Reviews with content warning for Violence - Red Queen

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

13 reviews

misscoffeereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

Red Queen is an action-packed novel that features Antonia Scott, a woman with an unusually keen intellect, and Jon Gutierrez, a police inspector placed in a difficult position, faced with a macabre murder with more death on the horizon. Their opponent is calculating and sinister, and our protagonists are placed on a time-crunch to ensure that further lives don't end on their watch.

A highlight for me were the characters of Antonia and Jon in the novel. They were both characters that breathed life and energy into an already dynamic and tense premise. I enjoyed the (strictly platonic) relationship between the two and the way they bounced off each other. I also appreciate how the English translation didn't dilute the heavy Spanish culture that was imbedded in most of the novel; as a first time to read a Spanish translated book, it was great to see how the culture was represented.

It was difficult to come up with a lowlight. If anything it might be the ending of the novel.

I understand that the identity of Sandra was kept a mystery in order to set the premise for future books, but to realise that the novel wouldn't end with a clear cut killer leaves me feeling a bit bereft.

A great thriller novel and foray into Spanish translations. I'd be interested to see what future installations hold!

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aseel_reads's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was actually so interesting and mysterious. Antonia was definitely autistic coded minus a few things that aren't possibly real. I really enjoyed the Spanish setting and I can't wait to read the next book.

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rudwulf's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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ladyk8ie8's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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nmanclsaxon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.75

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sydthewitch's review

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dark tense slow-paced

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

0.5

I'm mad I finished it.

I do not understand the hype around this book at all. The pacing is wildly inconsistent, somehow nearly all of the characters are misogynistic, and there is an over reliance on cringey and unnecessary plot devices.
Worst of all, they don't resolve the mystery by the end, like not even a little.

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natashaball's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Despite finding the story a bit confusing, I was still intrigued by the mystery and how it was solved. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Antonia, the main character and Gutierrez, and would like the read the next ones.

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