Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Flores Cortadas by Karin Slaughter

262 reviews

story_of_steph's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

Pretty Girls is one hell of a thriller! Right from the start, I was completely hooked by the mystery of Julia Carroll’s disappearance. Karin Slaughter really knows how to create characters that feel real and flawed. Claire and Lydia’s rocky relationship and their journey to reconnect was both emotional and gripping.

The twists and turns in this book are masterfully done. The way she blends past and present is masterful, keeping you guessing all the way through. The book’s dark and gritty vibe definitely adds to the suspense. 

The only downside for me was that some parts felt a bit drawn out. There were moments when the story slowed down too much, with a few scenes feeling overly detailed. It kind of interrupted the flow at times. But honestly, the compelling characters and the intense plot more than made up for it.

All in all, this is a fantastic read for anyone who loves dark thrillers. A warning though that it deals with some pretty dark subject matter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Kidnapping

lampbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I can’t tell if i loved or hated this book. It’s very violent in its depictions, at some point it felt needless or even voyeuristic? I didn’t like that element of it especially given the whole plot of the book. The premise I feel was solid and I liked the execution it was just a lot more grim with a lot less payoff than I expected. However I liked the development and the twists not being predictable/trite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Drug use, Gun violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Addiction

The description of Lydia getting

waterboarded with paul’s piss

was a bit intense to the point of me not being sure what the purpose was. Obviously to show

that Paul is evil/irredeemable and is willing to sexually abuse Claire’s sister

but it felt gratuitous. The same I feel could be said for the description of the photos

I understand that gore was required to get their heinous crimes across but the description of the mutilated and cleaved girl hanging from barn rafters while blood-soaked and fully erect men posed for a photo was a lot to take in and I wonder how much detail was required to get the point across

. Maybe I just prefer for rape culture to be referenced or described on a more nuanced level and something of this level wasn’t going to hit — but at very least there can be no debate over whether the crime was “all that bad”. I will say though, I’m probably not the only one, by the end of the book

I was hoping Paul would have to endure some of the torture he doled out. He kept Julia alive for two weeks, I would’ve liked to see him have to endure something of that caliber not a strained but quick death in a forest.

I’m very uninterested in women not stooping to their attackers level , they need to get even, idc.

chynnadoll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

My life is worse for having read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Drug use, Body horror, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Sexual assault, Violence, Mental illness, Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Alcoholism

hannahchung's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Self harm, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Alcoholism, Suicide, Murder, and Gore

seekinglucidity's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Gaslighting, Addiction, Drug use, Child death, Confinement, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gore, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Grief, Stalking, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Police brutality, Car accident, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Suicide

weird_hylian24's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Torture, and Death

loudonuts's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

a gruesome story that was ultimately about the bond between sisters. it didn’t exceed my expectations but it was an okay thriller. at the beginning the hyper descriptive violence was shocking and intense, but by the end of it, it felt pretty gratuitous. was the aim to desensitise me, or was it just bad at keeping me engaged? unfortunately i’m not sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child death, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Self harm, Stalking, Gaslighting, Death, Torture, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gore

Moderate: Infidelity, Addiction, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

emleeaustin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Misogyny

beegster16's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Sexual violence, Torture, and Child abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

madicastle's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Body horror, Excrement, Suicide, Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Confinement, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, and Torture