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baearles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
kodi_rae's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Infertility, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
borrowedbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I suggest reading the authors note at the end when you're done to understand where liberties were taken with the historical aspects.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
smblanc1793's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The story itself, though, is well thought out. Belle as a character is surprisingly complex and well written—impressive considering how hard it is to make a murderous sociopath come across as any kind of sympathetic.
Nellie as a character, on the other hand, felt like a crutch to me—a safety net in case people found it difficult to relate to our pernicious protagonist. But if you’re going to write about a serial killer, I say go all in. (If you’re looking for gentle, benevolent characters to fall in love with, maybe don’t pick up books about serial killers). The sections narrated by Nellie are, in my opinion, what renders the pacing less than superb and the book much longer than it needs to be. Though still a well developed character providing a different perspective, she took away from the overall impact of the book for me.
All in all though, a pretty good story for true (and untrue) crime fans. It’s always good to see strong, independent women recognized within the boys club that is serial murder. #feminism, amiright?
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol