Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

145 reviews

kristeas's review against another edition

2.5

I wanted to DNF this halfway through because it dragged so much and I didn’t care about what was happening but I pushed through and enjoyed the ending and alternating perspectives of the same night. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Animal cruelty

olxvgxes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Minor: Incest and Vomit

livlovread's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Violence, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

hollymileham's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

very good and gripping im now mildly late for uni...
if theres something about me its that i love past/present pov it gets me every time, the ending was unexpected and i think the story was paced very well. some of it was very disturbing for a little while

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Pedophilia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Suicidal thoughts

taffygirl45's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Animal cruelty, Murder, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

willow_b's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Blood

maddieads's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

An incredibly well-written book by Gillian Flynn. Although all of her books are dark I think this one is the darkest. I had DNF’d it several years ago and just recently picked it back up. I remembered why almost right away. It’s a book that makes you viciously uncomfortable at almost every turn. This is not a book with a happy ending but it does have a fitting one. There are definitely major trigger warnings to go with this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Violence, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Vomit

alidathealien's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

This should be called Yucky Places because Gillian Flynn is very talented in the art of describing a scene that makes me want to take a shower. I liked this a lot more than Sharp Objects. The plot was fast paced and engaging and I certainly didn't figure out what happened before it was explained! I loved how little things mentioned at the beginning come back in a significant way just as you were starting to forget about them. The way the different character perspectives tend to refer to the same things but with very different contexts would be very funny if not for how serious the book is. Just that aspect reminded me a lot of Arrested Development humor. Can we get another mini series starring Amy Adams please?

edatta's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Like most Gillian Flynn novels, the story is largely carried by the gut-punch that occurs about 80% of the way through. This one isn't as effective as her others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, and Animal death

tangledinblue's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I love how this book is written in a way that forces you to untangle the knots and find the truth as the protagonist does the same.  Tackles the fragility of memory, the satanic panic, the 80s true crime community, and what happens when a tragedy becomes a spectacle. I loved that the narrator was unreliable, both intentionally and unintentionally, and how Flynn wove the story to drop pieces of the puzzle in at opportune moments, leaving the reader juuuust one step away from a realization at all times.  I also am a huge fan of Flynn’s female protags- they’re angry, depressed, bitter, and morally grey  in a way that doesn’t make them unlikeable, because they resonate with all women. Their rage may not be righteous but it is not unjustified. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Classism, Gore, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Moderate: Pedophilia