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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The atmosphere in Sharp Objects is exactly what I expected from Gillian Flynn—dark, unsettling, and dripping with small-town secrets. The writing style is sharp and kept me hooked at first.
But honestly, I figured out who the killer was about halfway through, and that really killed the suspense for me. From that point on, I was just waiting for the story to catch up instead of being surprised.
Still, I appreciated the raw look at trauma, dysfunctional family ties, and Camille’s struggles. The book is definitely disturbing and well-written, but the mystery itself lost its edge too early.
Worth reading, but not my favorite book of the year.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Flynn is so good at writing about women doing insane things. The setting really added to the eeriness of the story and every character was so problematic. Definitely some moments that made my skin crawl. I sort of guessed the murder but then there were more twists I didn’t see coming. Crazy book that I’ll be thinking about for a while. (I do like Gone Girl a bit more!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The whiplash from “That’s Windgap — we all know each other’s secrets, and we all use them” to “I’m doing drugs with my 13-year-old sister” is actually wild 💀
A reporter with very unhealthy coping mechanisms returns to her childhood Midwestern town to investigate some murdered girls, clashing with her almost cartoonishly whiny mother and sinister half-sister along the blood-splattered and sex-soaked way.
I think I was expecting a more psychological vibe from this, what with all the hype about “Gone Girl” and its author, but it’s more of a meandering, small town, gossipy, soap opera-type mystery that ultimately takes a hard left turn into domestic horror ala “Rosemary’s Baby” or “We Need To Talk About Kevin” or “Baby Teeth.”
Definitely a dark book with some very fucked up people, if a bit melodramatic. However, the plodding pace of the investigation and gathering melancholic doom over how horribly evil and twisted everyone is absolutely does not fit with how fast the truth is revealed with a hopeful gaze shoehorned in at the end.
Putting trigger warnings for this book almost gives away too many of the twists, but let’s just say that everything that could be wrong with women, is. If nothing else, it’s a powerful look at how generational harm just keeps overflowing our human containers and spilling down the line.
“If someone wants to do fucked up things to you, and you let them, you’re making them more fucked up. Then you have the control. As long as you don’t go crazy.”
“Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. I have known so many sick women all my life. Women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases. Women with conditions. Men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip. Women get consumed. Not surprising, considering the sheer amount of traffic a woman's body experiences. Tampons and speculums. Cocks, fingers, vibrators and more, between the legs, from behind, in the mouth.”
“A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort.”
A reporter with very unhealthy coping mechanisms returns to her childhood Midwestern town to investigate some murdered girls, clashing with her almost cartoonishly whiny mother and sinister half-sister along the blood-splattered and sex-soaked way.
I think I was expecting a more psychological vibe from this, what with all the hype about “Gone Girl” and its author, but it’s more of a meandering, small town, gossipy, soap opera-type mystery that ultimately takes a hard left turn into domestic horror ala “Rosemary’s Baby” or “We Need To Talk About Kevin” or “Baby Teeth.”
Definitely a dark book with some very fucked up people, if a bit melodramatic. However, the plodding pace of the investigation and gathering melancholic doom over how horribly evil and twisted everyone is absolutely does not fit with how fast the truth is revealed with a hopeful gaze shoehorned in at the end.
Putting trigger warnings for this book almost gives away too many of the twists, but let’s just say that everything that could be wrong with women, is. If nothing else, it’s a powerful look at how generational harm just keeps overflowing our human containers and spilling down the line.
“If someone wants to do fucked up things to you, and you let them, you’re making them more fucked up. Then you have the control. As long as you don’t go crazy.”
“Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. I have known so many sick women all my life. Women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases. Women with conditions. Men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip. Women get consumed. Not surprising, considering the sheer amount of traffic a woman's body experiences. Tampons and speculums. Cocks, fingers, vibrators and more, between the legs, from behind, in the mouth.”
“A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Murder
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes