Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph

16 reviews

itzbrianna's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

14 Ways to Die is a tense and emotional mystery where the protagonist, Jess, agrees to do a reality show in the hopes of finding her mother’s murderer.

This book has been on my btr list for awhile, and I’ve heard great things about Vincent Ralph’s work. 14 Ways to Die overall was an interesting mystery and definitely kept me intrigued despite some grievances.

This book has short and choppy chapters and this is the biggest mistake by the editing team (whoever is responsible) for this novel. A lot of the chapters could’ve been combined because they were a continuation from the previous chapter. I don’t think there was much strategy involved when it came to breaking chapters up. 

I read this alongside the audiobook (which I have to do these days) and the narrator definitely took me out of the story at times. Her voice was monotone and whiny. 

The mystery itself was the best part about this novel. And the plot hit close to home for many reasons but I still found a way to find this story enjoyable. There were many moments where I thought I knew who the killer was, but my third guess was absolutely correct. I never would’ve guessed the why though. 

If you enjoy slow paced mysteries that have an emotional storyline then you’ll enjoy this. Just beware if the audiobook. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

amaranth_wytch's review against another edition

mysterious sad

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Child abuse

lucymae0515's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Overall, this book was ok! It wasn’t anything I would particularly remember or recommend, but I did enjoy it while reading. The chapters are super short which made it so easy to get through! The plot was good, but the end was super predictable. If you want an easy thriller, this is for you!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse and Mass/school shootings

reillywills's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

 The short chapters were a bit jarring for me. I think it may have been part of why I didn’t connect with the characters much. By the end of the book, I really don’t know much about the character beyond the fact that she likes to have carrot cake on her birthday, and, of course at her mom was killed by a serial killer. The premise of the social media/vlog context was interesting. I’m not sure how they found enough of the main character’s daily life in high school to make a video reel that would realistically go viral on social media. While I had a hard time reading at first, I did get used to it. I did want to know who the serial killer was and that’s what kept my interest.

I was disappointed that the author planted seeds for a red herring pretty early on and then the murderer was someone we only met right before the book ended

. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

gelslitreviews's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping and Alcohol

theromanticace's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

4lifegirlboss's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping

Minor: Domestic abuse and Suicide attempt

honeybunchesofoats06's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.0

I was going to give 14 Ways to Die a 4/5 star rating in the beginning but as the book went on I got more and more disappointed. To start, the “chapters” are very short, which makes it a quick read but with most chapters being a page, page and a half long there wasn’t a lot of description. This made the characters feel very one dimensional. I thought the plot could have been very good but it was just poorly executed. I also didn’t like Jess’s character about how she thought she was the only one that could experience grief, there was only one type of grief and that fact that her character was kind of all over the place. I do agree this book is very hooking and pulls you in but I think it could have been done way better.

I thought the twist in the end was a bit random too. Although you were meant to be miss led the whole time and were meant to keep guessing who the Magpie man was we didn’t get much on Mr. Farrell and Bernie’s life until the very end so to me Mr. Farrell was just a random character which made the twist less shocking

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

mycozymnbooks's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I liked this book enough but nothing about it really stood out to me to give it a wow factor. 

I found this reads more as a grief journal with a little bit of trying to catch a killer and not the other way around

I also found what I think was supposed to be a love interest to not be romantic at all and actually creepy. 

I will say I loved the short chapters and the author did a great job using misdirection in order to keep me guessing right until the end. 

Overall I am happy I read this but don't see it being a reread for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment