Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

19 reviews

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

emmapolkadots's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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: Murder, Death of parent, Death, Pedophilia, Child death, Addiction, Suicide, Violence, Racism, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty

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

hsnails's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

I should've known from the title that this would be a "dark" book, but I expected darkness like Flynn's other books. The main character, Libby, describes herself in such dark ways it was hard to take her seriously.


Despite this, I was enthralled with the plot. I enjoyed jumping through time, getting pieces of the puzzle along the way, gaining the dramatic irony as we learn things before Libby.


A portion of it did get too gory for me and I had to skip forward. But it didn't ruin the book.


Overall, I give it a 3/5. I felt that the middle dragged on a bit in an attempt to build the suspense, and by that point I couldn't help but laugh how "dark" it was, but I enjoyed the mystery and writing enough to stick through to the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Murder, Animal death, and Violence

Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Racism

sydfitz24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Child death, Sexual violence, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, Alcohol, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

3.5

First finished vacation read!
I wil lsay I'm not much of a crime thriller reader. It's not really my thing.
However the first 3/4 of the book were great. I enjoyed the switching between now and then. I thought the three narrators had all distinct voices. Ben was so beautifully stupid and teenagery. I occasionally found it funny even.
But I gotta be honest the ending really disappointed me. After all this build up I expected a bit more. It felt like the resolution/reveal came out of nowhere and it was all tied up with a bow all too neatly in my honest opinion. Like it was such a let down after such a build up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, and Child abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Homophobia, Cancer, Incest, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Ableism, Abortion, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

crocodilerocklobster's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Cursing, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, and Miscarriage

punkrockingnerd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

There are def some sections crossed out because of trigger stuff, but DAGNABBIT, Ms. Flynn is SUCH a good writer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Stalking, Trafficking, Abandonment, Car accident, and Incest

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

This is my second Gillian Flynn after Sharp Objects, and while I rank Dark Places below Sharp Objects, I did enjoy this. It's well-paced and Flynn maintains the tension and intrigue throughout. I wasn't entirely surprised by the ending, largely because the hints were seeded throughout the story well enough that the reveal felt like it fell into place in a way that made sense - which is honestly more satisfying than twist ending geared toward pure shock. I think this might make for a decent reread for that reason. I also enjoyed the exploration of the unglamorous, more unsavory aspects of grief and trauma - Libby's anger, the sluggishness of her depression, her desire to isolate. Like Sharp Objects, this is great source material for a miniseries, in the right hands and with a good cast; shame the 2015 adaptation wasn't well-received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

betag1013's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing