Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

11 reviews

bek_p87's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I loved the epistolary format, and the way we got to know the characters well in advance of finding out who the murder victim even was. Ordinarily I'd be frustrated by a murder mystery where you don't even find out who the victim is, let alone how they died, until more than halfway through the book, but the slow unravelling of the mysteries through texts and emails kept me engaged. I picked up on some of the twists, but most of them were so well-executed that I didn't even guess at their full extent. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Gaslighting

Minor: Murder

stepnic's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, War, Suicide, Infidelity, Infertility, and Cursing

kshertz's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? No

4.5

This is a great read! It kept me reading, I was very intrigued. I couldn’t wait to see how it all unfolded. I couldn’t guess who it was and don’t think it’s guessable. There’s a ton of twists and turns. The only reason it’s not a 5 star rating is because it started to feel like twists for no reason and over the top at one point. The ending didn’t totally feel like the vindication I was going for. But still super satisfying and intriguing and I couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Child abuse, Death, and Violence

calicat42's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

The structure was creative—a fun twist on the who dunnit genre.  At the start of the book, there’s no real information about what has happened, so instead of knowing what will happen and watching the characters figure it out, the reader only gets to know as much as the characters. Hard to put a book like that down! 

Although I fell in love with the structure, the content left me wanting a little. There were times where the plot moved quickly because the twists and turns were coming in every line. Yet there were times where I wished I could have read in x2 speed to move things along. I think this just comes to my preferences regarding mysteries; I don’t want to take my foot off the gas once the plot picks up! 

Overall, I enjoyed the read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Stalking, Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: War

gabi_tron's review against another edition

challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Bullying, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

bookshelf_al's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Cancer, and Toxic friendship

Minor: War, Drug abuse, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Child death, Child abuse, Death, and Gaslighting

mysterymom46's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting and Sexual assault

Minor: Infertility and Bullying

dogearedbooks's review

mysterious fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Classism, Bullying, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Medical content, and Mental illness

paperknotbooks's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

This was a lot of fun to explore. I was calling this book my “bathroom read,” since the text is broken up into emails and text messages. Very entertaining if you are seeking something engaging. 

My only gripe is that you know from the cover there is a murder, but that doesn’t come to term until 60-70% point of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Bullying, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Murder

t_higgsreviews's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

5 Stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail