Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dark Places - Gefährliche Erinnerung by Gillian Flynn

155 reviews

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This was my ‘Blind Date with a Book’ book from Upper Street Bookshop! ✨ 

I am SO upset that this didn’t end up as much of a thrill as I expected 🥺 The beginning was gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed the differing perspectives (flicking between current Libby’s and past Ben/Patty’s perspectives). 
But I’m so cross with the ending 😂 I think there was such a big build up for it to fall short.

It was messed up that Patty felt she had to hire someone to kill her, and that Diondra got Michelle, obviously, but it made a lot of sense in the end 😫

This one definitely requires many content warnings, which I’ll include below! 

3.5 out of 5 stars for me ✨ Thank you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, and Blood

tjmitrovic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

ettapopek's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Amazing book with lots of interesting characters, complicated backstories, and a mind blowing twist at the end! One of my favorite Gillian Flynn books for sure.  Book is definitely dark and creepy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Violence, and Blood

shannonleestrouse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

crocodilerocklobster's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, and Abortion

celina246's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

2.5

This book was intense. It felt a bit like the shock value outweighed the actual plot, so that the mystery was just background to the gore, violence and tragedy. I can’t see myself wanting to read this again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

punkrockingnerd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

There are def some sections crossed out because of trigger stuff, but DAGNABBIT, Ms. Flynn is SUCH a good writer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest, Trafficking, Stalking, Car accident, and Abandonment

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

This is my second Gillian Flynn after Sharp Objects, and while I rank Dark Places below Sharp Objects, I did enjoy this. It's well-paced and Flynn maintains the tension and intrigue throughout. I wasn't entirely surprised by the ending, largely because the hints were seeded throughout the story well enough that the reveal felt like it fell into place in a way that made sense - which is honestly more satisfying than twist ending geared toward pure shock. I think this might make for a decent reread for that reason. I also enjoyed the exploration of the unglamorous, more unsavory aspects of grief and trauma - Libby's anger, the sluggishness of her depression, her desire to isolate. Like Sharp Objects, this is great source material for a miniseries, in the right hands and with a good cast; shame the 2015 adaptation wasn't well-received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

readingwithjass's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy

sophiaroesler's review against another edition

dark mysterious

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, and Death of parent