Reviews with content warning for Death - Things We Do in the Dark

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

86 reviews

revolverreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains a laundry list of trigger warnings, many of which this review covers, such as: child abuse, child SA, drug abuse, murder

If the business is true, that you left your moms, and your co-stripper friends dead body to burn in the hood, somebody go smoke that yute. The Toronto Accent Girl truly gave us the words to describe the essence of this story, because if we had a quarter for every bad thriller we read by a Canadian author, we’d have fifty cents. It’s not a lot, but it does make you wonder if maybe all we are able to produce as a country are rap sensations and award-winning actors. Maybe authors that specialize in thrillers are just not something that’s meant to come out of the 6ix. Things We Do In The Dark by Jennifer Hillier was definitely a flop, not a Hot-Line-Bling bop.

Hillier opens her novel with a jolting scene: 'rock hard nipples' in the back of a police cruiser.It’s the beginning of constantly questioning ‘why’ every time something avoidable, predictable, or downright stupid happens. The narrative follows Paris Peralta, wife of Jimmy Peralta (now extremely dead), formerly known as Joey Reyes - the daughter of the Karla Homolka inspired murderess and shitty mom, Ruby Reyes. Ruby is famously known as the ‘Ice Queen’. Despite its initial complexity, the storyline unravels into a rather straightforward narrative, in fact it’s almost insultingly simple as you get into the first few chapters of the book.

It’s crucial to note that a significant portion of this story exists in the past. The only glimpse of present tense revolves around Drew, a man who ALMOST had a fling with Joey more than a decade ago. His sole motivation is to ensure that the monstrous nature of Ruby is never forgotten. While one might empathize with his intentions, the veil is quickly lifted as Drew starts romanticizing his brief time with Joey and the potential feelings that might have existed. It’s annoying, it’s exhausting. I’m embarrassed for this man. I’m embarrassed that the author tried to plant this nugget of a missed connection that would finally come to fruition. It’s embarrassing all around.

With the past being the overarching story, it would be wrong to say that this book did not make us feel anything other than buyers regret. Joey truly has a rough start, she’s got an abusive mother, who has a long line of boyfriends and partners that have abused her. It’s maddening, it’s disgusting, but you truly do feel for the young girl that you’re reading about. Even Ruby, who is truly an atrocious character, has this heartbreaking moment of clarity in passing, “I had a bad mom, so you have a bad mom”. On some level, she is aware that they are stuck in this generational cycle of abuse, it’s just not one that is broken until Joey fakes her death to begin her life as Paris. Ultimately (and unfortunately), Joey/Paris is always the victim, no matter what age we get the narrative, she’s at the mercy of some type of abuse.

Among the questionable narrative elements are fragments involving Joey using her mother's (Ruby) name as her stripper alias, adopting her persona to become a legendary stripper whose memory lingers for decades.

The few times we do get her in the future, despite her humble and tragic beginnings, she’s a complete asshole to those around her. The narrative suffers from having a protagonist that has an overwhelming series of horrible circumstances thrown her way. By the halfway point, you’ll be able to practically assume what else might just added to her trauma bank.

Things We Do In The Dark is a book that lacks two very important things: the element of surprise, and a gripping narrative. Maybe we are just three gals that have been spoiled by good thrillers in the past, because this one just did not cut it for us. We get into much more detail on our podcast, and would love for you to join us for the boozy ride. Check us out at Revolver Reads: A Bookclub Russian Roulette on your podcast platform of choice, or simply @revolverreads on Instagram and let us know what you think. If you’d like to email us any future book suggestions for our roulette wheel, feel free to send them to [email protected].

Content Warnings

alindeman's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow- another 5 star by Jennifer Hillier! Her stories are so compelling and so devastating. The heartache I felt for Joey and the rage I felt at ruby were visceral. It was a great mystery, both the current one surrounding Paris and the old one involving Joey. I was rooting for both of them. And while Hillier’s stories of trauma are brutal and sometimes hard to read, I love that

she lets the women win in the end. She gives them an ending not often afforded to women like them in real life.

will definitely be reading more of her work!
CHECK TW!

Content Warnings

mghope's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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gmm1966's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Very predictable

Content Warnings

mysugarmagnolias's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

marpaige's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-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

2.5

Content Warnings

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

3.5

Paris's long hidden past is at risk of being revealed after she is accused of killing her celebrity husband.

This book is comprised of three intertwined POVs: Paris, Drew, and Joey. The story jumps around a fair bit between three mysteries: who killed Jimmy, what happened the night Ruby was arrested, and who is Paris?

I felt the story was interesting and I liked how it all came together in the end. That said I easily guessed all of the big twists. I felt it was missing a lot of the tension and suspense expected in a book like this.

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