Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Rabbit Hole

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody

19 reviews

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

I read Gillian Flynn's Dark Places in January, and I wondered at the time what the story would have been like if it had been written in the era of ubiquitous true-crime content like podcasts and subreddits. Rabbit Hole is as close as I've gotten to an answer to that question. It's an enthralling story about the aftermath of the main character's sister's disappearance and her father's death. It's more character-driven than most thriller novels, and the mystery is less about the "who" than the "how" or the "why." I understand some people's disappointment with some aspects of the story, but I thought it achieved its aims pretty well. It kept me engaged from the very first page, and although I wish some of the character arcs and storylines had been tied up a little more neatly, I think the point was that life isn't always like that.

I'd advise checking the content warnings for this book, and I'd generally recommend not reading it at all if animal cruelty is tough for you to read about - the instances in this book were just about at the limit I could handle, and I usually have a pretty strong stomach.

Content Warnings

gingerchew22's review against another edition

Go to review page

It isn’t my type of book is all. It was a bit too dark and messed up, and didn’t focus that much on the actual crime and death/disappearance aspects. Got super twisted in a not good way at the end, and I just didn’t feel like I could finish. I understand this is just a matter of opinion but this book just didn’t do it for me.

Content Warnings

katwalke7's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Rabbit Hole does a really good job at underscoring the grotesque obsession that people have with true crime. A lot of other authors have made poor attempts at this trope, but this book is the only one I've read that actually achieved a unique perspective. While some part of this book are really dark and difficult to stomach, it added to the overwhelming grief experienced by the main character.

Content Warnings

meghanmccall's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

luverbyrd's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.0

Starts dark and stays dark.

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Tough topics like grief and tragedy can be used to explore the harsh realities of life, and I knew they would feature prominently in this book. Unfortunately, it went overboard as if trying to be controversial or edgy, but instead felt heavy-handed and repetitive. As a result, it took me out of the story, and instead of being heart-wrenching, it became uninteresting. If you can look past what I couldn’t, you may find a story worth reading here.

Energy: Acerbic. Insincere. Pessimistic.

Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in Maine, USA

Perspective: We follow a high school teacher who has experienced a lot of tragedy. Their sister went missing in high school, their sister’s dog is dying of cancer, and their father died by suicide. While clearing their father’s office, they unearth information about their sister’s disappearance.

🐺 Growls: Cliché or gratuitous use of ‘shocking’ language and events that overshadow the commentary and character study.

🐕 Howls: Spinning wheels and stalling out the plot. The synopsis is the B-plot at best.

🐩 Tail Wags: The writing itself wasn’t bad.

🤔 Random Thoughts:

Using a dog’s illness in this plot could have been effective, but the repetitive descriptions of its suffering felt excessive. The same can be said for the dog’s death and all the random cat torture and cruelty. This made me think it was trying too hard to get a reaction, like a child acting up to get attention.

This seemed more like a deep-dive character study exploring Teddy’s descent into madness and whether it was due to tragedy or inherent in her personality. Teddy’s increasingly destructive behaviour caused her to engage in reckless activities. I was here for it initially, but unfortunately, it suffered from the same repetitive tendencies. The sex scenes were often clinical descriptions of what to do to come, which made it seem like they were there to make some readers feel shocked or uncomfortable without any purpose or substance.

The synopsis also misleads how little online and social media is involved in the plot.

Ultimately, this story could have included meaningless sex, a dying dog, Reddit trolls, and an increasingly unhinged main character in a way that was impactful, even if discomforting. Instead, it was trying to use unpopular tropes but not confident enough to do so without regularly pointing them out in a disruptive way that overshadowed any meaningful exploration of heavy themes like grief and true crime toxicity.

----

Content Heads-Up: Animal cruelty and death (cats, dogs). Suicide. Suicidal ideation. Loss of a sibling. Grief. Loss of a parent. Loss of a child (teen). Loss of a spouse. Sexual content (consenting, intoxicated, addictive/destructive). Sexual assault. Addiction. Drug use.

📚 Format: Paperback

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

Content Warnings

emmymk's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

courtney5's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

syellico's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad 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

3.0

Content Warnings

tabitha_thorns's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

Made me genuinely sick to my stomach (in a good way) for most of the book. An excellent exploration of the main character going mad. Foreboding, full of dread, but the ending is a little lackluster. It suits the tone and mood of the story but eh, could have ended in a more compelling way.

Content Warnings

More...