gracie98buena's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual content, Stalking, Trafficking, Excrement, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Torture, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence
ljkruz's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
samsaindon's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Body horror, Infidelity, Suicide, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, and Rape
aaronreadsatad's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexism, Blood, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Kidnapping, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Child death, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse
lacemac's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I sobbed, I gasped, I cringed and I squirmed.
The most gripping book I have ever read.
Graphic: Car accident, Gore, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Torture, Violence, Child death, Murder, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Rape
aroddy22's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Death, Addiction, Kidnapping, Body horror, and Gore
harajkreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
The characters are well written, well for me at least. The manipulations at play were really well written. The way Paul isolated Claire away from her family members. The way Paul was always in control at every step. Domestic abuse is usually tied to physical abuse. However here we can see that despite Claire being ‘well treated’ by her husband, she was indeed in a domestic abuse relationship. She wasn’t abused physically, she was abused psychologically and emotionally.Also, we can also see how it affects the victim’s family members. The aftermath of the case, the devastation, the breakdown of relationships. One of the parents became obsessed with the case, the other one tried to ‘move on’. People grieve differently, and marriages break because of that. Sam was obsessed with his daughter’s disappearance, Helen on the other hand, still grieving for her, but had to move ahead in order to take care of her other living daughters: Lydia and Claire.
Probably 50% into the books, it got too graphic. I just skimmed through it, but it was rather interesting how Paul was also involved in abusing the victims. I wonder how he got involved. How did he first start committing these gruesome crimes? Did his father introduce him to these crimes? I will probably read this book again to better understand Paul’s involvement. The history between Paul and his father was briefly mentioned, and I really think it would be great to further elaborate their relationship. As for Paul’s mother, she was innocent. She was in fact looking for Julia during one of the searches for Julia’s disappearance. [Paul’s father was a psychopath and obviously a sadistic person. Was Paul being introduced to these violents and became like his father, or was he born a psychopath?]
As the chapters come to an end, we can see how Claire managed to piece the puzzles together. Claire was written as a frail woman, someone who depended on others. In order to uncover the truth, she had to go out of her comfort zone and dig into her husband’s private life. For once in her life, she had to think for herself, and she had to take action on her own. For a while, all these decisions are made for her by her husband. Another red flag in her marriage.
In conclusion, the book was well written: the plot, the twists at the end, and the characters.
Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
bellagee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Rape, and Drug use
ltulisiak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Gore, Kidnapping, Torture, and Misogyny
ellilo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I hate saying i enjoyed this because it’s not a nice topic to enjoy, but i just love dark and disgusting thriller and horror books. This book had me in a chokehold the past four days, and i barely find time to read so that’s always a good thing about a book for me, fast-paced and packed with adventure so i don’t want to stop reading.
Some of the turns in the story were weird and from the beginning you already know that the guy is bad, but you don’t know about the extent of the cruelty. That was weird for me because i’m used to not knowing who the killer is, in this book it was rather the question who you can trust and what’s the truth.
The ending made me cry, but i have to be honest and i feel really weird saying this:
I heard this book was SO disgusting and graphic, and of course, there were some scenes that made me a bit uncomfortable but i’ve read worse. I don’t think that it’s the description that makes it disgusting, but rather the topic.
I still enjoyed this book! It wasn’t as cruel as i thought it would be and at the same time it was worse. But in a good way.
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Hate crime, Child death, Stalking, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Alcoholism, Dementia, Eating disorder, Vomit, Car accident, Body shaming, and Excrement