Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

My Murder by Katie Williams

28 reviews

baileybeloved's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Made me sick to my stomach but I’m not sure if that was from the dread or the relief. Reading this during the week of Gisele Pelicot’s story getting media attention (& everything else that has happened to women this week - Rebecca Cheptegei, Dr. Moumita Debnath, etc etc) made it especially challenging. 

This is a thriller written by a woman, for women. Katie Williams captures the fear & hyper-vigilance around motherhood, femicide, & misogyny, & the parasocial & invasive nature of true crime coverage & delivers descriptions & one-liners that make me feel seen & scared in the same breath. 

I’m left with questions - not about the book but about myself & the world around me - at the end of My Murder. 
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hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-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

2.0

cool concept but such a huge let down with the reveal!!! Ugh. I really wish it had a better ending.
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mangofraiche's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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booksandbabble's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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vj_thompson's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A story about murder but becomes something else entirely. 
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bessadams's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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knit_the_resistance's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Well I definitely did NOT see the ending coming. This book was outside my comfort zone (speculative fiction is not my jam), but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a really clever exploration of PPMD and the idea of postpartum psychosis. What if a psychotic break could be manifest? 
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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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leonorekoki's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Original, startling, beautifully written speculative crime fiction. I found myself recommending it to a friend who reads in neither genre, though, based purely on the writing. It's literary in its use of language and emotional exploration, but still a propulsive read with plenty of plot that kept me turning pages all night. 

Only 280 pages, and I read it in one day, two sittings. I'm impressed by Williams's ability to spin a tale so complete, compelling, and creative in a book of this length. I already had Tell the Machine Goodnight on my radar but hadn't yet gotten around to it because speculative fiction isn't my go-to genre, but after reading My Murder, I'm excited to give it a try. 
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breanneporter's review against another edition

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

4.5

This is fun and extremely engrossing; I read as often as I could until I finished, and I thought about it in between reading sessions. It follows a woman and young wife/mother, Louise, in a technologically-advanced future where she has recently been murdered and brought back to life by a corporation that clones you and reuploads your consciousness and memories into the new version of your body. It’s mysterious; about half way through, she learns something new about the circumstances of her murder and starts a search for understanding. It’s riveting and thought-provoking, dealing head on with various conceptions of the self. 

I’m knocking off just half a point because of how I’m left feeling after the ending.
It answers the most pressing questions in a fairly surprising reveal but I’m still left wanting at the end, mostly due to the tone/what felt like an over-the-top desire to force a happy ending. There’s a lot of build up to not a lot of action, and I just think our narrator’s perspective, which had felt complex and relatable throughout thr novel, got suddenly clear and confident and optimistic in a way that belayed very little residual trauma from finding out you were a clone of a person who faked their own murder and still exists on the world.  The last few chapters just felt like a voiceover at the end of a romcom where, after previously having many complicated feelings, the main character lays out a simplified version of her happily ever after. I mean I really need to know more about Silas. How in the world is he seemingly unencumbered by the fact that the woman he’s with now is the clone of the woman who faked her own murder in order to leave him and their baby, like?? Overall as a character Silas was a bit half-baked (really nice guy and good dad is basically all we got?) and the reveal really highlights that for me. I wish we had gotten more of his and Odd’s perspectives because what an utterly insane situation that they were both in. Anyway I think I just wanted more!


Overall, highly recommend for a very fun and interesting reading journey!
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