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I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but... read more

Summary edit see section history

Libby Day is one of two surviving members of the massacre that killed her family. The other is her brother, Ben, who is in prison for
killing them all, hacking them to pieces. Libby testified as a child that she had seen her brother do it. Years later, after finding herself penniless and... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Libby Day is one of two surviving members of the massacre that killed her family. The other is her brother, Ben, who is in prison for
killing them all, hacking them to pieces. Libby testified as a child that she had seen her brother do it. Years later, after finding herself penniless and jobless, she is asked by the Kill Club (an organization which studies unsolved crimes) to help reexamine information pertinent to the case and help track down people who were involved. She is shocked to find that the general consensus is that her brother did not kill her family. If not him, who? And why?

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “I've busted in doors and windows and...I've killed things. Half the time I look down, my hands are in fists.”
    Libby
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • It was surprising that you could spend hours in the middle of the night pretending things were OK, and know in thirty seconds of daylight that that simply wasn’t so.
    Highlighted by 30 Kindle customers
  • The phrase fuck you may not rest on the tip of my tongue, but it’s near. Midtongue.
    Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers
  • There are few phrases that annoy me more than I won’t bite. The only line that pisses me off faster is when some drunk, ham-faced dude in a bar sees me trying to get past him and barks: Smile, it can’t be that bad! Yeah, actually, it can, jackwad.
    Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers
  • “Don’t be discouraged—every relationship you have is a failure, until you find the right one.”
    Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers
  • I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.
    Highlighted by 12 Kindle customers
  • It is always consoling to think of suicide;     it’s what gets one through many a bad night.
    Highlighted by 12 Kindle customers
  • Ihave a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it.
    Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers
  • He was born to be lonely, that’s what he knew for certain. When he was a kid, when he was a teenager, and definitely now. Sometimes he felt like he’d been gone his whole life—in exile, away from the place he was supposed to be, and that, soldier-like, he was pining to be returned. Homesick for a place he’d never been.
    Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers
  • That’s what I did, though— I had angry, defensive conversations in my head, got mad at things that hadn’t even happened yet. Yet.
    Highlighted by 7 Kindle customers
  • That was another of my mom’s words: glum. It meant having the blues in a way that annoyed other people. Having the blues aggressively.
    Highlighted by 7 Kindle customers
Show all 11 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Page 1 Libby Day - Now
Page 17 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 8:02 AM.
Page 24 Libby Day - Now
Page 45 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 9:13 AM.
Page 51 Libby Day - Now
Page 59 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 9:42 AM.
Page 69 Libby Day - Now
Page 78 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 10:18 AM.
Page 90 Libby Day - Now
Page 102 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 11:31 AM.
Page 110 Libby Day - Now
Page 121 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 12:51 PM
Page 133 Libby Day - Now
Page 145 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 1:50 PM.
Page 151 Libby Day - Now
Page 157 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 3:10 PM.
Page 167 Libby Day - Now
Page 177 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 3:10 PM.
Page 189 Libby Day - Now
Page 198 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 5:58 PM.
Page 208 Libby Day - Now
Page 218 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 6:11 PM.
Page 231 Libby Day - Now
Page 238 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 8:38 PM.
Page 246 Libby Day - Now
Page 257 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 9:12 PM.
Page 266 Libby Day - Now
Page 271 Ben Day - January 2, 1985, 10:23 PM.
Page 281 Libby Day - Now
Page 287 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, 12:01 AM.
Page 290 Libby Day - Now
Page 297 Ben Day - January 3, 1985, 12:02 AM.
Page 302 Libby Day - Now
Page 309 Ben Day - January 3, 1985, 1:11 AM.
Page 312 Libby Day - Now
Page 318 Patty Day - January 2, 1985, PM.
Page 321 Libby Day - Now
Page 326 Ben Day - January 3, 1985, 2:12 AM.
Page 330 Libby Day - Now
Page 334 Calvin Diehl - January 3, 1985, 4:12 AM.
Page 337 Libby Day - Now
Page 341 Ben Day - Now
Page 344 Libby Day - Now
Page 347 Acknowledgements

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Gillian Flynn (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. W.G. Cookman (Designer) - Cover design
  2. Dana Rossine (Photographer) - Author photograph

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 0307341569
Page Count: 368

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3606.L935D37 2009
  • Dewey: 813.6

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • MEAN: A psychological thriller novelette
  • The Survivors
  • We Have Always Lived in the Castle
  • Sharp Objects

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