Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

7 reviews

mgrs43's review

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Pedophilia, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual content, Gore, Child death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I expect more of Gillian Flynn. This book was terrible - terrible story that was terribly told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Abandonment

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

uniquelymace's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

3.5

First finished vacation read!
I wil lsay I'm not much of a crime thriller reader. It's not really my thing.
However the first 3/4 of the book were great. I enjoyed the switching between now and then. I thought the three narrators had all distinct voices. Ben was so beautifully stupid and teenagery. I occasionally found it funny even.
But I gotta be honest the ending really disappointed me. After all this build up I expected a bit more. It felt like the resolution/reveal came out of nowhere and it was all tied up with a bow all too neatly in my honest opinion. Like it was such a let down after such a build up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, and Child abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Homophobia, Cancer, Incest, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Ableism, Abortion, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

cammiem8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

This books is very difficult for me to review. Living up to its title, Dark Places is certainly the darkest, most misanthropic, most viscerally disgusting book Gillian Flynn has written to date. It is not a pleasant read, yet her prose so expertly invokes feelings of dread and repulsion. And it is repulsive, not even the gore of the murders, but the nasty, offputting details in the everyday of the characters. Not one character is likeable. While Libby isn’t as pathetic as Camille, nor as cunningly cruel and calculating as Amy, she’s the most easily hated of Flynn’s trouble women protagonists. It’s the most seething condemnation of true crime fans (deservedly so) I’ve ever seen, and this coming from the woman who wrote the introduction to I’ll Be Gone In the Dark as a fan of the genre herself. A very interesting read, it certainly not enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and Body shaming

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Racism

anne311's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit