Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

116 reviews

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.25

I rated this book a 6.5 out of 10. The descriptions of torture get to be a bit much at times. I guessed the big twists, but I enjoyed the storyline and the small reveals. The torture content makes me question if I would read it again.

I do not recommend this book if you are triggered at all by: abuse. child abduction, drug abuse, gore, gun violence, murder, parent death, pedophilia, rape, sexual assult, suicide, torture. 

Please be aware that all of these topics and more are focused on at one point or another in this novel.

The characters are well developed and rounded. As a reader, you become invested in both the main characters as well as other characters (the father Sam, and Julia). I felt the pacing was steady and gave the perfect amount of time for buildup and resolution. Slaughter's storytelling is amazing.

Back to this trigger warnings bit. At some point, is this graphic torture for shock value? Kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder of teenagers... I almost stopped reading it. I can see it happening as I'm reading, so to have someone described as being raped by a machete... or the urine waterboarding. nope. Not my thing. Just the ongoing shock-value events in the second half are what knocked the rating down a bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Stalking, Car accident, and Classism

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

amandareads666's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sasoif's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was a slow burn. The story really picked up at page 210. After that, I had to read it straight through to the end. I enjoyed the alternating POVs between Claire and Lydia as well as the letters from their dad to Julia. The story was extremely graphic at times. The end of the book was really well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Suicide, and Death of parent

mirrorchaser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

This was a really complicated read, it was difficult to read... but difficult like a train wreck, you just couldn't look away. I'm not going to lie, most of the twists got me (which is really unusual for me in thrillers!) I had no idea who to trust or what to expect. You know all of these many parts are loosely related but you have no idea exactly how until the very end. 

I will warn readers that this is about as close to splatterpunk as a mainstream thriller can go before it tips genres. I would not read this book if you have pretty much any triggers at all. This book is disturbing and really stays with you. It makes you distrustful. Consider your mental health first when you decide to read this.

I would go further into detail, but other reviews have already done a great job summarizing!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Car accident, and Gaslighting

sjades's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah_amy's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

Loved this so much! And hated it too, but for all the right reasons. There were twists and turns in just about every chapter and I never knew what I was going to be surprised with next! I was taken surprise by each revelation, which never happens for me and I never knew who to trust. Only complaint is it was almost too graphic to stomach. If it hadn't been so well written and I didn't care about the characters, I might have stopped. Lots of very graphic torture, violence & death. Be warned. I have a headache and I've had dreams about this book. But it was so good. I'm very confused how I should be feeling haha. My first and probably not my last Karin Slaughter book, but I'll definitely be needing a palette cleaner in between.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

I can’t decide how to rate this book. It includes some of the most disgusting and depraved ways a person can possibly think. It’s so dark. I didn’t realize how awful it was going to be until it was too late. The only reason I was able to keep reading was because the two women at the center were worthy of rooting for. Ultimately, it’s a four instead of a five for me because there were parts that were too unbelievable and too sadistic, and I don’t ever want to be mistaken as condoning violence against women for any reason.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

cjones12's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment

lgmcclure's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Torture, Kidnapping, and Murder