Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

290 reviews

katelyn_beee's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

4.5

Very dark. Like an SVU episode x10

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

4.25

Holy SHIT. This book is not for the faint of heart. Recommended via a hate review for another book (that says that Slaughter's book deals with the subject of pornography and underground snuff rings in a much better way), I decided to take my chances. Pretty Girls did not disappoint.

From fraught family relationships to murder to addiction, this book deals with many difficult topics in addition to snuff pornography. Slaughter handles them very well and uses them to create tension and twists that will keep you reading.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Grief

weatherd's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

princess_marie's review

dark emotional 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? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, and Alcohol

fi_sandison's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

stacydelgaudio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

mariahlynnpeck's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

Wow this book literally keeps you on your toes. I could never guess what was coming next. Though there is a lot of trigger warnings it was a pretty good thriller and kept me invested. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

story_of_steph's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

Pretty Girls is one hell of a thriller! Right from the start, I was completely hooked by the mystery of Julia Carroll’s disappearance. Karin Slaughter really knows how to create characters that feel real and flawed. Claire and Lydia’s rocky relationship and their journey to reconnect was both emotional and gripping.

The twists and turns in this book are masterfully done. The way she blends past and present is masterful, keeping you guessing all the way through. The book’s dark and gritty vibe definitely adds to the suspense. 

The only downside for me was that some parts felt a bit drawn out. There were moments when the story slowed down too much, with a few scenes feeling overly detailed. It kind of interrupted the flow at times. But honestly, the compelling characters and the intense plot more than made up for it.

All in all, this is a fantastic read for anyone who loves dark thrillers. A warning though that it deals with some pretty dark subject matter.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

lampbee's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

I can’t tell if i loved or hated this book. It’s very violent in its depictions, at some point it felt needless or even voyeuristic? I didn’t like that element of it especially given the whole plot of the book. The premise I feel was solid and I liked the execution it was just a lot more grim with a lot less payoff than I expected. However I liked the development and the twists not being predictable/trite.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

The description of Lydia getting

waterboarded with paul’s piss

was a bit intense to the point of me not being sure what the purpose was. Obviously to show

that Paul is evil/irredeemable and is willing to sexually abuse Claire’s sister

but it felt gratuitous. The same I feel could be said for the description of the photos

I understand that gore was required to get their heinous crimes across but the description of the mutilated and cleaved girl hanging from barn rafters while blood-soaked and fully erect men posed for a photo was a lot to take in and I wonder how much detail was required to get the point across

. Maybe I just prefer for rape culture to be referenced or described on a more nuanced level and something of this level wasn’t going to hit — but at very least there can be no debate over whether the crime was “all that bad”. I will say though, I’m probably not the only one, by the end of the book

I was hoping Paul would have to endure some of the torture he doled out. He kept Julia alive for two weeks, I would’ve liked to see him have to endure something of that caliber not a strained but quick death in a forest.

I’m very uninterested in women not stooping to their attackers level , they need to get even, idc.

hannahchung's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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? It's complicated

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment