Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

36 reviews

doodlebeanz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? No

2.5

I was SO excited for this book and I am SO sad that it was such a let down. I try to go into every thriller I read with optimism and hope that one will reach the level of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, and every time I am let down. This book was no exception. 

First off, I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. Lots of dialogue followed up by internal dialogue which was then also followed up with 'I said this to her/him/them.' Like... just have the characters have external dialogue and a conversation instead of writing about what someone is thinking in their heads and also saying? I don't know, the writing style was weird. It was good writing, but just oddly set up.

Second, there were WAY TOO MANY CHARACTERS. Too many characters who shared too many similarities; living on the same street, having children, being slightly suspicious, being dead. There were so many times I had to be like 'wait, who?'. I even had to start writing in the journal entries here on Storygraph to keep up with the characters. 

Third, I am usually a huge fan of books that deal with the past and the present, but similarly to the mass amounts of characters becoming confusing, the back and forth between present and future became confusing in the end.

Why were Leo's chapters like he was writing in a journal, or a letter written to Delilah?

There was too much skipping around and too many POVs where it just became jumbled in my mind.

Fourth, and the worst of them all, this book fell victim to my biggest thriller book irk... I read 340+ pages of tension and build up just for it to be wrapped up in 2 pages... approximately 5-6 paragraphs, maybe.

You find out that Bea is a sociopath apparently and Delilah had been living in her 'studio' in the backyard, 20 feet away from her family for 11 years, and Bea goes to jail and Shelby's daughter is living with her real father and Jason was let out of his wrongful imprisonment and the people who took Carly were copycat criminals and they stupidly went back to the house where they held Carly captive and were captured... all in 2 pages. Like why did I even read the entire story then?! Also, what the hell was the point of the entire OBGYN Dr. Fiengold? Just seemed like a little plot point to throw everyone off the scent of what really happened but by then the reader, at least I didn't, realize anything was amiss with Bea so... just unnecessary characters and mini suspenseful plot twists that turn into nothing.

 

The story had so many characters and twists and turns and so much suspense that it just couldn't keep up with it all. The first half the book was good, but it was also SLOW PACED... like glacially slow. Like painfully slow. It didn't hold my attention much past the half way point, if I'm being honest. So disappointing. :(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Car accident

murve's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ashylois's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

Most of the book is a slow burn mystery, feeding you little bits of evidence and information. However, the last two or three chapters completely undoes the rest of the book, and while it was an unpredictable ending, it felt rushed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Murder

that_person_logan's review against another edition

dark sad tense

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Was I on the edge of my seat for some of this? Yes. 
Was it good? No. 
Was there unnecessary and detailed medical trauma sprinkled in that in no way contributed to the story? Yes. 
Would I recommend this? No. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

bones_jackson's review against another edition

dark 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? No

2.0

O plot twist é forçado e ruim, não tem aquela tensão construída para que haja uma revelação, ela só veio do nada, mudando completamente e desnecessariamente a personalidade de um personagem para que se encaixasse no plot twist. A história começa boa, mas o resto dela é muito forçada. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

ruanerachel's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Murder

stormibabyy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Kidnapping

katybugggg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was so good! It kept me guessing the entire time; I could not put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Medical trauma

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

bonluvdon's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Took my time through the first half, and read the second half in one sitting! The change in timeline and POV took some adjustment. I liked a lot of the twists, but there were some plot holes I couldn't get past. The ending left me totally bewildered! I don't usually read this genre for the same reason I avoid crime dramas; I'm sensitive to certain content. However, I appreciated how the story was told without much graphic detail.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Medical trauma

Moderate: Cursing and Infidelity

Minor: Bullying, Death, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

kayro's review against another edition

dark emotional 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 was wild to say the least. The first two chapters start off incredibly dark and disturbing and the book ends in the same way. I spent a lot of time throughout this book trying to figure out how everything was connected. Time jump plot twists are always my favorite because I can never see them coming and I always find them incredibly shocking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder