Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Golden Couple by Sarah Pekkanen, Greer Hendricks

48 reviews

blissfulbrii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I haven’t read a psychological thriller book to this magnitude, that absolutely took my breath away as this one did! And trust me there were ones that came super close to it. I genuinely was anguished and terrified reading certain parts. I also felt elated and relived during some. I could truly feel the characters so deeply within my soul it shook me. It’s such an odd rollercoaster feeling that activated something in my brain and emotions that kept me hooked and wanting to read more. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen wrote one of the top 10 books on my list that I’ve read so far!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Murder

cassiealexandra's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

This was definitely what I’d call a slow burn thriller. The pieces came together so gradually that, at first, it almost read like a family drama. I kept waiting for something to happen. I’ll blame my own recent television habits with crime procedural shows. Not all thrillers are the same as a “whodunnit.” This was more of a, “what is happening?” kind of book. Avery says there are “invisible threads” tying herself to the Bishop family that she is slowly unraveling; I felt the same as a reader.

I appreciated the interesting characters about whom I was constantly wondering. Which person is unstable here? Is anyone a reliable narrator or source of information? It had plot points that were hinted at just enough to keep me in suspense, hoping that I’d figure it out just before the characters did.

I also loved the points of view choices here with Avery being in the first-person perspective and Marissa’s chapters being third-person. This is the first I’ve read by Hendricks and Pekkanen and I wonder how their writing process goes and if this unique POV thing has to do with their team dynamic.

The narration on this was also excellent. I’d never listened to Marin Ireland on audio before, but I see why she’s popular.

My two slight issues were that after the slow opening, it sometimes felt like too much was going on by the end and that the wrap up was convenient by my gut feeling. But, after reflecting for a while, I realized the ending and loose ends made sense and weren’t as coincidental as I’d originally felt.

The bottom line: A solid slow thriller with lots of moving pieces to puzzle out, strong characters, and great audio narration.

— NOTES —
Genres: slow burn thriller
POV: dual—first-person, Avery; third-person, Marissa
Content: infidelity, murder, cannabis use, death, vague memories of romance

— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4.5
Craft: 4.5
My Gut Feeling: 4
Total Stars: 4.25 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content

cyndi1966's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcohol

plip08's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Meh. It took over 60% of the book for something to happen and then the good stuff happened too quickly, it felt rushed. The characters all suck, are extremely morally grey. The main character was so rude to her assistant and that bothered me a lot, but we were supposed to be rooting for her the whole time. I only liked her slightly bc she loved her kid. Of all the thrillers out there, I wouldn’t recommended this one. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Rape

blueyogi's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Stalking

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I always enjoy this author duo, and I was very sucked into this story. It felt weird that it was set in an area where I've spent so much time! Will read more by this pair.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual content, Stalking, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

prestonpre's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Miscarriage

eabh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I found the premise of the book really interesting! A “perfect couple” seeking couples counseling from an avant-garde 

ex therapist after an affair turns out to be much more complex and layered that their appearances let on. I was pretty sucked in to this thriller right up until the last 25 % of the book, where the ending fell off a little. 

There were lots of little details to keep straight that lead to an underwhelming ending. Not bad, not great, just alright. Everything seemed too cleanly interconnected at the end. However, this book knew how to unnerve you and keep you asking questions, but I found engaging! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Stalking

malloryhill10's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility and Stalking

brynhayes's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol