Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

100 reviews

re_coates'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

4.0

Loved the overall premise of this book. The trauma of the main character is the reason behind her not figuring out the killer from the beginning. The author highlights the main characters inability to trust and her blinding love for her brother and fiance. I would have rated it higher, but it was a bit predictable. And, while I really liked the main character, she made a lot of frustrating choices considering her profession. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Addiction, and Suicide attempt

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

4.0

When Chloe is 12, her father is arrested for the murder of 6 teenage girls in their small town. 20 years later, Chloe is engaged and working as a psychologist. Her life is thrown back into turmoil when local girls start to go missing again. 

Our narrator, Chloe, is super unreliable. She has PTSD, mental health and trust issues, and has a tendency to mix alcohol and prescription drugs. The entire time I was questioning everything she said and believed to be true. It was pretty clear pretty early on that her focus was going to be on Daniel, but everything seemed to be too convenient. 

Her trust issues mixed with this couples lack of communication makes me understand why her focus went straight to him. Men let her down, they always have let her down, why would Daniel be any different? Had they just been open, honest, and communicated with each other, they probably would have caught the killer much earlier. 

Daniel

is such a genuinely kind and sweet man. He loved Chloe so much, but was not completely honest with her. Yes, he did it for an understandable reason, but if you can't tell your fiance everything about yourself, who can you? It turns out that his sister who "disappeared" when she was 13, was actually alive and well. Their father was an abusive drunk and to save her from his abuse, Daniel arranged for her to "run-away" from home. He keeps this a secret from Chloe.

Cooper

was the obvious suspect from the start. He seemed a bit off from the beginning. We find out that it was actually him from the beginning. His father took the fall for him. In the present he manipulates a local man to impersonate a reporter in order to get close to Chloe. He manipulates and gaslights Chloe into believing her fiance is a killer by planting evidence and targeting girls close to her. He hates that Daniel is taking his sister's attention from him and wants him out of her life. Creepy. 

Overall, it is a gripping a twisty thriller with an unreliable narrator. You never really know where the story is leading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, and Grief

dslcer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

The author has little knowledge of Louisiana, given that there is a crawfish boil in the book where the characters use Old Bay for the seasoning. Old Bay is used for a northern seafood boil, not a Louisiana crawfish boil. Also, she describes bayous as being blue in color, when they are brown.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Murder, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

bergerreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book was CRAZY!!!! I couldn’t stop listening and i just wanted to know constantly what was next. so many twists and even though my initial hunch was correct in the end, i kept changing my mind the whole way through the book. i definitely recommend this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Vomit and Physical abuse

coco78337's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Self harm, Bullying, Vomit, and Stalking

lara_pavlick's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Addiction, and Domestic abuse

bsesek's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Infidelity

serenaann's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Grief, and Self harm

Minor: Gun violence, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Child death, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, and Toxic relationship

henriette_z's review against another edition

dark medium-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

3.0

Great story! The protagonist drives me crazy though. I know she went through a traumatic event but all the talking in her head made not only her but also me crazy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, and Murder

sydthewitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

I love thrillers and I love trying to guess the twists. I did guess the main twist/reveal on about page 72, but even so, there were even more twists and revelations that I absolutely didn't see coming! As each aha is revealed, the clues and foreshadowing earlier in the book fall into place and make total sense, every detail accounted for. 

The characters aren't nece sarily lovable but are deeply imperfect in a relatable way. The author does a great job of depicting CPTSD and other mental health issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Gun violence, and Violence