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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
The Grownup
by Gillian Flynn
Mini ContemporaryAThon: read a short book.
content warnings: mentions of animal abuse, violence, murder, general creepiness
I've had all three of Gillian Flynn's novels sitting on my shelves for several years at this point, and yet the first thing I read from her is a novella I read a week ago. On the plus side, this was really good so now I have way more incentive to read her full-length books.
The Grownup is a novella about a sex-worker-turned-psychic who has spent her entire life conning people out of their money, and she's damn good at it. When Susan Burke comes to see her and talks of having a troubled stepson, she sees this as an opportunity to earn a bit of extra cash, but as she becomes further entrenched in the Burke's life she starts to think that Susan might not be as paranoid as she seems.
Gillian Flynn is as successful as she is for a reason: she's a damn good writer. After Gone Girl was such a success, there was a whole mini-genre of thriller created that lasted a few short years because all of her imitators proved to have less than half of her talent (looking at you The Girl on the Train). Despite not having read any of her books before, I have seen Gone Girl and Widows, both which were written by her so I knew how talented she was, but I was unprepared for how great this tiny novella is.
I maybe made a mistake reading it while home alone because despite only being around 60 pages it's ridiculously creepy. The middle twenty-or-so pages in particular sent chills up my spine with every line as the tension really starts ramping up. The initial reveal was also amazing, though I felt like what followed diminished its impact somewhat. But then there's the final page and I was right back in, almost wishing this was longer so I could spend more time in this unsettling world.
This is one of the best stand-alone novellas I've ever read and it makes me so excited to read more of Gillian Flynn's work. If you need a quick thriller to read then this should be at the top of your list.
content warnings: mentions of animal abuse, violence, murder, general creepiness
“So the house had been a compromise: The husband wanted vintage, Susan wanted new, so they thought this outside/inside split might settle things. But the Burkes ended up more resentful than satisfied. Millions of dollars later, and neither of them were happy. Money is wasted on the rich.”
I've had all three of Gillian Flynn's novels sitting on my shelves for several years at this point, and yet the first thing I read from her is a novella I read a week ago. On the plus side, this was really good so now I have way more incentive to read her full-length books.
The Grownup is a novella about a sex-worker-turned-psychic who has spent her entire life conning people out of their money, and she's damn good at it. When Susan Burke comes to see her and talks of having a troubled stepson, she sees this as an opportunity to earn a bit of extra cash, but as she becomes further entrenched in the Burke's life she starts to think that Susan might not be as paranoid as she seems.
Gillian Flynn is as successful as she is for a reason: she's a damn good writer. After Gone Girl was such a success, there was a whole mini-genre of thriller created that lasted a few short years because all of her imitators proved to have less than half of her talent (looking at you The Girl on the Train). Despite not having read any of her books before, I have seen Gone Girl and Widows, both which were written by her so I knew how talented she was, but I was unprepared for how great this tiny novella is.
I maybe made a mistake reading it while home alone because despite only being around 60 pages it's ridiculously creepy. The middle twenty-or-so pages in particular sent chills up my spine with every line as the tension really starts ramping up. The initial reveal was also amazing, though I felt like what followed diminished its impact somewhat. But then there's the final page and I was right back in, almost wishing this was longer so I could spend more time in this unsettling world.
This is one of the best stand-alone novellas I've ever read and it makes me so excited to read more of Gillian Flynn's work. If you need a quick thriller to read then this should be at the top of your list.