By Gabrielle Smith
Arts & Entertainment Editor

On July 8 of this year, HBO premiered a limited series called “Sharp Objects.” The series is based on the book of the same title by “Gone Girl” author, Gillian Flynn.  The show stars big Hollywood names, such as Amy Adams and Patricia Clark, alongside newcomer Eliza Scanlen; all of them together play out the drama of a broken family.

“Sharp Objects” is based around Camille Preaker (Adams), who is a single woman in her 30’s and a crime reporter in St. Louis. She is sent back to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri by her editor to report on the disappearances and the murders of two little girls.Camille had a bad life growing up in Wind Gap with her mother Adora (Clark), stepfather and little sister Marian, who died at a young age from an unknown illness.

Lacking any kind of bond with her mother, Camille turned to bad decisions and choices, resulting in visible self-harm marks all over her body and alcoholism.

Upon realizing that she doesn’t have much of a choice on returning, she shows up at her mother’s doorstep unannounced, hoping to stay with her while she is in town. Adora agrees to let Camille stay with her but tries to lay down some rules, one of which is not talking or getting involved with the investigation of the murders in Wind Gap.
Seeing as that is the whole reason Camille is there, there are some tense moments between the two.

Camille also meets her half-sister, Amma, who is 14 years old; she is the perfect daughter by day and town wild child by night. With the two sisters barely knowing each other, they start to form a bond behind Adora’s back when Amma sneaks out at night to party with her friends and Camille goes out investigating.

Eight, one-hour episodes tell the tale of a woman thrown back into the heart of her depression with a careless mother, new half-sister and a town furious and afraid of the two previously committed murders. This show keeps the suspense and viewers anticipating the next, aching for the killer to be revealed.

While this is a good show for psychological thriller lovers, a trigger warning is necessary for those interested in watching. While it’s not completely graphic, it does weigh heavily on self-mutilating and substance abuse, so viewers should go into it with that in mind.

As of Aug. 26, the limited series has ended, but it is still available to watch on the HBO app and the iTunes store.