Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

6 reviews

hollewade's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Whoa, I liked Magpie Murders but this had me on the edge of my seat. I liked the format of this a lot more than I did Magpie, I felt I had more stakes in the story of Atticus Pünd and I was very shocked at the ending of both stories. I found it very easy to read and I enjoyed it very much. I would very much like Susan to rid herself of Alan Conway and Atticus, I think she's been through enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Outing

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident and Abortion

books_and_cream_cheese's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

Das Konzept des Buchs, eine Kriminalgeschichte in einer Kriminalgeschichte einzubetten und beide zu verknüpfen, finde ich fantastisch - leider lässt die Umsetzung meiner Meinung nach noch etwas Potenzial offen. Die beiden Elemente hätten an der ein oder anderen Stelle besser verknüpft werden können. Die Handlung, die leider einige problematische Entscheidungen und Beschreibungen seitens des Autors enthält (so sind z.B. sämtliche homosexuellen Charaktere als verachtenswert und pervers dargestellt), aber zwischenzeitlich durchaus spannend ist, führt leider zu einem etwas enttäuschenden Ende. 

Für mich persönlich war es auch sehr offensichtlich, dass hier ein männlicher Autor aus Sicht einer Frau erzählt. Die Art und Weise, wie die Protagonistin die Männer und ihre Beziehung zu ihnen beschreibt sowie einige seltsame Formulierungen lassen das sehr offensichtlich werden. 

Alles in allem ein spannendes Konzept, das in der Ausführung jedoch enttäuscht. Daher leider nichts für mich. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Pregnancy

atalea's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Outing

lzad's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship

jodar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Another very well-written and intriguingly complex murder mystery from Horowitz.

There is a novel embedded in the novel, but it is not a story within a story. The solution the MC is trying to unravel is the puzzle within the puzzle of the embedded novel of the dead author whose works the MC was an editor of.

Scandal of sexual predation by the powerful against the susceptible is at the core of the mystery – it seems even with today’s easygoing attitudes to sexual morality there are limits to social acceptability.

 

My one regret is not noting down the characters, as there are quite a few to keep track of. But actually, I largely enjoyed it for the settings and characters – especially the woman MC – rather than in trying to puzzled out who did it. I liked having an MC who was happy in her relationship but also frustrated and struggling to work through her personal issues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Gore and Medical trauma

katie_thompson's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Infidelity, Violence, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Suicide, and Toxic relationship