Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

136 reviews

tawnieblue's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Violence

priscillarobock's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

dale1997's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Torture, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Child abuse, Murder, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

n_binversie99's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Mental illness, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Vomit

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, and Animal cruelty

andieobrien99's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Oh my god this book is absolutely heartbreaking, sickening and deeply disturbing. I cannot believe how evil people can be😭 
Those poor girls. Poor Kathy, Shane and Ron. 
I cannot simply fathom how any human is capable of being so evil. 
I truly hope those poor girls have been able to recover and live the life they’re able to now❤️

May Shane, Kathy and Ron rest in peace

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

alexboutilierreed's review against another edition

dark sad

4.0

Michelle knotek is the actual devil. She deserves to be in prison forever. Dave is dumb as rocks. This story is incredibly heartbreaking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

maddness22's review

dark sad fast-paced

0.25

I do not respect this book in the slightest. It's an attempt to capitalize on one family's horrible tragedy during the height of the true crime fascination. This is poorly written without any substance to the cruelty it outlines. There's no additional psychological insight into the mother's sadistic nature, no actual mention of the "bonds of sisterhood" until the final 10% of the book and even then it's a rather weak grab, and the timeline of events is written in the worst and most confusing manner. This was literally just composed for shock value and really only lists the acts of crimes committed by the narcissistic and sadistic mother and her pathetic husband. 

If it was meant as a warning for Shelly's release or even as a toolkit for others to recognize how severe abuse can be so subtle in its nature to integrate so fully in a victim's life, the message could've been conveyed with about 200 less pages and repetitive drawn out torture scenes. However, these lessons are barely conveyed successfully anyways. The writing is vague, confusing, and the author truly uses the word "niggled" un-ironically at one point. Like? Seriously? That's not even a real word and it sounds childish at best. 

Skip this shock value torture nonsense. Just know their mother was vile and we need to believe in victims. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

csmoke85's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

brittanyclary's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Gaslighting, Death, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, and Murder

jguiley's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death, Body shaming, Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence