Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Achter gesloten deuren by B.A. Paris

123 reviews

bendersanchez23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

mecmccann's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Behind Closed Doors was a better version of the same tropes in The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden. In this book, we follow a young girl who meets and quickly marries who she thinks is the man of her dreams. But on their wedding day, her sister and bridesmaid who has downs syndrome falls down the stairs and breaks her leg. They proceed with the wedding, and her new husband turns on her. He confides that it isn't her that he wants, its her sister. (though it's not clear what for. He said this in the same breath as "having sex with you was cumbersome and I didn't want to do it," so I think he wanted to assault her). He locks her in a room, he takes all her money, he starves her and tortures her. 

It's dark. I don't mind darkness, in fact, I typically like a psychological horror/thriller book. However, this was too straightforward and lacked any suspense. And this main character was not getting that he wanted to rape her disabled sister and put off getting out of the situation until the absolute last second. Is that where the suspense was? I didn't love this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

apaolillo24's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Toxic relationship

randaem's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Torture

saskiahill's review against another edition

fast-paced

1.5

Super predictable the whole way through and just horrible content throughout. The author over-explains things often.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit

mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A quick and easy read! Would be great for a flight or a rainy day.

I thought I was settling in for something a little meatier. In my opinion, the story introduced the conflict right away and didn't do much to surprise the reader throughout.

However, I did like Millie's role in the plot - she was more clever than people wanted to give her credit for. I also liked the battle of wills between Jack and Grace. The "who will win" of it all kept me reading. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility and Forced institutionalization

jade_sanderson's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy

vbarker91's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, and Murder

Minor: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders

nmf16's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller and got through it in just a couple of days. 
The only reason it didn’t get 5* is because I felt the ending was a bit rushed and there were a couple of plot holes that left me thinking “but what about that…..” still a really enjoyable read though! Would recommend.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Miscarriage and Death of parent

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

I received this book as a gift.
"Behind Closed Doors" follows Grace, and her seemingly perfect husband, Jack. Grace and Jack seem to have it all and they live a very luxurious lifestyle. Their friends are all envious of them and their perfect marriage. Jack is a high-profile lawyer who never loses a case, and Grace is the picturesque homemaker. Unfortunately, things are never as good as they seem on the outside, and Grace and Jack are far from the perfect couple.
This story took me awhile to get into. I knew from the beginning that something was off, and I was very weary of Jack as a character, but it took a long time to finally piece together what was really going on, and what Jack's true motivations were. While I enjoyed the thrill of not truly knowing what was going on, once I did know, I was no longer invested in the story. Jack's behavior and actions towards Grace seemed plausible enough, but his true motivation for what he wanted and why he wanted it felt a little too unhinged to be believable.
Jack is absolutely insane, and the fact that he was able to hide that fact from everyone in his life is kind of impressive. I feel like someone who exhibits these types of behaviors for that long would have slipped up somewhere and had someone asking questions.
I was slightly disappointed in Grace as a character. I felt like she was broken too easily, and with so much at stake, she could have continued to fight harder. I empathize that she was in a difficult situation, but I kept yelling "come on" through the pages.
Overall, this book did not feel 100% believable in any aspect. There were too many plot points that relied on characters accepting what they were told without question. A thriller does not need to be believable to be good, but for me it definitely helps to make it more thrilling.
Overall, this story was fine. I had an okay time reading it, and I probably will not think about it much in the future. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death