This is a noir book, so it does not shy away from violence, but neither does it delight in gore like horror might. The child abuse/domestic abuse is part of the narrator's trauma but does not take place in the timeline of the narrative. One of the detectives has MS, and though the story never dwells on it long, there is a heavy moment when she mentions another character with MS's suicide. The abortion isn't graphic, but it bears a lot of narrative weight.