Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

63 reviews

stephtoriz's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I was so confused by the ending or the epilogue </ spoiler > I thought they saw that Laure was the one who pushed her into the plunge pool which still doesn’t make sense if she was in hiding .. so this man that’s stalking her ? He did it ? Idk 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Cancer

magical_mads's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

The characters were very unlikable and frustrating. There were at least four or five plot twists within the last 100 pages. The motivations behind the murders made no sense. And then there was a feminist twist thrown in at the very end so that the author could make some social commentary or some thing, which was handled very poorly (in my opinion). I’m so disappointed because this kind of premise/commentary is 100% sent the thing that I normally go for. But this book is a no for me.

Also, I hated how in the topic of rape was treated in this book. It felt like it was shoved in as a last minute plot twist. It should never be treated like that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Torture, Gaslighting, and Gore

Minor: Infertility, Rape, Abortion, and Sexual assault

rochelleisreading's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Stalking, and Torture

jamiejanae_6's review

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Stalking, and Torture

hannahloveslit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Gore, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Stalking, Abortion, and Sexual assault

madlain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Rape, and Body horror

Minor: Terminal illness

blobagirl'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

Moderate: Murder and Torture

Minor: Sexual assault

cursed_sapphire's review

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

This book is very easy to pick up and read, with short chapters and lots of cliffhangers and twists. The characters were likable but nothing too special, but all have potential for further growth in a sequel. I saw another review mention that there were too many twists, and I agree, as near the end there was a section where it felt like the suspect changed every 20 pages. The killer's monolog explaining their motivation also went on for multiple chapters which was far too long and complicated (although to be fair, most chapters in this book are between 2-5 pages, so it's more like the killer's monolog lasted for one medium-sized chapter, but the complaint still stands). I wish there was more time spent establishing characters other than the protagonist, but I did like the female lead. The biggest pros were the tension and the fact that it's dripping with atmosphere. This book is fun for a fun, popcorn read, but nothing too deep. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Minor: Rape

brittanyswens's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Blood, Torture, and Murder

moeisme1972's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Infertility, Abortion, Torture, and Rape