Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly

9 reviews

bonestheartist's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really loved how the mystery took you down different theories, as if you were with the main character Nell trying to uncover the secrets held close within her two families. Absolutely loved this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic

fairymoo83's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

dia_ls's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

alearon's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Cool story but a bit of a chore to finish, too grim for my taste. Themes of morality expressed in the ending aren’t particularly insightful and I found myself hating all the characters, which was maybe by author’s intent. *4*

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse and Pedophilia

wrenl's review

dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

I’m not sure why I thought this would be like the 39 Clues series, aka a hunt for the bones, but I did. I didn’t expect a family drama, although I probably should have given the blurb. Regardless, I was engrossed. I was along for the drama. There were moments when I gasped out loud. The scandal! The tea!

It was really interesting that the story was across timelines and multiple perspectives. I understand why it uses multiple perspectives and timelines, but they muddy the story. It is a bit hard to get attached to any character, especially the parents Lal, Bridget, Frank, and Cora because their perspectives are so one-sided and blatant about their meaning. There were a few times I liked this structure, though. I did like the multiple perspectives for the Intimacies exhibit section because it ramps up tension with each person’s tiny bit of the story. The tension doesn’t really pan out when someone is straight up told what happened, though.

The actual plot is just okay. It is a very twisty and dramatic story, but there aren’t strong emotional moments like you’d expect from an intergenerational trauma story.

But honestly I just wanted a hint for bones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

sandysmith's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

I enjoyed this book, so I loved that it had a book within it, a book crafted with puzzles and clues to find bones scattered about the country. Added to this, it's a story of dysfunctional families, the Lallys, and the Churchers. Nell is the main character, but it does switch between characters and timelines. At times Nell is likeable, at others she is very annoying but a product if her own upbringing when followers of the book took clues to far and tried to cut her pelvis out believing thats where the final bone is hidden. There are lots of  twists and different themes, so I am sure different readers will get different things from the book. It's  part mystery, part psychological thriller, it is long book, but engaging so I found myself finding time for it throughout the day. Good stuff

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

duggireads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Classism

arachan's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

A bleak little tale with no heroes and a lot of generational dysfunction 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

chandrayisaacson's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Slow start but a really interesting premise. I saw one plot twist coming but then there were more that took me by surprise. Interesting ending, I liked it a lot.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse