Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

84 reviews

zosia3's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

samdalefox's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

I'm not a big fan of the thriller murder mystery genre, but I adored 'Gone Girl' and 'Sharp Objects' also by Flynn, so I thought I'd give this one a go. Dark Places is certainly dark. It opens dark, stays dark, and arguably ends dark. The book started off strong and I was really invested, however as soon as the first 'twist' was revelaed

the introduction of Diondra as Ben's girlfriend

it quickly became predictable. I had guessed the truth of the murders by about a third of the way in. Overall, Dark Places is not enjoyable or as clever as her other works. I don't usually enjoy the changing point of view and flip-flopping timeline, however the format did make sense for this plot.  I thought Libby was well characterised, though she was the only one. The ending really let everything down. It was anticlimatic and dare I say too 'neat'; throughout the book all the little 'inconsistencies' between each character's POV were neatly explained by another's. I've included another review that I strongly agree with below:

rockinmama2ax's review:

"Unlike some suspense thrillers, I never experienced that on-the-edge-of-my-seat moment with this story. But I don't necessarily think that distracts from the novel's effectiveness. The way details about a triple homicide are shared - from various perspectives the day of and then twenty-four years later - made for a slow yet effective reveal of the sad truth.

And that brings me to my overall assessment: this was a sad story of a dirt-poor family whose circumstances seemed forever stacked against them. What might be glimmers of hope in otherwise perpetually cloudy skies proved illusions, and the reader is left with an unsatisfactory catharsis: a resolution is presented and case solved, but the sadness, the unhappiness, and the sense of hopelessness lingers, whether purposefully or not.

While I wasn't always forced into the next chapter in search of immediate answers, I was interested in discovering the truth, which means I was invested in the characters and the outcome. I only wish I'd been able to experience an intense emotional response - tears, anger, joy - rather than being reminded that happiness and fulfillment elude some forever."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Classism

miggyfool's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

uniquelymace's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

hcassell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Gillian Flynn at her best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

systemofanoun's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Another Gillian Flynn novel about a seemingly unlikable woman with a hardened exterior, questionable morals, and something to say about everything. Out of her big three, this would have to place second for me.

The characters in this novel really stood out compared to her other works, they felt very true to life and more fleshed out. They reflect people you’ve known and come across in your life. Most if not all being deeply flawed, some exhibited a good deal of character development,others….none whatsoever. It’s frustrating but ultimately real.

As for the murders, it wasn’t totally predictable but it wasn't what I would consider a mystery.

At many points, I felt as if I was being spoonfed the answers and it made it less exciting when they were just that, answers, not revaluations. Even the “big twist” wasn’t one at all in my opinion, I think subtlety is where Gillian Flynn falls short a lot of the time, she writes with so much self-awareness and then drops the ball.

All that being said it was still a fun read! If you’re familiar with Gillian Flynn’s pacing then expect nothing different from this book,iykyk. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Pregnancy

abception's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

libelle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

dee97's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

3.5

This was an interesting story although i was not a fan of the ending. This book is really bleak , it sucks you in and almost every character is just so messed up and infuriating. You might need to take a break and watch some happy shows to get over this.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

First finished vacation read!
I wil lsay I'm not much of a crime thriller reader. It's not really my thing.
However the first 3/4 of the book were great. I enjoyed the switching between now and then. I thought the three narrators had all distinct voices. Ben was so beautifully stupid and teenagery. I occasionally found it funny even.
But I gotta be honest the ending really disappointed me. After all this build up I expected a bit more. It felt like the resolution/reveal came out of nowhere and it was all tied up with a bow all too neatly in my honest opinion. Like it was such a let down after such a build up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Medical trauma, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation