Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

69 reviews

danielcrogers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, Death, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

cassmreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, Murder, Homophobia, Blood, and Gore

albon's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Outing, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Car accident, Child death, Rape, and Blood

Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

yourstrulytay's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

Inspired by the real women who were murdered by an extremely pathetic man, this book flips the narrative from the traditional and focuses on the "bright young women" whose lives were cut short by someone who could not stand his own mediocrity.

This was an amazing portrayal of a case that has all too often been centred on the perpetrator, who has been made out to be some handsome, brilliant mastermind, instead of the small, pathetic man who held conflated ideas of his own importance. This story is about the women whose lives he stole, specifically, but also all women who have had to dim themselves to make the men around them feel brighter, and those who have been vilified and punished for daring to outshine.

This book was viscerally satisfying to read, and I will recommend it will my whole entire being to anyone and everyone.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Outing, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Infidelity, Grief, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Rape, Murder, and Misogyny

Minor: Incest and Eating disorder

imstephtacular's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Body shaming, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Classism, Cursing, Sexual content, Dementia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol

Minor: War, Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Racism, Kidnapping, Incest, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Physical abuse

mikaylarowan's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

epinyan's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Bright Young Women was so incredible that it made me rethink giving some previous reads 5 stars. As a crime junkie and empath, I appreciated the insight given into the lives of the victims and the friends and family throughout the journey. While a somewhat fictional novel, it provided lessons and meaning that can be carried into how I (and society) approach crime within the media. If you enjoy this book read Know My Name by Chanel Miller (or vice versa). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Dementia, Eating disorder, and Vomit

autumnz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-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? No

3.5

BOOK CLUB 🍷  - I read this for the first book club I started (I now have two book clubs that I have started, I can't tell you why) but it was a solid book club read. I thought the book contained a lot of information and I praise the author for NEVER saying the defendant's name once, as I will not do in my review either. 

I will say, I had some problems with the ending. I felt that some chapters were out of place and a little confusing.

Spoiler

I felt that Ruth's final chapter felt weird at the end of the book and her chapters overall felt like they did not fit but I still liked that her story was told. Also at the end of the book the author criticized the use of social media in today's society and the Netflix documentary (which I also had issues with. But then in the author's note, she was like 'shoutout to everyone who used social media to promote and preorder my book. Felt weird, idk

. 

In reality, this book is a 3.5 and I recommend to anyone looking for a good book club book or a fan of true crime where the killer is not praised, like how they are in podcasts or docu-series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, and Violence

americattt's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“‘And so? What’s wrong with being hysterical? It’s a hysterical thing that happened.’
‘We have more dignity than that’, I said, lifting my head with enormous effort. Never let them see you sweat, I was always saying except I could see the filmy residue my glands had deposited on the window.
‘I’ll tell you something from experience. ‘ Tina said, flexing her fingers on the wheel. ‘They will call you hysterical no matter how much dignity you have. So you might as well do whatever the hell you want.’”

A captivating read that is much needed amongst all the true-crime content that puts too much emphasis and thought on the killers and not enough on the victims and their loved ones, who should be the ones remembered and supported.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Homophobia

kkoeller7's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Sexual assault