Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

85 reviews

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Paris Peralta wakes up covered in blood next to her husband’s dead body, but her arrest threatens to reveal the secrets she has spent years trying to hide.

I read this as part of Love Struck Thrills Book Club and found it to be enjoyable overall. It wasn’t particularly “thrilling” (shoutout to Britni (@bitty_gets_litty on Insta) for characterizing it as a “crime drama” which I think is the best descriptor) but I was generally entertained for the entire book and that does go a long way. The characters were well-written and I thought the writing style was pretty engaging—I’ll definitely be checking out other Hillier novels.

That said, the plot was ultimately pretty predictable and I felt a bit “meh” about this one as a whole—I didn’t actively dislike it, but I wouldn’t quite say I actively liked it, either. Still, if you want a quick (and pretty dark) mystery read, this is probably worth a shot!

Recommended if you like: nonlinear stories with lots of flashbacks; slow burn mysteries; detailed character portraits

CW: Child abuse, including sexual abuse; murder/blood/gore; some discussion of depression/suicide/substance abuse; fire/fire injury.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

betterwithabookinmyhand's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

Hot damn, what did I just read?! Things We Do in the Dark was deeply transportive and suspenseful! This is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. I now need to binge the rest of Jennifer Hillier’s books!

Paris Peralta is accused of killing her celebrity husband and now she has to prove her innocence while protecting the dark secrets in her past.

The writing, the pacing, the plot—chef’s kiss. I listened to this as an audiobook and I never questioned where the author was going with the story, I was along for the ride and nothing distracted me or pulled me out of that fixation.

The plot is just so artfully laid out. There are dips into the past that are even more fascinating than the twisted present. I had a hunch on one of the big reveals but then Hillier had two more up her sleeve that were vengefully sweet and I did not see coming!

Definitely a high, high rec for me!

Trigger warnings: child abuse, rape mentioned but not graphically described

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Blood

It’s such a good read!

maria1085's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a great thriller! I read this as part of a group buddy read with @adosenbooks and it was so much fun. Even though I didn’t finish in time for the chat I loved reading what everyone else had to say about the book. This book was fast paced with lots of twists some more predictable than others. It hooked me from the beginning and I got excited every time I picked it up to see what happened next. There are many trigger warnings for this book so make sure you check those out before reading. Even though a lot of the characters were unlikeable the story and plot kept me interested. I really loved how Jennifer Hillier developed the story and the writing was tense and well done. Perfect book for spooky season! This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

jhenry's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

blouviere4's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, and Drug use

julienicole1106's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Self harm, Suicide, Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Suicide attempt

brett311's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Pedophilia

sfbookgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

2.5

This one, unfortunately, did not do much for me. I found myself turning pages quickly, but only because I wanted it to be over. The book begins with Paris Peralta, a woman found covered in blood in her own bathroom in which she looks pretty guilty sitting next to her dead, celebrity husband. But what worries Paris is not the murder charge, but the press who may or may not bring attention to her unwanted past. Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, was convicted of a similar murder, and when Ruby is released from prison around the time of Paris's incident, she threatens to reveal all of the secrets Paris has worked to keep hidden. 

To be honest, I don't even remember how this one ends. I think it was a little twisty? Clearly Things We Do in the Dark was not memorable for me. The reviews are pretty mixed for this one, so I recommend picking it up only if you encounter it by happenstance. Otherwise, I'd maybe skip it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

kcelena's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity, Dementia, and Blood

beckyremillard's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Child abuse