Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

47 reviews

astoriareader's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

SYNOPSIS:
  • Julia vanished twenty years ago. Her sisters, Lydia and Claire, reunite after the death of Claire’s husband, Paul.
  • The sisters search for answers about what happened to Julia, mysteries about Paul, and many other things as well.

MY THOUGHTS
  • This book felt very slow-paced to me. I typically get through books very quickly, and this book just crept long for me.
  • I am in the minority here, but I thought this book was just “meh” — lots of torture porn and graphic violence for no apparent reason.
  • As a woman, I would love it if authors, especially women authors, could stop using gratuitous violence against women as a plot device. Do something creative. Raping and murdering women, which is described incessantly and in great detail, should not be entertainment.    

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️3 stars. Stop using gratuitous violence against women as a plot device. 

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alicenonsense's review against another edition

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dark sad 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? Yes

4.0

Slaughter has a chronic case of writing "not like other girls" characters. Don't get it twisted though, this is a horror book. A lot of the reviews here seem confused about that. 

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sarahjanehayes's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

This book felt like a nightmare fever dream what did I just read

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baileymorrison's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.0


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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

A vastly gripping psychological thriller that packs punch after disturbing punch of twisted lies and chilling in-depth details about a young woman’s disappearance.

Claire and Lydia, estranged sisters brought back together by another tragedy, embark on a journey almost twenty-five years old as new clues come to light about their older sister, Julia, who went missing when she was nineteen and was never found. Nothing is as it seems as present begins to connect rather ominously with the past.

This was my first Karin Slaughter book and man, did it deliver. It’s definitely a very dark book that seems to get darker with each shocking turn, not shying away from grisly facts or chilling thoughts. The writing was intense, fast-paced, evocative. Slaughter’s words made the story so vivid and realistic, my heart pounding the whole way through as if I were one of Julia’s sisters, too. 

If you’re a fan of Gillian Flynn, you’ll also devour this one. I found their writing styles quite similar and engaging.

I loved the way this story played out, the different story arcs that came to fruition. Of course, the subject matter is even more sinister then you’d imagine out the gate, but it was used so well in this one. 

I suspect I will be thinking of this book for a long time!! 

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laurenelisewrites's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Pretty decent thriller. The twists were cool but the ending was a little underwhelming, predictable. Definitely a page turner though, and I was thoroughly entertained. Some funky off-comments about POC in the beginning as well… couldn’t tell what the purpose of that was.

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abbymackenzie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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claireeturner525's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0


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nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25


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tmoore65's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

This book was moving at a medium pace at first but as soon as I got to about the halfway mark it sped up considerably and within the last 100 pages I couldn’t put it down. I have never read a book as dark and graphic as this one before and I definitely think this was a good way to get into that style of writing. This book was tragic and slightly gory but it never felt excessive. With every twist and added layer my heart just sunk farther and farther. Not for the faint of heart. Amidst all of the horrors this book details there is also a beautiful story about a family and how they’ve dealt with trauma and how new traumas bring them back together. <slight spoiler>Definitely not a happy ending but at least the family can start on a new leaf at the end<slight spoiler>.

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