Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power

3 reviews

amobrien's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

If you're in the mood for a paranormal thriller, I highly recommend The Ghosts of Thorwald Place. It's dark and tense with more than a few horror elements. The paranormal aspect is blended into the mystery well — sometimes when I'm reading a mystery, especially a domestic thriller, I feel like the addition of ghosts pulls away from the story, but this is a story that is 100% benefitted from it. There were some twists that I expected, but there were also many that completely surprised me. Overall, I found this to be a really interesting read, but I would recommend checking the content warnings before diving in.

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booksanddopamine's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

I didn’t want to put this book down! It had me engaged from the first chapter. The book is written from the POV of the ghost of a murdered woman and she finds that Thorwald Place is haunted by more than ghosts. I enjoyed snooping around Thorwald Place with her and discovering the residents’ dark secrets - and the secrets that are unearthed about those who the protagonist thought she knew. I loved that there were so many little mysteries within the bigger mystery of the book. The way the supernatural tied in with the real world I thought was done well. There were some good twists I didn’t see coming.
 
Minor spoiler related to content warning for animal death: 
 
SpoilerIf you’re sensitive to animal abuse, there is a part where the protagonist finds her missing cat dead. It’s around minute 04:26 of chapter 40 in the audiobook (around 06:51:47 of the entire audiobook). If you’re reading the book, it’s toward the end of her diary entry after chapter 31 where she’s talking about all of the flies in the house and they go to investigate the fireplace. Just skip past that part. You won’t miss anything crucial to the story. I wish I had known about that part ahead of time so I could have skipped it.

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sameink's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

 I unintentionally read the whole book instead of sleeping. 
!! Quick Warning !! If you have a sensitivity or wish to avoid any depictions of domestic abuse, skip this book! It's a very prominent element of the story and could easily bring a lot of discomfort (if not worse) to the reader. !! End of Warning !!

I liked how the book handled it's supernatural elements and how they effected the main character. There are some aspects for some of the residents in the building that feel like too much of a stretch (to me) , but the book does have explanations for those, I may just be naïve and fussy. 

This book has a clean and straight forward writing style and is excellently paced. There are plenty of opportunities to put the book down, I just didn't take them. I enjoyed this book a LOT, and I'm probably going to get a copy for myself when I can. 
Just... don't ignore your body's needs like I did. (Goodnight...) 

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