Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

11 reviews

danaslitlist's review against another edition

The casual and constant racism in the flashbacks was annoying and gross enough that I actually caved and went looking at spoilers to confirm if my theory of who the killer was. I’m happy to report that no; it wasn’t who I thought it was which is a good thing because that would’ve been even more racist and gross. But I’m not happy to report that finding out what happens at the end made me slow blink before quickly DNF-ing because, hey Gillian Flynn? Are you really that lazy to write an ending and/or plot that makes sense or????

Which is shame because I was about 6 hours in and overall was having a decent time. This book has good bones and was entirely wasted on an author who is clearly more interested in “BOOM GOT YA!” twists than actual sense and emotion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Abandonment, Child death, Stalking, Pedophilia, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Violence

mirandahems's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.75

gets pretty dark there at the end 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Blood, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

miggyfool's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Fatphobia, Ableism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury

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

hcassell's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

Gillian Flynn at her best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Bullying, Animal death, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, Cursing, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Alcoholism, Grief, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Domestic abuse

moonknigt's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Addiction, Torture, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Suicide, Vomit, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Animal cruelty

punkrockingnerd's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

There are def some sections crossed out because of trigger stuff, but DAGNABBIT, Ms. Flynn is SUCH a good writer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Stalking, Trafficking, Abandonment, Car accident, and Incest

suneaters's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This book was an interesting read. Libby comes off pretty unlikeable at first as a person, but as a character she’s great and so is her narration.

I also enjoyed the switching perspectives that showed us Patty and Ben Day in third person limited. I also liked the Kill Club and I felt like it was satirizing true crime fans, but to be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them actually are like that. Regardless, I was just happy to see Libby make a friend for once in Lyle even if she does just want his money.

Patty misinterpreting Ben’s list of names for his child with Diondra as him liking Krissi and other girls, the baby clothes as from his victims, and dyeing his hair as rebellion or something as opposed to something Diondra told him to do is really tragic and then she dies without ever realizing. It’s also really sad to read the missteps of Debby that led to her death.

Ben’s chapters are rough to read. We see him deeply struggling in the throes of poverty in Kinnakee, Missouri at only age fifteen while also trying to impress jackoffs like Trey (“I-barely-knew-Ben-but-I’ve-seen-his-dick”) and Diondra,

Ben’s older sort-of-girlfriend

. We can understand his pain and his resentment towards his mom and his father Runner.

Ben is fifteen and trying to impress his girlfriend and Trey even as they make fun of him and make him do things he really doesn’t want to do like kill a bull. As an adult, we see him as a forgiving and kind guy just happy to see his sister again, the only surviving family he has (Runner living in toxic waste doesn’t really count). It’s hilarious that he’s more forgiving of Libby’s testimony than grown women like Magda and co. At first even I felt like it’s making her out to be the bad guy if her testimony is false, but Ben was right: it’s clear she’s being coached and anyway it wasn’t that that convicted him. But he’s also deeply troubled and his behavior with Krissi Cates, a fifth grade girl, is abhorrent.

Fifteen and eleven is just weird as hell. At age fifteen, eleven was the age of my baby sister.

Eleven year olds were babies I should be watching out for and taking care of, not kissing even if they’re “attractive” (Gross, Ben). But the parallel of Krissi and Libby being coached by psychiatrists is  great and how they connected near the end was nice.

However, when the back summary said Libby was back to being “chased by the killer”,

I sort of expected more chasing. Mostly, it’s Libby solving this whodunit with the help of Lyle and the KC. She asks Ben for help, but he’s clearly keeping some information close to his chest. So Libby finds Runner, Krissi’s mom and then Krissi, Trey, and then finally Diondra, who now has a daughter named Crystal, Libby’s niece. Near the end Crystal accidentally reveals she read from Michelle’s diary and that she must have been involved or know who was, so Diondra and Crystal try to kill her while Libby runs from the house to escape just like she did twenty five years ago. Revealing that the “Angel of Debt” was involved was really clever after introducing him much earlier on as this made-up sounding killer a lá the Smily Faced Killers in real life. Two killers was interesting, but it’s super hard to believe Ben would just let Diondra strangle Michelle for knowing she exists. Patty doesn’t exactly have the funds to hunt them down and Michelle is a child. And then the Angel of Debt killing Patty which ok, that was the plan, and then chopping up Debby…why exactly? She saw him? And he just never noticed Ben or Diondra? That kinda toned down the enjoyment of the eventual reveal of what happened that night. But the ending with Ben out, feeling like it was okay to be in jail for so long for penance of not saving his family (though he did save Libby from Diondra) and for having “something dark and violent” in him was very satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Classism

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

mmesecar99's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Murder, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

clemmiem's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism