Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Devil House: A Novel by John Darnielle

6 reviews

whofilets's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

1.0

Read by the author, in a slow and detached voice. Jumps around with narrators and situations. I was invested though, and wanted to find out the mystery of the killer... In the end it was a total letdown. I would have been happier if it ended a couple chapters early

and the main writer-character just had to wrestle with his actions after being called out by the victims family member, and never knowing who the 'real killer' was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Vomit

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

The idea is there, but the execution was lacking. I had really high hopes for this book, having loved the cover and enjoying a good mystery. That isn’t what this book is, though, and I would emphasize to anyone who wants to read it that I would hardly categorize it as crime either.

The book takes a long time to say what it wants to say. It takes WAY too long, like 350 pages too long. So much of the story is spent building up flat characters from an author whose characterization is also nonexistent. When it finally came to the plot twist, it just didn’t have much of an effect on me because there was nothing from the rest of the novel that I was truly holding on to.

I would like to think that maybe I am just so smart I saw Darnielle’s intention from the get go and that this was not a book directed toward me but I don’t think either of us should get too much credit. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kthealey's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Sexism, Xenophobia, and Vomit

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

3.0

This novel reads more like a textbook than anything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying and Physical abuse

This novel delves into the subjects of poverty and there is a murder that involves chopping up an entire body into small pieces after committing murder in self defence.

columbo's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit