Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

13 reviews

jessthemess8112'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I really enjoyed this book, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic. The author spent this whole book building and building to this big whodunit mystery, and the big reveal left a lot to be desired and a lot of unanswered questions.  Whatever happened to Mr. Nirvana, and why was he even mentioned except to throw you off? Did anything happen to Arpeggio and the other cop for leaving a major detail out of a report? Did Chris get any compensation for the fact that his brother was wrongly accused for 15 years? And of course, how did Steadman convince straight and narrow religious freaked family Katie to even get involved in the first place?  I rounded up to 3 stars because I enjoyed the mystery, but the unanswered questions kind of ruined it for me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

flutelover32's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I cant brlieve they killed Atticus!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide, Stalking, Abortion, and Gaslighting

mizmanderz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse

laurenslittlelibrary_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I wasn’t completely blown away by this mystery/suspense. I feel like the villain could’ve been explored in more depth and that some of the side characters felt unnecessary to the story (like Rusty’s whole arrest). I did enjoy the multiple POV’s and the flashback chapter towards the end. I would’ve enjoyed a little more of the story from Jessie’s POV, but I liked how some of her side was portrayed between Ella and Sarah.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy

jmarierva's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.25

I thought I had solved this mystery about five times and that this wouldn’t be that good of a book. But about halfway through I realized that I had no idea what was happening and really enjoyed watching the mystery unravel! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

bre88's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism

wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

maregred's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

bookishgoob's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Honestly, this book wasn’t terrible but it also wasn’t great. I don’t like reading thrillers written by men. They feature a lot of dead women and that makes my stomach upset. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

briarsreviews's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is easily one of my favourite thriller reads in 2022. I was honestly surprised how fast paced, mysterious, and binge-worthy this book was! The multiple POVs kept me hooked at every turn, and even the little cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter didn't bother me. I was completely enthralled with this book and it was super hard to put it down. 

The characters were relatable, even through their tough times. You feel for these characters, and you want an answer... Even if it's not the one we want. The ending will leave you wanting to punch through walls (but don't, because everything is expensive with the supply chain problems these days). 

I will give it to Alex Finlay - this is a masterfully crafted book that has left me wanting to read more books by this marvellous author. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a mystery that brings back the nostalgia of the 1990s/2000s, and really makes you think. Plus, short chapters are always great for binge readers like me that sometimes need a wee break (to sleep!).

Five out of five stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, and Pregnancy