Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

29 reviews

celina246's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.75

if you came here looking for a SK book because you're familiar with his work, you probably know what to expect. if you aren't - it's an excellent crime thriller, grabs you and doesn't let go til the end. but it's a veeery dark ride, full of gore and hatred and shock value (only thing stopping me from giving it a 5), so proceed with caution.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Body horror

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, and Incest

Minor: Body shaming, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Bullying, Classism, Antisemitism, Pedophilia, and Vomit

eadrianschmitz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Addiction, Body horror, Classism, Genocide, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Fatphobia, Medical content, Blood, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, and Vomit

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

I love the Holly Gibney character so much, and she’s brilliant here! The trio team she supports has great chemistry. Love the intergenerational relationship between Bill, Jerome, and Holly. Her mom is a bit too much to handle, and Janey needed more story, but overall, a disgusting villain and a lot of great cat and mouse.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Ableism, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

jonssweater's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Grief, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Blood, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Classism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Body shaming, Body horror, Chronic illness, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Misogyny, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Fatphobia, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Vomit

txbonnet's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

I can't recall the last time a character made me as uncomfortable and angry as Brady Hartsfield. I wanted to rage and was rooting for him to be caught the entire time. I was heavily pregnant when I read the book and coming to the opening scene of Brady running the Mercedes through the crowd, killing the baby was difficult to stomach.

King is a master of making you feel his writing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Cursing, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Death, Sexism, Racism, and Gore

honkinggoose's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Addiction, Murder, Racism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death

linda_wolf's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Car accident, Cursing, Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Mental illness, and Murder

amysalwaysreading's review against another edition

dark medium-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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

michaelavictoria's review

dark mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Racial slurs, Child death, Child abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Cursing

Minor: Medical content, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Torture, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Body shaming, Dementia, Eating disorder, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Slavery, Bullying, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Infidelity

sydgolt's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is why Stephen King gets the hype he does. This book was dark and twisted but also full of love and friendship and bravery. writing from the perspective of both the hero and the villain was so fascinating and, no doubt, challenging. Getting into the mind of someone as unstable as Brady Heartsfield is a testament to the dedication King puts into his books. 

I had so much fun listening to this. I went in blind and, to be quite honest, with low expectations. In my experience, over hyped authors with the number of books that King has tend to disappoint me (with some exceptions of course). But i was beyond pleasantly surprised by this book! It’s not one I’ve heard any reviews about and I’m shocked, because it was just so good. 

I have some issues with how he wrote about the women (making unnecessary comments about their breasts). While those comments are a little icky, they didn’t take away from the quality of the writing or the plot. 

Overall, I love this book, I love King’s writing, and I can’t wait to read more from him!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Rape, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content

Minor: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Animal death