Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel by Stacy Willingham, Stacy Willingham

36 reviews

aprilblues348's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent

kaynova's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

It took me a full work day to finish this audiobook, which is a good thing because that means I deeply enjoyed it and found myself immersed into the story. However, the characters made me MAD! Which most times in mystery/suspense books that happens but the reason this book ups it a little is because Chloe is a dumb b*tch. Girl, you are still recovering from years of trauma from your father's arrest and you don't even think to change your name and move further from Louisiana. You move only an hour away and think NO ONE knows who you are. Darling, the case happened in 1999, the beginning times of the internet, and 20 years later, is the height of the internet, yes everyone friggin knows! To honestly believe her fiance did not know was laughable. He definitely knew, but he didn't know how to say it like her other flings and boyfriends. You would think if she's going to keep going through this to just be open and honest to weave people out of her life, but again, no she doesn't. Instead, she gets vulnerable with the wrong people (which isn't always her fault) and is honest at the times she should've been honest before.

Now, I love  a good unreliable narrator trope (though imo, anything written in first person is an unreliable narrator, but we will digress). As readers, we are going through the days with her and learn she has mass paranoia and PTSD that makes it difficult for her to trust people. But how you don't trust people but get engaged to a man a year later? Or

fuck the fake reporter only knowing him for like three weeks

? It didn't make sense to me at times and I tried to reason it with her drug abuse and her past trauma, but I can tell the author was not going that route, so her inability to put distance between people has nothing to do with her trauma, though she says it is. She said something about laying down with people to feel another heartbeat against hers, but she gets too close to the wrong guys (except Daniel, though he had his own issues. Like you knew who her dad was and her situation AND still threw her surprise party and sexually choked her during sex. Like dude did not communicate or read the room). I kept wondering what makes a person qualified to be in her circle, in her heart and I didn't get any answers.

MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD

I really wanted it to be Cooper and Daniel as the masterminds of this, but when it turned midpoint, I was hoping it was all three in some crazy way. I loved the twist but I was still disappointed. I don't know why; I just was. Cooper, like many serial killers, don't need a reason for being a murderer and I'm glad the author stuck with that, though the whole "it's the darkness. the devil himself" blew me because not one second did the author introduce them as god worshipping people.  It was very believable and the entire book you get clues who's the real guy though, again, Chloe Davis is a dumb b*tch. A lot of ways she reminds me of Pip from AGGGTM by never looking at every angle. She jumped right in and thought it was her fiance and some point I agreed until certain things still bothered me. She kept chasing after him and never took her own advice. The advice that the arms that she kept running to should have been the arms she should've ran away from, and those arms were her brother's.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Child abuse

amieleigh8919's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Drug abuse

xmeganlowe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Such a good thriller!! The writing was sophisticated and you really got to know the thoughts of Chloe. I really thought I had it all figured out but was shocked by the final revelation of who the killer actually was. That being said, once the true killer was revealed, it did seem very anti-climatic in the way it wrapped up. But I do appreciate that all angles were tackled and resolved in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Violence, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Self harm

llamallama527's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a tad more predictable than I'd prefer, but! It was well written and very interesting. Given this was the author's first published book, I intend to give her next books a read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

What a wild ride. There are twists, deep deep betrayal, second guessing. The ending shocked me but at the same time there were signs.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Self harm

maregred's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual content

radhi_inthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

THIS BOOK. WOW. I was pulling my hairs out, grinding my teeth, rushing through the pages and having to back track because I couldn't remember what I was reading and the details were a blur. This was that kind of book. And it's been a long, long time since I had read anything that made me cling to the edge of my seat, had me taking breaks from reading and running around the house to process what I had just read. AHHHH I cannot, it was THAT good!!!

Ok, that was mostly my emotions haha, but seriously it was soooo good in sooo many different ways. I mean the plot twists kept twisting left and right! One moment I had made conclusions and in the next moment I had to erase all the ideas formulating in my head, because there were other things at hand, evidence that pointed in all sorts of directions. And omggg the way I was mentally screaming at the fmc (arghhh I want to cryyy)!!! I thought her soooo dumb and stupid for some of the decisions she made, but somehow all of that stupidity worked out and I was so glad for her initial dumb decisions XD. At other times, she made smart moves that definitely did not work for her and made me understand why she continued to resort to those dumb ones lol. As for the ending, I did not see it coming at. all. whatsoever. You know, throughout the book I thought i was the smart one, because I thought I had figured mystery books out...LMAO I was soooo wrong - I definitely DO NOT have them figured out >_< .

Anyway, go read this. Like right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Stalking, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Murder

myreadingdream13's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

2.0

The main girl makes frustrating decisions. The story veered dangerously close to some compelling ideas and thoughts but forgot all about them for the twist-riddled mess of an ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Addiction, Child death, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Vomit

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Stalking, Mental illness, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Suicide, Self harm, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Eating disorder and Sexual content