Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

96 reviews

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This was my ‘Blind Date with a Book’ book from Upper Street Bookshop! ✨ 

I am SO upset that this didn’t end up as much of a thrill as I expected 🥺 The beginning was gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed the differing perspectives (flicking between current Libby’s and past Ben/Patty’s perspectives). 
But I’m so cross with the ending 😂 I think there was such a big build up for it to fall short.

Spoiler

It was messed up that Patty felt she had to hire someone to kill her, and that Diondra got Michelle, obviously, but it made a lot of sense in the end 😫

This one definitely requires many content warnings, which I’ll include below! 

3.5 out of 5 stars for me ✨ Thank you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, and Pedophilia

tjmitrovic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Cursing, Animal death, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Gore, and Vomit

ettapopek's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Amazing book with lots of interesting characters, complicated backstories, and a mind blowing twist at the end! One of my favorite Gillian Flynn books for sure.  Book is definitely dark and creepy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Death, Drug use, Animal death, and Violence

shannonleestrouse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

crocodilerocklobster's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Cursing, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, and Miscarriage

celina246's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

This book was intense. It felt a bit like the shock value outweighed the actual plot, so that the mystery was just background to the gore, violence and tragedy. I can’t see myself wanting to read this again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Classism, Pregnancy, and Grief

punkrockingnerd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

There are def some sections crossed out because of trigger stuff, but DAGNABBIT, Ms. Flynn is SUCH a good writer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Stalking, Trafficking, Abandonment, Car accident, and Incest

brandie_abbie19's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gun violence, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Cancer and Colonisation

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

This is my second Gillian Flynn after Sharp Objects, and while I rank Dark Places below Sharp Objects, I did enjoy this. It's well-paced and Flynn maintains the tension and intrigue throughout. I wasn't entirely surprised by the ending, largely because the hints were seeded throughout the story well enough that the reveal felt like it fell into place in a way that made sense - which is honestly more satisfying than twist ending geared toward pure shock. I think this might make for a decent reread for that reason. I also enjoyed the exploration of the unglamorous, more unsavory aspects of grief and trauma - Libby's anger, the sluggishness of her depression, her desire to isolate. Like Sharp Objects, this is great source material for a miniseries, in the right hands and with a good cast; shame the 2015 adaptation wasn't well-received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

readingwithjass's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Animal death