Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

35 reviews

emgwh's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Death, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Addiction, and Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent

cassidy_rain's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this but it fell a little flat for me. I did think it was interesting how she incorporated real missing persons from the time into the storyline. I love that it’s based in the bay area because I live here and appreciate all the references. I liked the storyline but the pacing felt really slow for me. I also thought it was quite predictable. Check trigger/content warnings!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Torture, and Kidnapping

miraculeus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

I really liked the (dark) atmosphere and the descriptions of nature in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Child death, Abandonment, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Animal cruelty

caitrunswild's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Rape, and Sexual assault

swolf1840's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Violence, Drug abuse, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Self harm

cassiek2's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-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

Uneven writing, unbelievable circumstances, and unlikeable protagonist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Alcohol, and Sexual violence

planreadrepeat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.5

Anna, a detective specializing in finding missing people, arrives in her hometown to escape a recent, mysterious, tragedy. She reconnects with high school friends and involves herself quickly in a local missing person's case with a history eerily similar to her own. She starts working closely with her friend, Will to investigate all while intertwining her history of childhood, the town, and growing up with her foster parents, Hep and Eden. She also adopts a dog, Cricket. 

It's interesting that the book twists in a real-life missing person case, Polly Klaas, that happened at the same time as the setting of the book in 1993. Sometimes we forget how much more difficult it was to conduct searches and investigations before everything was on the internet and we had cell phones that function as computers. I found the author's note very personal and touching.

There are several content warnings I would give: child abuse, sexual assault, confinement, drug use and overdose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Murder, Kidnapping, and Infidelity

Minor: Chronic illness and Mental illness

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.25

Title: When the Stars Go Dark
Author: Paula McLain
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: April 13, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Atmospheric • Haunting • Messy

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Anna, a veteran missing persona detective in San Francisco, knows the dark side of human nature all too well. In the wake of a personal tragedy, she returns to Mendocino, the place she grew up, with hopes of healing. Upon her arrival, she quickly becomes entrenched in a local case involving the mysterious disappearance of a teenager girl. She soon become obsessed with with saving the missing girl, yet will have to face some of most difficult lessons her life has taught her.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Sometimes I go into a book completely blind, picking it based solely on the cover. Such was the case with When the Stars Go Dark as the stunning cover instantly attracted my attention, and upon finishing, I believe it captures the tone and atmosphere of this novel perfectly.

This novel has serious true crime vibes. Paula McLain takes an unique approach weaving facts into the narrative and this structure allowed for only small portions of the plot to be revealed at a time.
The writing was immersive, making me feel as though I was inside Anna's mind as she did worked the case. The characters were flawed and real, which helped me to connect even more with the story. As a psychology graduate, I appreciated the psychological facets and really getting into the minds of criminals. It is something I find interesting as well as fascinating to try and understand.

A departure from her typical genre, When the Stars Go Dark held a personal connection for the author, which she details in the author's note at the end. Exploring trauma theory, she has delivered a nail-biting and complex account of reclaiming our lives when the worst has happened. I'd definitely love to see this cast of characters in a sequel.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of true crime
• readers who like the missing person trope
• anyone who enjoys Criminal Minds

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Getting your heart broken is the privilege of being human."

"The people we love never leave us, Anna. You know that already. That’s what I mean by spirit. I mean love." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Child death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

missing persons, adoption, overdose

lauren610's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

The main character made a lot of questionable choices, and I just couldn't get into this book. I was excited based on the premise but ultimately was disappointed. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Child death, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Death, Rape, Gun violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

unruhe_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Child death