Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

6 reviews

cosyreads's review against another edition

informative lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

swamp_rat's review against another edition

mysterious 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

2.5

Disclaimer/TLDR: the way I give star ratings means that three stars is your average well put together story, in my rating system this book is not bad and i would in fact recommend and loan this book to someone seeking a decent mystery novel.
Actual review: The atmosphere the author achieves in this book is really well done, some parts read as above average in their striking imagery or emotion or beauty, but i feel the rest of the story lacks the refinement of some of the prose. i had a good time while reading and the mystery was intriguing but looking back after the bad guy is revealed left me disappointed (more on this later).
The main character’s constant whining about being overweight (she really isn’t) and being a spinster while only being in her late thirties, was so uncomfortable and irrelevant to the story.

The people writing the letters being separate from the person actually doing the kidnapping and murder was what really brought the mystery down for me. The killer (the real mystery in the murder mystery book) falls entirely flat after the personal betrayal of the letter writers. (It’s also unclear to me why of the many cases Nelson likely was involved in, they would get involved in the child abduction case? For Erik’s characterization it makes sense but around the time they started, Shona had maternal desire, and Cathbad had a daughter of his own (i also wish that Cathbad and his relation to Scarlet was explored as anything other than a twist.). ) While I did feel David was endearing, i feel like that worked against the emotion of the ending. His sudden shift from slightly grumpy but nice neighbor, to cartoon villain, detached from humanity feels odd, as if the author just wanted to get one more twist in. (Also David killing Sparky because he doesn’t like cats and yet explicitly taking good care of Flint, is one example of this shift.)

I have much more to say so I will continue this review later.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, Police brutality, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm, Abortion, and Pregnancy

bethr's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

The first in this series about a forensic archaeologist who helps solve crimes. I’m not sure where the series will go from here, but the main character is flawed and complex enough that I am already planning to return the next in the series.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

lillianfc's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

A fast paced and interesting anthropological crime novel — yet outdated in its consistent fatphobia and anti-childless women stances

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

zelephante's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Fatphobia

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

kakeyame's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail