Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

116 reviews

j_lynne's review

5.0

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: N/A

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping

hgootz's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious tense medium-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

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I initially picked this book to be my last book of 2024, but instead ended up my first finished read of 2025. This was not a bad read to begin 2025 with. Then She Was Gone was a book that had moments of predictability,  times where I “I knew it” as a revelation happened, as well as “I should have seen that coming”, but also moments where I was on the edge of my seat, or feeling of shock where I had to take a moment to soak in what happened before I could continue reading. It was also so interesting to have the different POVs presented in this book and get the different perspectives as pieces of the story were lining up together.  Towards the end it definitely gave me vibes similar to the Netflix show You. This book in the end kept pulling me in and made me stay up until after midnight on a work night to finish it, so I can’t say it didn’t hook me. I don’t think I’ll go back to re-read it personally, but would recommend it to others. I’m glad to have chosen this as my second psychological thriller and can’t wait to explore more of this genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault

janecassar's review

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy

The premise of this book is a child who is kidnapped/dead. About 2/3 of the way through the book, we find out that she is forced into pregnancy (I marked this as sexual assault, but not entirely sure), emotionally/physically abused, given numerous pet hamsters (which they talk about being dead), and briefly understand that the kidnapper is mentally ill and has suffered miscarriages/infertility. At the end of the book there is the death of a parent and death by suicide.

aahegedus's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

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This book is twisted and constantly leaves you on the edge of your seat. It starts out a bit slower, but then you can not put it down!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy

Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent

sproutlaaar's review

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment

vix4637's review

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy

taulkstoomuch's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Stalking

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy

Minor: Medical content

dominique_f's review

3.75

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment

hannahrdt's review

1.75

dark tense

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

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3.5 stars for writing. 1 star for story and content. I would never have picked up this book if it wasn’t a book club book 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting

lel524's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide