Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Denise Mina

15 reviews

fbc_2122's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence

ed_moore's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Thus concludes the oldest book on my TBR, which I have had intention to read for at least 5 years when thriller was my go-to genre. Stieg Larsson’s thriller ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ follows journalist Mikhail Blomkvist and his unlikely partner, hacker Lisbeth Salander in their freelanced job to find the missing niece of a industrialist tycoon CEO who went missing 40 years prior, the case closed as an unsolved mystery. It also follows a side plot of a corporate legal battle which highlights the faults of capitalism as a system. It was an extremely engaging story throughout, as the case with most mysteries as clues begun to emerge me progressing through the book much faster, and some moments succeed in sending literal chills down my spine. The mystery was really well written and full of twists, though it is impossible to ignore how harrowing the book was. Larsson writes extremely graphic and detailed scenes of rape and torture that are extremely uncomfortable to read. Each part of the book is epigraphic by a statistic about women and sexual violence in Sweden, which is extremely important in addressing the crisis beyond being in fiction, and in most cases the sheer size of the statistic percentages were tragic. (Men are disgusting.) I end on that note as it is the primary message of the novel, though the mystery was engaging it was an extremely uncomfortable and illuminating read. TW’s are crucial with this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, and Body horror

Moderate: Car accident and Child abuse

hasinashah's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Gaslighting, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Murder, and Body horror

brooksdac's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was amazing. I never wanted to put it down. The mystery was so well crafted with layers and twists. It takes a bit to get into, but once you do you can’t stop. I loved how everyone was given an ending. Every question I had was answered and more! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Antisemitism, Torture, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Eating disorder

alexandrajjjk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Torture

undecidedpersonality's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Incest, Car accident, Animal death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Kidnapping, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, and Adult/minor relationship

helenamichelle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

rachelditty's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

I really liked this! Picked it up on impulse while visiting my grandma, who said she would read it after I was finished with it. Definitely going to warn her that this gets very, very dark, but is overall very entertaining and well worth following along with the mystery!

I'm not one to pick up mysteries very often, but something about this was very gripping right from the start. I think it was a mix of having two different points of view as well as our narrator being reluctant to be working on Harriet's case in the first place. Mikael was very likeable, I thought; I enjoyed watching him work and walking alongside his thought processes. He was a very respectable guy and treated everyone with respect, which I was kind of surprised by--I thought he would be another main character womanizer who believes he's better than everyone else, but I was happily surprised! Lisbeth was admittedly a bit more frustrating as the story went on, especially toward the end. I really loved seeing her work and cheered her on when she got revenge on the people who hurt her, she was absolutely right for that. But toward the end she accused Harriet of being a bitch and a coward for fleeing after everything that happened with her brother, and that really bothered me. 

I think my biggest gripe with the story was the unnecessary romance between Lisbeth and Mikael. I was worried that when their two points of views met in the middle, we'd see them fall in love, or at the very least having sex. Given that he was twice her age, I hated their engagement with each other immediately, and just found it an unnecessary catalyst for the rest of the story. I understand that it was partially needed for Lisbeth to break down some of her walls, but I think the same thing could have been accomplished if they had just become friends, as Mikael had suggested and pushed.  By the epilogue, when Lisbeth had admitted she was in love with him, I was rolling my eyes. Maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but I would have loved it so much more if the two of them had just become really close friends after such a fucked-up series of events that had pulled them together. 

I also found it just a tad strange that Harriet took over as CEO and was also on the board for Millenium, which I know was explained by the fact that she ran the sheep farm in Australia and therefore had a good idea of business, but she had just gotten back from being in hiding for thirty years, it seemed like it was so rushed to make that choice. Maybe time just moved faster because I read the ending so quickly, I don't know.  

SO glad Harriet's uncle was able to see her alive at the end. The awful brother and mom both died, the Nazi has cancer, and the corrupt business was thrown to the dirt. You love to see it.

VERY interested in picking up the rest of the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Incest, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Car accident, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Torture

Minor: Dementia

cassandrareads_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Body horror, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Torture, and Racism

eecrawford92'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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Incest, and Kidnapping