Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

4 reviews

lindsayvale's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Child death, and Infidelity

Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism

tarynlannister's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I'm not ashamed to admit I didn't guess many of the twists in All the Dangerous Things, but the clues really were there for those more astute than me. (After a second read, can confirm this! It's extremely well done.) I love how Willingham leads the reader into certain assumptions without ever lying. The fast-paced, short chapters are dangerous, it's easy to scarf down in a sitting or two. 

This reminded me of The Girl on the Train in construction and some themes, so if you enjoyed that I think you will enjoy this. 

EDIT: (mild thematic spoilers)

after discussing with my book club, one thing that stands out to me is the very superficial look at true crime fandom. We only see true crime consumers briefly as ghoulish fans, eagerly feeding on Isabelle's and other victims' suffering. We could say Willingham is only criticizing that particular kind of fan, but it surprises me that it never went any deeper. 

True crime content is mostly consumed by women, and many women are at least partially motivated by a sense that learning about the tragedies of other women can make them safer, that they might be able to avoid a mistake that cost others their lives. The book comes so close to that idea, talking about "the violence" that can suddenly come into anyone's life without warning. I just wish if Willingham had wanted to touch on the complexity of true crime media consumption, she could have gone even just a little deeper than seeming to paint all consumers as ghouls feeding on others' pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child death, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Alcohol, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, and Stalking

Overall, fairly mild violence for a mystery novel involving or referring to a few deaths. There is some discussion of a mother attempting murder-suicide with her child during a case of postpartum mental illness, and (late book spoilers, but should read if that theme would bother you)

the mother does kill a child

. There is also at least one instance of intentional tampering with birth control to cause a pregnancy without one partner's consent.

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

This book was a little slower burn than A Flicker in the Dark, but after the first 80 pages, I couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, and Sexual content

kat_rowlen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

Such a gripping thriller! Nice short chapters and pages that turned themselves! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Death, Dysphoria, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Minor: Infertility and Injury/Injury detail