Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

8 reviews

the_pink_pharmacist's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Well this one is dark. I thought it interesting to have listened to the author’s post-word where she describes her book as being as close to what could have been as she could. It was pieced together from historic excerpts and a little bit of creativity based on the true story or serial killer Belle Gunness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage

jbreyfogle's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Murder

baearles's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

mmoran22's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Infertility and Alcohol

ekmoore11's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Miscarriage and Vomit

Minor: Pregnancy

borrowedbooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

A really good historical fiction book about a serial killer that is often overlooked. The two person perspective works really well while reading because it offers both the Belle Gunness' view, but also the vantage point of her sister who struggles with understanding her sister and the slow-realization, and reckoning, of what is truly happening.
I suggest reading the authors note at the end when you're done to understand where liberties were taken with the historical aspects.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

anger566's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.75

Reading about her killing all those people: 😯
Me after learning that it was based on a true story: 😧
The beginning was definitely slow but man oh man what an ending! I have absolutely no idea how she got away with killing so many people. I'm still in shock writing this 😳

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

It's about a serial killer so lots of descriptions of the murders, blood, death, etc.

At the beginning of the book Belle has a miscarriage after being beaten by the father (he didn't want to marry her after learning she was pregnant). Belle has sex with men throughout the book which is described. Belle's children die at the end of the book due to them eating poisoned oranges. It's mentioned that Belle and Nellie's parents died.

leahsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am providing my honest opinion voluntarily.

As someone who has had an interest in psychology for most of my life, I've always wondered about whether people who commit monstrous acts are born that way, created by circumstance, or a combination of both. And this book really speaks to that debate.

While the story IS based on a real person, aspects of it are creatively embellished (as detailed in the author's note). Belle Gunness starts life out as Brynhild Størset. We meet her as a teenager who works as a maid on a farm. She is pregnant by the son of the family who owns the farm, and fully expects that he's going to marry her. Her sense of entitlement leads her to try to force his hand, with disastrous results. When a brutal attack ends her hopes and her pregnancy, something kindles in her and she begins to let spite rule her life.

There are some major warning signs in Brynhild even before this event seems to flip a switch - she' grows up in an abusive household, and was molested at least once in childhood. Because her family was poor, she was discouraged from speaking up about the molestation, and had very little power over any of her circumstances. In addition, This attack triggered something in Brynhild and turned her from an angry and powerless young woman into what would eventually become a brutal and prolific serial killer.

When her sister helps her come to America, she reinvents herself as Bella, but can't quite leave certain parts of herself behind. I loved the dual points of view. While I initially empathized with Brynhild/Bella, as the book went on, I found it more and more difficult to like her as a character. She was such a vile character, and continually blamed, denied, and lied to others, even to herself. The other point of view was her sister, Nellie. It's always been extremely intriguing to me to see the differences between people who grow up in the same situation but turn out so differently. Nellie was kind, sweet, and empathetic, and while she had some inkling of what Bella was doing, as her older sister, she also had an ingrained response to protect Bella no matter what.

Even as I was horrified, I couldn't stop reading. It's graphic and brutal, and definitely not for the faint of heart. But it's an interesting take on a story that still doesn't have any clear answers - what really happened to Bella Gunness?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child abuse and Pedophilia