And now, for this week’s Wishlist Wednesday… the first of 2013!

The concept is to post about one book from our wish lists that we can’t wait to read. Want to play? Here’s how:

• Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
• Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
• Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.
• Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it’s on your wishlist.
• Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of the post at Pen to Paper.
• Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere in your post.
• Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My Wishlist Wednesday book is:

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

From Amazon:

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 she survived — and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

Why do I want to read this?

I don’t usually gravitate toward thrillers or crime dramas, but having read Gone Girl (reviewed here), I’m pretty much willing to assume that anything written by Gillian Flynn will be scary, compelling, and unpredictable. Gone Girl was one of those books that everyone was talking about in 2012 — and which definitely lived up to the hype. I’m really interested to see how the author’s earlier works compare to her break-out hit, and hope to get my hands on a copy of Dark Places in the near future.

Quick note to Wishlist Wednesday bloggers: Come on back to Bookshelf Fantasies for Flashback Friday! Join me in celebrating the older gems hidden away on our bookshelves. See the introductory post for more details, and come back this Friday to add your flashback favorites!