Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

55 reviews

wheelzor's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Child abuse, Violence, Drug abuse, Cursing, Pedophilia, Child death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal cruelty

allifaro's review

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

2.25

My word for it is just: gross. I think the story was well written, but not my cup of tea. I say gross because there were just details, I felt unecessary, but maybe they help paint the picture. It has a satisfying ending though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexual assault, Addiction, Excrement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Drug use, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Bullying, Sexual violence, Torture, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, and Suicide

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Animal cruelty, Classism, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury

allisonnd's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Slow start but good ramp up. Really dark 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Bullying, Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicide, Pedophilia, Child death, Blood, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Child abuse, Violence, Gore, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Murder, Vomit, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death, and Cursing

teddylouise00's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.75

HOLY FUCK. I just stayed up till 4am reading the last 100 pages, I couldn’t stop. Took me a little while to really get it going but when it goes it fucking FLIES. Devastating and heartbreaking

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Murder, Animal death, Gore, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Alcohol

b00kishnurse's review

dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Vomit, Murder, Animal death, Grief, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

kimsey2899's review

adventurous dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Pedophilia

sydfitz24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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: Gore, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Child death, Sexual violence, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, Alcohol, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

zosia3's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

samdalefox's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

2.25

I'm not a big fan of the thriller murder mystery genre, but I adored 'Gone Girl' and 'Sharp Objects' also by Flynn, so I thought I'd give this one a go. Dark Places is certainly dark. It opens dark, stays dark, and arguably ends dark. The book started off strong and I was really invested, however as soon as the first 'twist' was revelaed

the introduction of Diondra as Ben's girlfriend

it quickly became predictable. I had guessed the truth of the murders by about a third of the way in. Overall, Dark Places is not enjoyable or as clever as her other works. I don't usually enjoy the changing point of view and flip-flopping timeline, however the format did make sense for this plot.  I thought Libby was well characterised, though she was the only one. The ending really let everything down. It was anticlimatic and dare I say too 'neat'; throughout the book all the little 'inconsistencies' between each character's POV were neatly explained by another's. I've included another review that I strongly agree with below:

rockinmama2ax's review:

"Unlike some suspense thrillers, I never experienced that on-the-edge-of-my-seat moment with this story. But I don't necessarily think that distracts from the novel's effectiveness. The way details about a triple homicide are shared - from various perspectives the day of and then twenty-four years later - made for a slow yet effective reveal of the sad truth.

And that brings me to my overall assessment: this was a sad story of a dirt-poor family whose circumstances seemed forever stacked against them. What might be glimmers of hope in otherwise perpetually cloudy skies proved illusions, and the reader is left with an unsatisfactory catharsis: a resolution is presented and case solved, but the sadness, the unhappiness, and the sense of hopelessness lingers, whether purposefully or not.

While I wasn't always forced into the next chapter in search of immediate answers, I was interested in discovering the truth, which means I was invested in the characters and the outcome. I only wish I'd been able to experience an intense emotional response - tears, anger, joy - rather than being reminded that happiness and fulfillment elude some forever."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Grief, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Child death, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Drug abuse, and Mental illness