Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

26 reviews

bea_reads_books's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Originally I expected to give this book three stars, because it seems to be trying to make a point about the way true crime media often re-traumatizes victims and crosses boundaries in the pursuit of sensationalism. However it did not do this well, and that aspect fell flat. I bumped off another half star about half way through because of the casual sprinklings of racism/copaganda and zionism throughout, but it was the last 15% of the book that really pissed me off and caused me to put it at 2 stars. The end of this book is so disgustingly ableist, makes absolutely no fucking sense, and heavily leans into the demonization of mental heath conditions/trauma. It reinforces the idea that trauma makes people violent to the point of senseless murder. I am so angry right now, the book had a really great ending all mapped out, a road it could’ve taken, and instead it did exactly the same nasty shit that true crime tv so often does (which is ironic considering the author seemed to be *trying* to make a point about that).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Blood, Dementia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Car accident

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I had heard good things about Cara Hunter’s books, so I was excited to delve into this one. Unfortunately, it kind of missed the mark for me. 

Twenty years ago, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home, where he lived with his wife and three stepchildren. Years on, and still no one knows who is responsible for his brutal murder. Now, a group of experts are coming together to cover the case on a true-crime show, and they are determined to get to the bottom of it - no matter what. 

I really enjoy mystery/thrillers but I have to admit, this one isn’t very high up the list. I loved the fact that the story was told in a very unique way, episode by episode, almost like a script. While the idea of it was great, and the execution decent, I think it had a negative impact on the connection I felt to the characters.m, because unfortunately, there wasn’t really any. 

The killer was quite predictable in my opinion, but I think given the victim and crime, their wasn’t too many options. Also, I found the reasoning and motivation for the crime that be anticlimactic and disappointing. 

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book, however, it’s not one for me unfortunately. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Dementia, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Racism, Car accident, and Pregnancy

abigaelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

lauren023's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

A disappointment. I was very excited for this book but it was tedious and I had predicted the outcome already within the first fifty pages. The characters spent a lot of time fighting which didn’t add anything to the plot and would have cut the book down by half.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

Minor: Suicide

amira22's review against another edition

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

1.75

The mixed media was interesting in the beginning, but after a while it became annoying. I found most of the twists and turn predictable. On top of that, a relationship between a 15 year old en someone who is 21, and after a couple pages thats it? No consequences? 

*Note: English isn't my first language, so if there are any grammer mistakes or wrong use of words, that's why :)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, and Death of parent

monicalaurette's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This story intrigued me from the first time I heard the concept, following along with a true crime show and trying to find the killer first? I love it. I also love mix media books so it was a fun little read.

Following along with the case and all its turns almost gave me whiplash and I can safely say I was not able to find out the killer before the experts did.

..but then again they learned at the same time as me so they didn't really win either

I was so sure it was one of the sisters...never suspected it wasn't them once it was all coming to a close but it made so much sense

REBECCA NO lmao

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship

infjkiki's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Car accident and Classism

arkwen452's review

challenging informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I think my notes and thoughts are too unpolished to post right now. TBD

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

pikkumarja's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The book was definitely something. The concept was new to me and I believe it would have worked even better with my first language.

I did find out the murderer before the experts but not long before.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail