Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Dark Places

The casual and constant racism in the flashbacks was annoying and gross enough that I actually caved and went looking at spoilers to confirm if my theory of who the killer was. I’m happy to report that no; it wasn’t who I thought it was which is a good thing because that would’ve been even more racist and gross. But I’m not happy to report that finding out what happens at the end made me slow blink before quickly DNF-ing because, hey Gillian Flynn? Are you really that lazy to write an ending and/or plot that makes sense or????

Which is shame because I was about 6 hours in and overall was having a decent time. This book has good bones and was entirely wasted on an author who is clearly more interested in “BOOM GOT YA!” twists than actual sense and emotion.

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sofimdi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

La protagonista me hizo acordar a otro libro que leí (Final girls) y me jodió el estereotipo de mina superviviente super víctima que no puede seguir adelante con su vida y se vuelve cleptomana.
Los otros personajes desde los que se ve la historia son igual de deprimentes e insoportables.
La autora tiene una facilidad para crear personajes horrendos, desagradables, decadentes y describe una historia muy turbia y depre, una tragedia sucia y sin pelos en la lengua.
Lo terminé porque quería resolver el misterio, porque sino era una lectura abandonada. No conecté con ningún personaje y eso lo hizo difícil. Además de que menciona temas complejos, como suicidio y pederastia. Y que se yo, una advertencia vaga no estaría mal...
Si quieren leer un libro de Gillian Flynn mejor lean Perdida.

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mariaisabelad's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Has interesting elements, but ultimately feels pointless at the end. I understand unlikable characters are a cornerstone of Flynn's writing, but this has the most insufferable batch. The multiple perspectives have moments of insight that are interesting, but it ultimately stalls the pacing and at times feels totally unnecessary. The setting feels way less fascinating than Sharp Objects' claustrophobic Wind Gap, or the suburban nightmare of Gone Girl. I hope the adaptation fixes my issues with this, but I don't feel too hopeful.

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allifaro's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

My word for it is just: gross. I think the story was well written, but not my cup of tea. I say gross because there were just details, I felt unecessary, but maybe they help paint the picture. It has a satisfying ending though!

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chris_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

3.0

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fandomchaos_posts's review against another edition

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mysterious sad

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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jo_in_bookland's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

A dark and bleak slow-burn thriller with many unlikeable characters.
The author really set the mood well with her vivid descriptions of the characters and the settings in Missouri and Kansas.
At times though, I found that there were too many unnecessary details.
I partially read, partially listened to this book (the four narrators did a great job).
Although I liked this book, it's my least favourite by the author (the only one I haven't read is The Grownup), with my favourite being Sharp Objects.
This is quite a dark, depressing and grizzly story so you might want to check TW.

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