Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Mørke steder by Gillian Flynn

72 reviews

libby_lectiophile's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Gillian Flynn is truly a master of her craft. Dark Places is engrossing and keeps the reader turning pages. The story and plot are believable, but the pace stalls toward the middle and end of the book. 

I love her use of language in this quote, found in Chapter 11: 

While I stilll had the energy, I knifed bright yellow mustard onto my white bread, stacked thick smushy chunks of Velveeta on top, and swallowed the sandwich while negotiating with three different but equally bored phone operators to reach the Bert Nolan Group Home for Men.

The story is excellent for the first half of the book. The chapters alternate between present day, which is mainly told from Libby’s  point of view  (main character) and Jan 1985, leading up to the day that the murders happen. Libby, Ben (her accused brother) and her mother all have chapters from their first person point of view. This helps the story come together well. 

What I didn’t like is 1) the

unnecessary subplot that involved Ben being accused of molestation after he, at 15, kissed an 11 year old girl

; and 2) the decision to include satanic worship as an actual phenomenon underlying the murders. 
The long scene where

Ben axes a cow to death in graphic detail

is graphic, violent and completely superfluous to the story.  Finally, I hated the inclusion of

a random killer that was hired by Patty to kill her so that the kids would get life insurance

Patty isn’t the type of character that seems to fit with

hiring someone to stab and kill her at night where her children might possibly see her or find her dead

Final thought: 

Engrossing, well written story. Annoying subplot of molestation that doesn’t tie into the overall plot, unbelievable hit man hired by Patty to kill Patty, and most of all, too graphic and too gory with the satanic teenager angle. The scene where he butchers a cow does not tie into the ending nor provide a foundation for the ending. It’s just gory and graphic and makes you want to skip an entire 15 pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Excrement, Blood, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Gore

jo_in_bookland's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

A dark and bleak slow-burn thriller with many unlikeable characters.
The author really set the mood well with her vivid descriptions of the characters and the settings in Missouri and Kansas.
At times though, I found that there were too many unnecessary details.
I partially read, partially listened to this book (the four narrators did a great job).
Although I liked this book, it's my least favourite by the author (the only one I haven't read is The Grownup), with my favourite being Sharp Objects.
This is quite a dark, depressing and grizzly story so you might want to check TW.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Cursing, Gore, Animal death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

allisonnd's review against another edition

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

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a solid mystery novel -- in classic Gillian Flynn fashion, some aspects of the book were incredibly disturbing (see content warnings), but never so much that I stopped wondering how the story would turn out. The plot twist isn't nearly as shocking as the ones in Sharp Objects or Gone Girl (the former, by the way, probably being the best plot twist I've ever seen in any thriller novel), but I definitely didn't see it coming. 

I felt pretty lukewarm about the whole "Satan worship" aspect of the story -- maybe I've listened to too much of the podcast You're Wrong About, which has several episodes dedicated to debunking Satanic Panic-era myths. (Side note: I'm very curious about whether that show's host, Sarah Marshall, has read this book!) I also wasn't a fan of the way Ben was essentially absolved of his behavior, but as far as we know he stays in prison, which is fine by me.

In an interestingly self-aware way, Dark Places addresses the morbid curiosity of true crime "fans," which sometimes spirals into boundary-crossing if not downright creepy and borderline abusive behavior towards survivors like Libby (although she cleverly spins that behavior to her own advantage). It would be interesting to see how different the story would be if it had been published in the era of social media and true-crime podcasts. Despite Libby describing herself as mean and unlikable, I couldn't help but feel for her and I enjoyed the dynamic of her friendship(?) with Lyle. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in "whodunnit" type stories and the theme of true crime (despite this story not being based on actual events), or anyone who enjoys Flynn's other work. Definitely check out the content warnings before reading, though, because certain plot points might be disturbing and distressing for some readers, even beyond what can normally be expected of a thriller novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Pregnancy and Sexual content

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

mgrs43'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? 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

aplambeck's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

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

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

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