Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

32 reviews

dismantlethepatriarchy23's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

Plot twists all the way up till the end. I couldn’t put the book down, it was consuming, and those are the best books to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide attempt

Minor: Mental illness and Miscarriage

agapemanning's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

mcarol23's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Murder, and Suicide attempt

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

This was annoying in that the protagonist was annoying, but it was good in that it had an enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I would’ve preferred the ending to be a little happier, but I suppose it’s unrealistic to think it could be. Maybe I can think of it more like a lot yet but maybe later - something that gets worked out off the pages and after the story - like in an unwritten epilogue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence

zenbirdie's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Murder, and Alcoholism

alexismong720's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

lizziemarie01's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

brittanylee0302's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This book blew me away. The slow burn killed me & I was really ready for the ultimate disappointment at the end but it definitely held up. I feel like it took forever to get to anything that was really exciting though & more things could have been sprinkled throughout instead of holding it all for the last 30%. Another thing I really struggled with is the flashbacks or more so day dreams, I feel like they could have been better separated because I was so lost at some points that I had to be like what time period are we in & what exactly is going on? Just a space between paragraphs would have been a little helpful instead of just jumping right into things 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Vomit, Sexual content, and Gun violence

aprilblues348's review

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent

kherndon927's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

At first, I thought this was a retelling of BTK. Then he was mentioned in the book.  After finishing it, I'm not sure how.to feel about the book. 

Chloe is a clearly traumatized adult with an addiction to Xanax. At 12 years old, she turned  in the evidence that would convict her father of kidnapping and murdering 6 teenage girls. When it seems a copy cat killer has emerged, she finds herself seeing guilt in the people all around her. 

It's hard to believe that Chloe made it through to get her Ph.D without one of her professors realizing she was PTSD. especially after her ex boyfriend gets a restraining order against her. How was counseling not mandated? 

The men surrounding Chloe are sus. Daniel with his mysterious missing sister and refusal to speak to his parents, Cooper just showing up at random times and never checking on Chloe, aaron the reporter just showing up in baton Rouge like it's nbd.and so many more. 

The reveal wasn't totally unforeseeable and lacked a real oh crap. It all felt flat and it was too much all at once. 3/5 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Mental illness