Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

84 reviews

sarahmaxwell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really liked it, I think I was just expecting…. more. Sharp Objects worked so well for me in a way that this book just couldn’t. But Gillian Flynn’s prose and her ability to keep you enraptured will always be impressive to me. In this novel, she can keep you hooked until you actually begin to uncover the truth, and it all sort of… falls apart. The ending is what we are all searching for, the climax, the answers to all of our questions. But she doesn’t give us a chance to absorb it, let it linger, or consider all of the consequences of this deep string of lies.

It’s immediately resolved—Ben is freed, and Aunt Diane forgives her.

I want to soak in the moment we are able to piece everything together. I want to feel the moment deeply, but we aren’t given the chance.

But while the ending may have felt rushed, the journey there was anything but. Every little clue means something, and every page points to something deeper. Flynn gives us the information little by little; she doles it out in tiny doses, dangling the answers in front of us like a seasoned expert. She knows where to push, and where to pull back. I find myself impressed by this at the end of every chapter, and I think I’ll keep this awe throughout the rest of her novels.

I may need to sit with this novel a bit longer. I don’t know how much i skimmed over or haven’t absorbed fully, but I trust that there’s more to this novel than its initial read-through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Alcoholism, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Addiction, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Classism, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Misogyny, Drug abuse, and Bullying

luciedelomez's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Vomit, Child death, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Body horror

sunsetsam723's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Wow, talk about a page-turner. It’s been years since I read Gone Girl but I still remember how blown away I was by that halfway-through plot twist, so I had high hopes for this one and I was not disappointed. I love how fitting the title “Dark Places” is, how we are drawn in and sunken into the pathetic depravity of Libby’s life and the lives of those around her who shaped and were shaped by The Murders. The alternating perspectives each chapter between present and past was expertly done, extending the suspense and deftly revealing details from the right characters at the right times. I’m impressed by how far into this book I STILL could not definitively say I knew who had done it, not until Flynn wants to finally clue you in that the reveal is coming. Wow!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Animal death, Murder, Death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Gore, and Alcoholism

Minor: Racism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

jstenman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Animal death, Violence, Pregnancy, Death, Child death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Gore

marysea's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Pregnancy, Child death, Murder, and Death

lchoinski's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Alcohol

denlia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Child death, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Torture

amysrrls's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Drug use, Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Sexual assault and Pedophilia

danaslitlist's review against another edition

The casual and constant racism in the flashbacks was annoying and gross enough that I actually caved and went looking at spoilers to confirm if my theory of who the killer was. I’m happy to report that no; it wasn’t who I thought it was which is a good thing because that would’ve been even more racist and gross. But I’m not happy to report that finding out what happens at the end made me slow blink before quickly DNF-ing because, hey Gillian Flynn? Are you really that lazy to write an ending and/or plot that makes sense or????

Which is shame because I was about 6 hours in and overall was having a decent time. This book has good bones and was entirely wasted on an author who is clearly more interested in “BOOM GOT YA!” twists than actual sense and emotion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Abandonment, Child death, Stalking, Pedophilia, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Violence

lwrn2's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Definitely hooked me in; was not sure I liked the main character until more than halfway through the book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Violence