Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

164 reviews

cpratreads's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

2.5

I think this book was fine. I was interested in what had happened, and I did have to double check that my doors were locked at bedtime. But overall, other than the shock value I didn't find this to be a very good story. Some of the plot elements were interesting but I certainly wouldn't read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder and Suicidal thoughts

gmdelisio's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

clarklyn's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

2.75

Gyllian Flynn knows how to write grimy, gross characters and environments. So many moments in this book made my stomach turn and my skin crawl. Not my favorite read to be honest- Sharp Objects was less grimey in my opinion. However, the story kept me interested enough to tolerate the disgusting descriptions but just barely. There were 2-3 spots that genuinely almost made me DNF. Lots of animal cruelty/killing/abuse and the MC even kills a pet dog at one point. Lots of other horrid descriptions throughout that made me queasy. 

I hated Ben…but it almost seems like the author doesn’t want us to hate Ben? His girlfriend/baby mamma/emotional abuser killed his sister and he let her get away with it for 2 decades? Huh?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

4.25

Ms. Flynn is just such a specific but descriptive writer. It's a rough, bloody story, but it does keep you guessing until the end, and the format of slowly revealing the past story in real time makes you want to keep pushing through the story. It may have felt a bit on the slow side, but I didn't mind it. It is really interesting to think about who "owns" your story once something so big happens that it can't stay in just your life anymore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

nahal3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

noonchi's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

1.0

There is something in this book that happens that I do not like. It is not necessary for plot development, it really had no influence on the character and really really could have been excluded and still stand as a dark book. I find this author's work to read as edgelord feminism. The main character is useless and the story really has nothing to do with her or her life as much as it has to do with unraveling the mystery about what happened to her family. I actually know nothing about her after reading the book because that's how little she matters. This is the type of book where she is the narrator and our eyes. A perspective change would have made more sense than fabricating an entire character just to tell a story. The plot is gritty and I like the midwestern gothic vibe it has going. The flashback scenes were my FAVORITE because I loved the essence of the scene and reading about characters we can't take into the present. There is a lot I like about this book that gets overshadowed.

Including the scenes about the little girl lying about being molested, even though a grow man kissed her, really really bothered me as someone who works with survivors of sexual abuse. I don't have to explain why even in fiction this is a dangerous narrative to spread. Lying about sexual abuse/sexual violence is rare and things like this reinforce lies and perpetuate rape culture. I hated when the author did this in Gone Girl too. It is completely unnecessary.

You may want to check the trigger warnings before reading. This isn't a necessary read by any means, you can skip this and have peace of mind that you're not missing anything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Pedophilia and Violence

hanlhs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Good, suspenseful read. Not sure how I feel about the ending, but I enjoyed the story overall 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

rchlfrkr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia and Suicidal thoughts

sarahmaxwell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

I really liked it, I think I was just expecting…. more. Sharp Objects worked so well for me in a way that this book just couldn’t. But Gillian Flynn’s prose and her ability to keep you enraptured will always be impressive to me. In this novel, she can keep you hooked until you actually begin to uncover the truth, and it all sort of… falls apart. The ending is what we are all searching for, the climax, the answers to all of our questions. But she doesn’t give us a chance to absorb it, let it linger, or consider all of the consequences of this deep string of lies.

It’s immediately resolved—Ben is freed, and Aunt Diane forgives her.

I want to soak in the moment we are able to piece everything together. I want to feel the moment deeply, but we aren’t given the chance.

But while the ending may have felt rushed, the journey there was anything but. Every little clue means something, and every page points to something deeper. Flynn gives us the information little by little; she doles it out in tiny doses, dangling the answers in front of us like a seasoned expert. She knows where to push, and where to pull back. I find myself impressed by this at the end of every chapter, and I think I’ll keep this awe throughout the rest of her novels.

I may need to sit with this novel a bit longer. I don’t know how much i skimmed over or haven’t absorbed fully, but I trust that there’s more to this novel than its initial read-through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

luciedelomez's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol