brithen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Stalking, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Physical abuse, Death, Injury/injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, and Torture
mahoyap's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
thatswhatshanread'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
5.0
Claire and Lydia, estranged sisters brought back together by another tragedy, embark on a journey almost twenty-five years old as new clues come to light about their older sister, Julia, who went missing when she was nineteen and was never found. Nothing is as it seems as present begins to connect rather ominously with the past.
This was my first Karin Slaughter book and man, did it deliver. It’s definitely a very dark book that seems to get darker with each shocking turn, not shying away from grisly facts or chilling thoughts. The writing was intense, fast-paced, evocative. Slaughter’s words made the story so vivid and realistic, my heart pounding the whole way through as if I were one of Julia’s sisters, too.
If you’re a fan of Gillian Flynn, you’ll also devour this one. I found their writing styles quite similar and engaging.
I loved the way this story played out, the different story arcs that came to fruition. Of course, the subject matter is even more sinister then you’d imagine out the gate, but it was used so well in this one.
I suspect I will be thinking of this book for a long time!!
Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Addiction, Gore, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Excrement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Gun violence
Minor: Body horror
mackenzieheidt'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
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
lilifane'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
ohmyohmaggie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
perplexed'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? It's complicated
2.25
I will say now that there might be some spoilers in this review, and I'll flag them, but proceed with caution. Also TW: I reference SA and violence in this review
There were elements of this book I loved. The whole idea of "how well do you really know someone" is a trope I love to see explored, and this book started off doing that really well. I also really loved the main characters, Claire and Lydia, and part of the reason I finished the book was because I wanted to make sure they got out of their shenanigans okay.
Spoiler
I call it shenanigans because why wouldn't you get law enforcement involved, like surely if the FBI was there you'd be like hey so uh there's all this shit happening with my husband, here look at these videos, please help. Totally get the whole police and criminal corruption thing, but Fred Nolan was very obviously not involved with that (his interview with Claire later on in the book clearly showed this I thinkThat being said, so much of this book felt like gratuitous detail. I get that you want to make it clear how brutal something is, but you could get that without needing to graphically describe acts of SA and torture. I love body horror and gore, but the repeated graphic descriptions were *a lot* and I really recommend giving this book a skip if you're effected by any of the trigger warnings mentioned on these reviews.
Also, shout out to the fact that either Claire or Karin Slaughter thinks that TOR is an illegal file sharing site. Very much legal, it's just a browser like Google Chrome but it doesn't track you, so I think TOR is actually the real good guy in this book.
PS. Dad if you're reading this hello, please don't judge me for the books I've been reading recently, I've been on a kick of gross books ever since American Psycho but none seem to scratch the itch of violence with a message and they've all just landed on gratuitous violence instead :-( onto a Christmas romance novel next though so, bet you can't wait for that review!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
maddiegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Gore, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Addiction
mossys_reading_nook's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
izypup'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
4.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Torture, and Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, Trafficking, and Vomit
Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy