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readbycarina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Drug use
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Cancer
cammiem8's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy and Body shaming
Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Racism
msennflinn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Drug use, Gore, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Grief and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol
morganegrant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
the_one_krissy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
I guess this book was entertaining enough, but I hate it when there's nobody I can root for or even mildly like in the cast. Not a fan of this type of tales.
Graphic: Animal death and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug abuse
Minor: Racism
kostas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
rubybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
As you can probably guess from the title, the book has dark themes. The protagonist, Libby, is a woman whose mother and sisters were murdered when she was a child, and her testimony put her brother in prison. In the present day, Libby is contacted by a group of people who are convinced that her brother Ben is innocent, and she gets drawn in to finding out who the real killer was. There are also a couple of other narratives from the past, Libby's mother and brother, which rounded out the story and made it seem more complete.
Like Gillian Flynn's other books, Dark Places has dark themes and flawed, often unlikeable characters. I liked how distinct all the characters felt, even if I didn't necessarily like them. Likeable characters really wouldn't work in a book like this! The different narrators felt distinct, and after hearing what happened with the murders, I was interested to see what Libby would find out about what actually happened. However, I do like having a character to root for, and I really didn't care about what happened to any of them. I just wanted to feel a bit of sympathy for someone!
For me, the synopsis was much more intriguing than the actual plot of the book. I have a problem where I always expect crime/mystery/thriller books to be much more shocking than they actually are, so I get disappointed with the plot twists. The middle of this book seemed to go on forever, and it was only right at the end when I really started to be interested in who committed the murders. The synopsis also says that Libby is on the run from a killer, which I found a bit misleading because I was expecting that to be a major driving part of the plot. Once that part happened, it got much more fast-paced and I was into the story a lot more, but it came a bit too late. Even then, it felt like the book went from 0 to 100 and I was disappointed with one of the resolutions - it felt so ridiculous.
I rarely read mysteries or crime fiction, so bear that in mind, but I just didn't enjoy this and I wasn't as invested as I hoped I would be. I can see why some people might enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. I'd give content warnings for descriptions of murder, animal death, alcohol and drug use.
Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Alcohol, and Drug use
anne311's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit
theavidreader405's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
nadjaschmidt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia