Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Dark Places - Gefährliche Erinnerung by Gillian Flynn

58 reviews

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

ripxw's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

jackbifrost's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Moderate: Incest, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury

keijiwolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

cjxx26's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

readbycarina's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.25

This books is very difficult for me to review. Living up to its title, Dark Places is certainly the darkest, most misanthropic, most viscerally disgusting book Gillian Flynn has written to date. It is not a pleasant read, yet her prose so expertly invokes feelings of dread and repulsion. And it is repulsive, not even the gore of the murders, but the nasty, offputting details in the everyday of the characters. Not one character is likeable. While Libby isn’t as pathetic as Camille, nor as cunningly cruel and calculating as Amy, she’s the most easily hated of Flynn’s trouble women protagonists. It’s the most seething condemnation of true crime fans (deservedly so) I’ve ever seen, and this coming from the woman who wrote the introduction to I’ll Be Gone In the Dark as a fan of the genre herself. A very interesting read, it certainly not enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

clemmiem's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

morganegrant's review against another edition

dark sad 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

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