Reviews

The Tattoo Thief by Alison Belsham

cheryl59's review against another edition

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5.0

I really enjoyed this book it was fast paced, with a great story line and some brilliant characters. I liked the way it made me think and the little bursts of humor that made me laugh out loud, I will be recommending this book to family and friends.

wheezybird's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

sameoldwolf's review against another edition

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5.0

absolut widerlich. ich liebe es.

lucyp747d4's review against another edition

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4.0

Quite a lot of us in the group love a good crime read. We all like to play detective as we go along and with our previous crime read I loved hearing everyone’s theories on who the murderer might be etc. Here’s what we thought….

Week One

During our first discussion a lot of us were enjoying the read. Some of us felt it was very similar to M.J. Arlidge’s style of writing and Francis Sullivan was our male version of Helen Grace. We were very intrigued by Marni Mullin’s backstory and loved her character. She had fire and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, we had a feeling she would end up helping a lot on the case. Perhaps the most interesting part though was the excerpts that were from the killer’s POV. These excerpts were chilling and disturbing but they provided a different angle to the story. It was great to get little snippets of information from the killer without knowing who they were early on. At this point none of us were entirely sure where the story was going to lead but we were keen to continue.

Week Two

Our second week saw a lot of drama between Marni and Francis then Francis and Bradshaw/Rory. We started to learn more about Marni’s story and why she doesn’t like the police very much. Francis was having a pretty tough time of it. Not only did he have this case to solve but he had Rory willing to dob him in at any opportunity and Bradshaw breathing down his neck! As always the killer’s notes were proving to be very gory and very descriptive, giving us more clues about who they were. The group had multiple theories but we weren’t entirely sure who the killer or the collector were. Some of us were starting to find the book a little predictable at this stage and I was worried that it was starting to go that way. Nevertheless we all wanted to continue to see the case solved.

Week Three

Now we were nearing the end of the book we were starting to see the case develop quite quickly. Whilst some of our thoughts had played out exactly as we thought i.e. Francis and Rory battling for top dog, there were some other surprises along the way. We learnt more about Marni’s story that made our group like her even more and we had the horrendous discovery at the farm. We were still throwing theories around about who the killer and the collector might be but we all agreed that it would be a final showdown between Marni, Francis and the killer.

Week Four

Our final week and we got all the answers we wanted. My favourite character without a doubt has to be Marni. She was fierce, powerful and knew how to kick butt! Her showdown with the killer had me cheering her on and I was so pleased that she wasn’t a damsel in distress. The final fight scene was extremely graphic and bloody but it was very entertaining. I have to hand it to two of our members Em and Bex, who shall now be named Holmes and Watson, as they spotted the killer/collector early on. Overall I enjoyed this read. It was fast paced, easy to read and had an interesting story line. It was a little predictable at times but a lot of us in the group still want to read the next in the series.

astarions_bhaal_babe's review against another edition

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2.0

The Tattoo Thief was a bit of a disappointment.
The premise is awesome. Tattoos and serial killers? Sign me the f up.
However, I couldn't help but change my mind when I was halfway thorugh it.
You can tell the author did her research and knew where she wanted this story to go, but apparently got a bit lost in the making because 1) it takes really tooooo much for the story to start and 2) there are plot holes and unsolved questions that will haunt me forever.
I found this book a little too inconclusive, rushed in some points (like the ending????), while being dragged in others. Too bad, because I totally saw myself loving the shit out of it.

regi57's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-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

3.5

vanessabrioches's review against another edition

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3.0

Un thriller interessante, con punti di vista alternati tra quelli dei protagonisti e quelli in prima persona del serial killer. Marni è una tatuatrice con un passato oscuro alle spalle, che vuole tenere nascosto, è lei che trova il primo cadavere mutilato di un uomo, alla convention di tatuatori più importante di Brighton. Francis è appena diventato ispettore e non si aspettava che la sua prima indagine fosse proprio su un serial killer che asporta i tatuaggi delle sue vittime, conciandoli come pelle animale per collezionarli. Una caccia lenta ma incalzante, con risvolti macabri e alcuni colpi di scena da paura.
Però, devo essere sincera, una volta arrivata alla fine mi sono detta: ah, era tutto qui? Forse è colpa delle aspettative altissime che avevo su questo libro, forse dell’hype creato sui social e alle fiere, dove veniva venduto come IL LIBRO RIVELAZIONE DELL’ANNO. Peccato che, sebbene sia un buon thriller, non ci abbia trovato niente di così speciale da farmi urlare: WOW.

In conclusione, Il Tatuatore è una caccia lenta ma incalzante, non adatta ai deboli di stomaco a causa delle descrizioni vivide ed esplicite. La tensione è sempre alta e la lettura è scorrevole, ma non si raggiunge mai la vetta del climax. Lo consiglio a chi cerca un thriller, tutto sommato, leggero; una lettura da ombrellone o da tranquilla serata crime. E, infine, a chi ama i tatuaggi, perché questo libro ti fa venire voglia di fartene uno – anche se poi si rischia di finire ammazzati.

kate_leitch_10's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

querciola's review against another edition

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3.0

Coming soon~ (probably)

kxthleen's review against another edition

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3.0

the storyline is great, the writing style is great, but I feel that this author has never met a person with a tattoo in their life... a lot of cringey details, as someone within that ‘community’, but otherwise a compelling read with a good twist!