Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville

6 reviews

mh_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Slavery, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Incest, Rape, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

sorrel29's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

abookwormwithwine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville is an incredibly hard book for me to review, and I want you to think about that when you look at my rating and what I say about it. I think it will blow a lot of readers away to the point of giving it a higher rating than I did, so if you think it sounds good or you are already a fan of Neville, then you should probably read it. For me, having never read this author before and not remembering what the book was about, it came as quite a shock. I don't think I was fully in the mood for it when I started, but by the time I got about halfway, I was definitely feeling it. It is an incredibly dark and sinister read that deals with different types of violence and abuse mixed in with a supernatural quality. I think the beginning will pull a lot of people in, and it's definitely something that grabbed me right away.

There were quite a few parts of The House of Ashes that broke my heart, and this is definitely a mystery wrapped up in an emotional read. The story is told from a handful of different viewpoints, with the main ones being Mary and Sara. We get a nice mixture of both past and present, and I really liked the way both Mary and Sara's stories ended up tying together. I was also a big fan of the audiobook which is narrated by Caroline Lennon. I can't even begin to imagine the difficulties that go into reading a book like this, and Lennon handled it beautifully. I could feel all of the emotions and that made this even more of a heavy read. Neville's writing was incredibly impressive, and I will definitely be reading everything else he writes.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

raireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

eyl22's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence

esha_juni's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism