Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

93 reviews

mrk100100's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse

lizziemarie01's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

rin_dawg's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

I don’t think I should read anything about serial killers ever again, this book stressed me the hell out. But if that’s the kind of thing you’re into… then this is definitely for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

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

athenaleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Murder

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

Spoiler

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

beckyremillard's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Blood, Gun violence, and Child death

rachelly's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Miscarriage

jesshart8's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Death, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, and Self harm

igroswell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

2.0

 The storytelling and describing the author does is phenomenal. She has a way with descriptive language that I don't feel we see too often, and her use of literary devices like similes and anecdotes are so well done. Another thing that drew me in was that I grew up not far from the towns mentioned in the novel, and that gave it a more alluring quality for me personally, making me very intrigued to follow the story. This book gets a 2 because of the ending. I saw it coming from a mile away. I like to be shocked and bamboozled, plot twists are my favorite. I didn't feel that way when I read this. The book was well written, and I was engaged the entire time, never bored. I really enjoyed this, I just felt let down by the ending. I will however definitely read more by this author, I loved her style of writing so much., but ultimately, the ending soured the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Violence

Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Miscarriage