Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

18 reviews

jinx_mars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

dayingst's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer and Rape

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

Another expertly written thriller from Karin Slaughter, who I think may be one of my favorite authors at this point. If you’re looking for something like “Pretty Girls” this isn’t that- so I understand why people give this a lower rating but I don’t think it’s fair. This isn’t supposed to be something that keeps you guessing or something that has a lot of very surprising twists, not that there aren’t twists or surprises, but the backstory/explanation slowly unfolds through a series of thrilling events and when you get to the climax of the story you had already seen it coming and you can’t look away. 
I’m a sucker for a good true crime/cult vibe and this is the perfect mixture. The story is told between two perspectives, present day Andrea and her mother Laura in the wake of a horrific public shooting they found themselves in the middle of, and the story of Jane and a group of friends in the early 80s unwittingly recruited into a extremist activist group that spirals out of control in the wake of one of their members acting impulsively off-plan. The two stories slowly weave their way closer to each other and converge, with many twists and turns along the way. 
As with every Karin Slaughter novel, the list of trigger warnings is EXTENSIVE so be mindful before picking it up. 

Edited to add: I had no idea that the author was choosing to continue Andrea’s story in her upcoming novel, which I had already unknowingly ordered in my BOTM! Can’t wait to see how this story continues

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

booksbytheglass's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

3.0

I’ve been putting off reading this one for what seems like years (most likely approx 6 months) due to the mixed reviews floating around 

and now, I can firmly say … I also have mixed thoughts 😅🙃🫣

after watching her mother take down a shooter at a diner with ninja like style, andrea is on the run and looking for answers - and honestly so was I 

such as, how can I train to become such to be a badass who doesn’t even flinch when a knife goes through her hand 😨😨😨

ANYWAY the plot line moved glacier slow, and at one point, I seriously debated if finding the answers was worth 500 pages. spoiler: it’s not really. 

I wasn’t expecting where the story ended up at all, but I enjoyed the natural progression of all of the characters from the past and into present day. however, the big “master mind” reveal at the end of the book seemed super cheap and predictable 😒

especially because the author spent almost the entire book claiming how brainless this character was …

while I am glad I read this one before picking up GIRL, FORGOTTEN, I definitely wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re reallyyyyy into a slow burn thriller 🫣 it was just a meh conclusion to wrap up a meh storyline 

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: montréal riesling  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

Really great, exciting read. Kept me guessing and ended up being a really interesting plot and much more below th surface the more you read.

Towards the end, the authors tone while discussing domestic violence themes was a bit off putting. Though I understand that it was from the perspective of the narrator, it still threw me off. I wish that the main characters talked less about the blame for their own "choices" and more about the incredibly intense manipulation and coercion that lewd to those "choices". Are they really choices at all then?

All in all this was a great read and I will be diving into more of Karin Slaughter's books in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Pregnancy

abbs15norm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Outing, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

_chelseachelsea's review against another edition

adventurous 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

I really enjoyed this one. It’s been a while since I read a thriller with great PACING (so many lately have felt endlessly slow) and Pieces of Her hits a real sweet-spot. Slaughter manages to balance the tone of both timelines quite well, so neither feels boring or arduous. Tense, darkly funny, and exciting enough to make me want to seek out more of her novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

msvernier's review

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage