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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Claire and Lydia, estranged sisters brought back together by another tragedy, embark on a journey almost twenty-five years old as new clues come to light about their older sister, Julia, who went missing when she was nineteen and was never found. Nothing is as it seems as present begins to connect rather ominously with the past.
This was my first Karin Slaughter book and man, did it deliver. It’s definitely a very dark book that seems to get darker with each shocking turn, not shying away from grisly facts or chilling thoughts. The writing was intense, fast-paced, evocative. Slaughter’s words made the story so vivid and realistic, my heart pounding the whole way through as if I were one of Julia’s sisters, too.
If you’re a fan of Gillian Flynn, you’ll also devour this one. I found their writing styles quite similar and engaging.
I loved the way this story played out, the different story arcs that came to fruition. Of course, the subject matter is even more sinister then you’d imagine out the gate, but it was used so well in this one.
I suspect I will be thinking of this book for a long time!!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Dementia, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Body horror
mackenzieheidt's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ohmyohmaggie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
perplexed's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.25
I will say now that there might be some spoilers in this review, and I'll flag them, but proceed with caution. Also TW: I reference SA and violence in this review
There were elements of this book I loved. The whole idea of "how well do you really know someone" is a trope I love to see explored, and this book started off doing that really well. I also really loved the main characters, Claire and Lydia, and part of the reason I finished the book was because I wanted to make sure they got out of their shenanigans okay.
That being said, so much of this book felt like gratuitous detail. I get that you want to make it clear how brutal something is, but you could get that without needing to graphically describe acts of SA and torture. I love body horror and gore, but the repeated graphic descriptions were *a lot* and I really recommend giving this book a skip if you're effected by any of the trigger warnings mentioned on these reviews.
Also, shout out to the fact that either Claire or Karin Slaughter thinks that TOR is an illegal file sharing site. Very much legal, it's just a browser like Google Chrome but it doesn't track you, so I think TOR is actually the real good guy in this book.
PS. Dad if you're reading this hello, please don't judge me for the books I've been reading recently, I've been on a kick of gross books ever since American Psycho but none seem to scratch the itch of violence with a message and they've all just landed on gratuitous violence instead :-( onto a Christmas romance novel next though so, bet you can't wait for that review!
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
maddiegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
talsbooknook's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
izypup's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Stalking, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy