Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Good Lie by A.R. Torre

9 reviews

killmoore_'s review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I watch way too many true crime stories for any of this to have surprised me, but it was enjoyable none the less.

A lot of unnecessary scene setting - clothes descriptions, random gestures, etc - and not enough character depth. Story lines fell flat, and as an avid reader of this genre, I pinned the killer by the middle of the book. The ending was a bit too well packaged for me as well - I could have dealt without the last few chapters entirely.

The story was fun, fast paced and thrilling - I listened to the audio book and loved it. I would recommend to folks new to the genre with a big ol trigger warning attached.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Abortion, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Stalking, Torture, Child death, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Blood, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Rape, and Sexual assault

mtnest's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Violence, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Torture, Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Gore, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Suicide, and Stalking

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Self harm, Abortion, Bullying, and Infidelity

ladyinverse's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.5

an onion of a book.

there were so many layers to this plot and everytime you pulled back one layer, there was yet another until you hit the center of the onion and everything hits you all at once. amazing read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

mellowbread's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.25

This got me hooked for a week before I finally sat down and finished it in one go. CSI and Criminal Minds were two of my frequently watched shows, and I'm a Psychology student, so I really enjoyed the deep dive into the psychology of killers. I think the author is good at hooking you in, leaving clues to keep you guessing, and even the side characters are well-described. Definitely read the content warnings beforehand, because this book covers a range of darker topics that I was sometimes unprepared for. 

I would've rated it higher if not for certain things that happened closer to the ending. Like I said, I'm a Psychology student, and some of the actions that Gwen (the main character) took struck me as really unethical and improper. I couldn't really relate to her because of this.

Like, just because your potential love interest is handsome, mysterious, and has a deep dark secret, she can just drop everything? And what about the fact that it gets revealed that he knew about who the killer was all along, and was manipulating her? There were so many red flags in this relationship that irritated me.

Even with the interesting plot, I still can't get over these things. Nonetheless, A Good Lie was still an enjoyable book because it gets you thinking about how well you really know a person and how far you would go for certain people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Torture, and Bullying

collinsd's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.25

Fast-paced with an intriguing concept I can't say I enjoyed this book but  it was written well enough that I was able to finish it within a day. I didn't necessarily hate Gwen's character but her thought process was very frustrating

especially concerning John and Brooke Abbott she claims that she was concerned about Brooke but not enough to discuss it with the police or even Meredith or another co-worker to see if it flagged anything

.  Additionally Robert's characterisation was very off-putting and his pov could've been written better and added more characterisation rather than just have him being hot, broody and secretive

for example focusing more on his own investigations or his feelings towards his son it didnt really seem like he was grieving Gabe, also it really annoyed me that he knew about the Abbotts role in it all and just fucked around with Gwen  to enact some petty grudge and then she just forgives him even though he's a massive red flag and slept with her TWICE trying to get information he already knew??  Also they just throw around the fact that his wife died from a gunshot wound and leave it at that??

.  The ending felt very rushed and the reveal fell flat.

Additionally I wish the author didn't make it seem as if Scott was obstructing justice when in fact he was a victim of kidnapping, physical, pyschological and sexual abuse. He was manipulated by Brooke into lying about Randall Thompson's involvement.

All in all not a bad read but could've been better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Homophobia and Toxic relationship

nataliereadz's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 ⭐ what.a.trip. It's been a long time since a thriller completely and oh so perfectly destroyed both my brain and my soul! Aspiring psychological thriller writers, please use this novel as your example of mastery. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to pick up the pieces of my life and cure the book hangover! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

kimveach's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

chandle5's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Violence, Confinement, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Abortion