Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

14 reviews

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, Outing, Sexual harassment, and War

dtrain3000's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

 I didn't find this book as funny as everyone in the reviews had told me it was going to be. It was actually quite dark. There were some elements that were comical but I was not laughing out loud at any point.

That being said, I enjoyed the premise of the book. A bunch of agents from MI5 go to a dead-end part of the agency and get themselves wrapped in a mission way over their heads. The characters are quite lovable and the reader wants them to win because of their underdog status.

What I didn't like was the large ensemble cast. It was confusing to keep everyone's backstory straight. The constant moving between storylines made it difficult to keep track of where the reader is in the overall plot.

I also found Herron's prose to be difficult to follow and verbose at times. I found myself at multiple points in the book thinking "why do I need to know this?" which is never something you want.

Overall, I still found the book really interesting. There were amazing twists and turns, lovable characters, and an interesting premise for future books. I would recommend anyone who is interested in spy novels to read because it's an modern take on the genre. But my only word of caution would be to take your time because you will likely get confused. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

smitinghedgehog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

moonfly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder