Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

193 reviews

keaghan_banaitis's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Xenophobia

andrea_lachance's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

Wowww.

Dark Places is leagues better than Sharp Objects. The first hour or two were difficult for me to get into, but the payoff for this book can’t be overstated. Flynn’s characters are grey and dimensional, deeply flawed and deeply human.

Libby Day is a terrible person, full of pick-me energy, but by the end of the book I actually felt a smidge of sympathy.

Totally did not see the twist until much farther in the book, but such a satisfying ending.

The structure of the book such an great way to unwrap the mystery of the family murder. POV from Libby, Patty, and Ben all weave together to create a full picture of why it happened.

Such an interesting look at the farming bust, satanic panic, class, and the psychological effects of poverty.

Amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racial slurs

othersimmons's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

claireltravers's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pedophilia, and Grief

Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

atalea's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Grief and Abortion

mediocrebest's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

baebebluejay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Fatphobia

gmdelisio's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

clarklyn's review

dark sad tense slow-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

2.75

Gyllian Flynn knows how to write grimy, gross characters and environments. So many moments in this book made my stomach turn and my skin crawl. Not my favorite read to be honest- Sharp Objects was less grimey in my opinion. However, the story kept me interested enough to tolerate the disgusting descriptions but just barely. There were 2-3 spots that genuinely almost made me DNF. Lots of animal cruelty/killing/abuse and the MC even kills a pet dog at one point. Lots of other horrid descriptions throughout that made me queasy. 

I hated Ben…but it almost seems like the author doesn’t want us to hate Ben? His girlfriend/baby mamma/emotional abuser killed his sister and he let her get away with it for 2 decades? Huh?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Ms. Flynn is just such a specific but descriptive writer. It's a rough, bloody story, but it does keep you guessing until the end, and the format of slowly revealing the past story in real time makes you want to keep pushing through the story. It may have felt a bit on the slow side, but I didn't mind it. It is really interesting to think about who "owns" your story once something so big happens that it can't stay in just your life anymore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Grief, and Suicide attempt