Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Mooie meisjes by Karin Slaughter

519 reviews

story_of_steph's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

Pretty Girls is one hell of a thriller! Right from the start, I was completely hooked by the mystery of Julia Carroll’s disappearance. Karin Slaughter really knows how to create characters that feel real and flawed. Claire and Lydia’s rocky relationship and their journey to reconnect was both emotional and gripping.

The twists and turns in this book are masterfully done. The way she blends past and present is masterful, keeping you guessing all the way through. The book’s dark and gritty vibe definitely adds to the suspense. 

The only downside for me was that some parts felt a bit drawn out. There were moments when the story slowed down too much, with a few scenes feeling overly detailed. It kind of interrupted the flow at times. But honestly, the compelling characters and the intense plot more than made up for it.

All in all, this is a fantastic read for anyone who loves dark thrillers. A warning though that it deals with some pretty dark subject matter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Kidnapping

jessie_erin_mckay's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Gore, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Torture, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Body horror, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Physical abuse, and Murder

oheyitsthatgirl's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Death, Rape, and Kidnapping

bookwormmomma91's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

3.25

Overly dark gruesome details of SA

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Addiction, Body horror, Child death, and Sexual violence

lampbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I can’t tell if i loved or hated this book. It’s very violent in its depictions, at some point it felt needless or even voyeuristic? I didn’t like that element of it especially given the whole plot of the book. The premise I feel was solid and I liked the execution it was just a lot more grim with a lot less payoff than I expected. However I liked the development and the twists not being predictable/trite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Drug use, Gun violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Addiction

The description of Lydia getting

waterboarded with paul’s piss

was a bit intense to the point of me not being sure what the purpose was. Obviously to show

that Paul is evil/irredeemable and is willing to sexually abuse Claire’s sister

but it felt gratuitous. The same I feel could be said for the description of the photos

I understand that gore was required to get their heinous crimes across but the description of the mutilated and cleaved girl hanging from barn rafters while blood-soaked and fully erect men posed for a photo was a lot to take in and I wonder how much detail was required to get the point across

. Maybe I just prefer for rape culture to be referenced or described on a more nuanced level and something of this level wasn’t going to hit — but at very least there can be no debate over whether the crime was “all that bad”. I will say though, I’m probably not the only one, by the end of the book

I was hoping Paul would have to endure some of the torture he doled out. He kept Julia alive for two weeks, I would’ve liked to see him have to endure something of that caliber not a strained but quick death in a forest.

I’m very uninterested in women not stooping to their attackers level , they need to get even, idc.

chynnadoll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

My life is worse for having read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Drug use, Body horror, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Sexual assault, Violence, Mental illness, Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Alcoholism

k_stern's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

A bit too graphic for me - although this could be chalked up to me listening to the book in my car. Tied up well but a few too many conveniences for my taste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Murder, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Vomit, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction

hannahchung's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Self harm, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Alcoholism, Suicide, Murder, and Gore

aimyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I have no words! None! 

 It’s not often I’m left this shaken by a book but damn! This was one hell of a ride that I did not want to get off of. Yes it has a lot of gore (that I skipped over) but this book also has so much heart and soul! 
 The Dads letters to his missing daughter are gut wrenchingly beautiful. Lydia and Claire’s relationship is so amazing to unpack. The mother’s denial is also so well fleshed out. 
 I couldn’t fault this book even if I tried. Loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Torture, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Body horror, Violence, Rape, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Kidnapping, Addiction, Suicide, and Infidelity

mariahw00ds's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Torture, and Violence