Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

193 reviews

geneius's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

minus a half star for all of the animal death & cruelty

WOW this was insane, i read the last 150 pages in a night because i just couldn’t put it down, it was slow to grip me but once it did i couldn’t stop reading. i kind of guessed what had happened by the last 50 pages or so but i also kind of didn’t. these characters were so fucking horrible, especially diondra, but in the most well written way it actually made me legitimately angry, and wow i think gillian flynn might be my new favorite author. now on to gone girl !

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Pedophilia

goobyworm23's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, and Pregnancy

sarahamzeh's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

I was curious to know who did it but that was the extent of it. 
The book didn’t grip me, I wasn’t racing through it it was more like labouring through it. The gore seemed misplaced, the characters one-dimensional and almost all equally dislikeable, some of the descriptions seemed like the author was trying too hard to be “edgy”
Overall glad I got through it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, and Alcohol

keekster0518's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

amandabw425's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Murder

bookishbrews's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

3.0

Started off quite slow but as weird as any Flynn I've read. While I get the satanic worship is a big thread through this I don't see the need to have actual animal cruelty on the page, it could have faded to black. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Murder

peachsori's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

It's one hell of a thing to make it through a book containing twisted secrets, murder plots, and satanic rituals, only to read the acknowledgements section and see just how well-adjusted the author is. Writing is a lovely thing.

The ending definitely felt a bit rushed (which I feel is a general problem faced by books in the genre) and the descriptions of violence and blood felt a bit much and unnecessary at times. I was more engrossed than entertained but I don't regret reading it! 

Would I recommend it? Probably not. Maybe if you're bored and looking to scratch a true crime itch without platforming exploitative and insensitive content creators. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Pregnancy

sianynicole's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-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

This started off strong, and I enjoyed switching perspectives and moving back and forth in the timeline to figure out the truth. Unfortunately the end felt a bit rushed and flat for me. Not a satisfying conclusion in my opinion. I enjoy Flynn’s style of writing, but unfortunately this one wasn’t a favourite for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

rrath274's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty

breezyhopp's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy