Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

7 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The 2nd book in the Ruth Galloway series and the main characters are back. DCI Harry Nelson is my favourite, although I do love a strong female lead. There is still the fat shaming that I can do without, but other than that, it's looking like a series I'm going to pursue. For those who've not met Dr. Ruth Galloway, she is a forensic archaeologist who is called in by police and, in particular, by Nelson. The crime mystery involves the body of a child with it's head missing being found in a children's home, but this, in a way, is a side story to the messy relationships of Ruth who is pregnant with married Nelson's baby. Other characters are back to, and I do have a soft spot for the druid Cathbad, but I am also pleased to see Judy and Clough from Nelson's team. My favourite Norfolk salt marshes where Ruth lives are also back, which have a character of its own. All in all, it is a gripping, fast-paced, and surprisingly humourous crime based read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy

zelephante's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Dementia

leneliest's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

victoria27's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

zosiablue's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Just fine! Murder mystery involving very old bones, an orphanage, Catholics, and a sort of maudlin boat chase at the end? I never say this, but I think I was more interested in the central romance than the mystery itself this time. Though, the audiobook reader reaallllly leaned into Harry Nelson's Northern accent so hard that the charm went out of the character (who I was introduced to in the previous book, which I read with my eyes). Regardless, there's like 13 more books in this series and here I go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

sasshq's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

gemin1reader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.5

I enjoyed this more than the first in the series - I’m particularly enjoying seeing the relationship between Ruth and Nelson develop. Also delighted that Cathbad is a recurring character!

The story has a bit of a slow start but increases in pace and urgency until I was racing to the finish. 

Also as a lapsed/former Catholic I really like how it explores religion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship