alcoholism

Category:Shaye Areheart Books books

Category:Works about Munchausen syndrome by proxy

Category:Southern noir novels