Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

37 reviews

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

jesscoast's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I can’t believe I just discovered Hillier for the first time! Things We Do In The Dark was everything that I look for in a book - nuanced, complex, female led mystery. The story was clever, and painted in a compelling, vivid arc. I only wish there was more of Drew’s podcast because I love novels that use the podcast format for storytelling, but I get that every aspect was woman centred, the men were a diverse cast of supporting characters. The layered, multifaceted relationship between Ruby and Joey was a hot and cold rollercoaster, but worth the emotional investment. 

I had a few guesses at the twists, but the plot tied together in an expertly planned puzzle. The reveals were paced well, keeping this a solid page turner all the way through. The relationships felt incredibly real, and I typically don’t read books for the interpersonal dynamics, but they added so much so much and worked really well to unfold the story.

The food focus did make me hungry, I’ll have to go for some adobo soon!

Can’t wait to read more Jennifer Hillier, she’s at the top of my list now for authors to read more of!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Murder, Pedophilia, and Suicide

paisleypetty's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Dysphoria, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Confinement, Dementia, Drug use, and Drug abuse

bhanson24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Murder, Suicide, and Child abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Dementia, and Sexual content

clevelandbookgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Cursing, Rape, Racism, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Drug abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

kshertz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I love a good mystery. I also love when I can call any part of the book. Which in this case was only 1/5 twists. But I’ll take it! It’s a page turner that I couldn’t put down. Definitely worth the read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

goodgollymissmollee's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a quick, easy read that was largely enjoyable. But I think it was just average. Nothing overly exciting or shocking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia, Drug use, Grief, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

dalmavatai's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This was my first Jennifer Hillier and I really enjoyed it! The themes are quite dark but there is an interesting cast of characters both in the past and present timelines, and great plot points that make for an engaging and gripping story. This book had my attention the entire time for these reasons. There are some surprising reveals at the end as well as some reveals throughout the book - I would've wanted them to be a bit more shocking but they were okay. Overall, a solid thriller and I will be checking out more of this author's work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction, Dementia, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt

haleysversion'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Violence

bkmckown's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

Lots of questions throughout the book, events that didn’t line up or cases where you didn’t know who the killer was. It all came together so well. The author really has you rooting for Paris after everything she has been through in her life. The bonus interview with the author at the end said her inspiration for the book was the documentary The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez and I thought that was fascinating. Like the author said, that’s something you watch and it’s so awful, you either say “It’s too much for me” and turn away or you get angry and want to do something about it. I felt the same way. It made me want to advocate for those kids. It was a very thought provoking read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, Blood, and Addiction