Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

7 reviews

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

chasingpages1's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Child death, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Alcohol

Moderate: Grief, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, and Death

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Self harm, Stalking, and Violence

themoodreader's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Drug use, Child death, Stalking, Addiction, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Sexual content

ravenpuff's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

yuyuv's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Mental illness

constellation_library's review

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

 

Initially, I gave this book 3 stars. I liked it, but there were aspects of it that just didn’t make sense to me at first. Once I talked to my husband about it, I bumped that rating up to 4 stars. The main reason for my confusion was that I didn’t catch the overall motive of the killer during the present day. It seemed like the methodology used to pull our MC in again after so many years made little sense once the killer was revealed. Yet, once I sat down and considered everything, it made a lot of sense and was actually very well done. All the pieces fit together so well, and the motivations for everyone made sense (except for one key character, who I still don’t fully grasp the need for other than as a plot device to create drama). 

What I liked: 

The Pace – it was well written and engaging. The beginning was a bit slower, but since this book leaned more heavily on the “psychological” aspects of the psychological thriller, that was needed to adequately break down our MC’s mind and ability to differentiate reality from delusion. Our MC self-medicates with prescription drugs, usually followed by alcohol. This isn’t much of a spoiler since you see her doing this from the beginning of the story. This causes her to be an unreliable narrator, a trope I don’t LOVE, but one that makes sense for a psychological thriller. The speed ramps up as the pieces begin to fall into place for her, and I read the latter half of this in one sitting last night. 

The Atmosphere – this story is set in Louisiana, and as with most stories set in Louisiana, I ate it up. Having visited New Orleans a few years ago, I can vividly remember the sites, the smells, and the oppressive heat. Those senses are utilized well in this story, and I was truly immersed in it all as if I were there. 

The MC’s Mental Decline – while I didn’t particularly care for our MC or some of her choices throughout the story, she was believably traumatized, and it worked well for the plot to have her feel like she was losing her mind. 

The Twist – it made a lot of sense to me. In my line of work, I’ve seen almost the exact same scenario play out before. There wasn’t anything unbelievable about it to me, and the way that everything finally fell into place at the end, you could see the breadcrumbs laid out along the way. I knew from the beginning who the most likely perpetrator was, so I wasn’t surprised when the reveal happened. But I’m not a person who reads a thriller and feels the need to be completely surprised. Even if we reach an end I saw coming, I can enjoy it if the story was well-crafted along the way. 

What I disliked: 

The MC’s Inability to Use Her Brain – given that our MC has been traumatized, and therefore is extremely paranoid and closed-off, she makes some very poor decisions over the course of the story, putting herself in stupid positions, lying for no reason, and withholding information that would have prevented a lot of what occurs in the story. I recognize that, were it not for these choices, we wouldn’t even HAVE a story, but I just could not help but feel so incredibly aggravated by her in general. Especially when it comes to a scene toward the end involving the MC’s mother, where she did not hang around long enough to get a real answer, and instead jumped to conclusions that lead to a host of other issues. 

The Time Shifts – There are moments in the story where our MC has flashbacks of her past. I have no issue with this as a general rule, but it was at times hard to differentiate where the past ended and the present began. She blended them together, and it typically occurred during a conversation with the police in present day when she would, in the next paragraph, be recalling a conversation with police when she was a child. Then the next line would be dialogue happening in the present time that jarred her back into the moment. It was a stylistic choice to make you feel more in her head, but it was sort of confusing at times, and I had to go back and reread to make sure I was understanding what was happening. 

A Certain Character – My biggest gripe, and the main reason I can’t give this book 5 stars, is because one of the characters central to the story, for good or ill, just does not make logical sense to me. The reason for their involvement is so superficial, so glossed over and unnecessary, that I don’t know why they were included other than to be a red herring. And if being a plot device is the only reason, then I feel like it could have been done a bit differently, or, at the very least, that character’s reasoning for participating in everything could have been a bit more fleshed out. 

Overall, this book was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to other people who like a heavier dose of mind-fuck in their psychological thrillers. I’ve heard this author recently released another book where the MC has issues with sleep-walking (which is soooo creepy to me), so I may have to dive into that one next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Child death, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Murder, and Self harm

jennyoli96's review

emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Gun violence