Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace

45 reviews

jbird_reads's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-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

2.0

It was okay, started off strong but then kind of lost the plot a little. A lot of things didn't really make sense. What really annoyed me was the fact that the whole premise- she sees people as ghosts before they die- is completely unimportant to the story and only is really mentioned a few times. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a quick, darkly comedic thriller, but don't go in expecting anything life changing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction

Graphic elder abuse

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

Claire sees people as ghosts before they die. That’s how she knows it’s time for her to kill them. Claire has been getting away with murder (literally) for years, but now, someone knows her secret…

I absolutely loved every page of this book. Never has a serial killer been funnier! Claire quickly became one of my favorite book characters of all time. I don’t know that you’re supposed to love a serial-killing sociopath, but in Claire’s defense, they were bad people! …mostly 👀 

I had no idea how this book was going to end! Wallace did a fantastic job of not revealing too much too early so you didn’t figure it all out before Claire did and the book was gripping the whole way through. 

If you love a thriller and deadpan British humor, this is the book for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Dementia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Torture, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

paladinpals's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

finished this one and im going to be real, i dont know if i even liked it. i dont know what i have experienced but quite frankly. its bizarre but not necessarily in a bad way? but more of in a. like. have you ever seen someone dig themselves into a hole and keep digging except forever until you can no longer see them and there is no way back? kind of like reading a train crash. the writing was fine its the story that has me feeling ways i cannot put into words and i dont think therapy would help? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Dementia

Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping

elder abuse 100000% like. oh yeah its bad

drtdizzle's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.25

This author’s humor is *chef’s kiss* for me, couldn’t get enough. The story was clever. The few instances of detailed descriptions of murder or abuse were not for me at all, but the rest of the book made up for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

snarkycrafter's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was so incredibly unhinged in the best way! Claire was so…off, and yet she was hilarious (if you like dark humor)! 

I like that we got her origin story sprinkled throughout the book. 

Life isn’t a film, and in the real world people listen carefully to rhetoric but are rarely persuaded to change their minds. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Vomit

Minor: Ableism, Miscarriage, and Racism

beate251's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Claire is a serial killer and has been for a long time. There is deep seated childhood trauma through a mean, neglectful mother and an overindulgent father.

When her beloved Dad dies, she finds herself in a bereavement group with a handful of weird characters bemoaning the loss of a loved one. There are Jemma, Christiana, Evelyn,  Welshman and Weird Little Man because Claire doesn't bother learning the names of people she isn't really interested in.

Her life begins to unravel when she kills Lucas, a man who overlooked her for an art prize or something and then Jemma from her bereavement group visits her at home and tells her that she and him were blackmailing people and she saw him disappear into her house and never come out.

The plot is way too complicated for me to detail here but it involves murders, planned murders, Jemma's sister Helen and regular visits to a posh care home.

Claire's acerbic inner commentary is hilarious. She knows she is not like other people. She constantly refers to how ordinary people would react or what they would say. The first person POV works really well to show what a sociopath she is. The flashbacks to her childhood are illuminating and disturbing in equal measures.

The book is darkly funny but also unsettling as there is no remorse or character development for Claire. She's simply too damaged to ever be normal again so the only questions are, will she be found out and will we want her to be?

The cover reminds me a lot of Eat Slay Love by Julie Mae Cohen, whereas the title reminds me a lot of I Bet You'd Look Good in a Coffin by Katy Brent, both authors I love. I'm usually a fan of female serial killers in books but Claire is a bit too unhinged for me, killing men and women alike for the slightest transgressions.

It was nevertheless a well-written intriguing, tense read with a lot of twists and turns that made the book fun. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism

bookaddictlt's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

bek_p87's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is dark and clever and twisty. I was torn between wanting Claire to succeed and wanting her to face justice for her (many) crimes, and I'm not sure if I'm entirely satisfied with the ending. Definitely an interesting and unique read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping

kimmag92's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

I found You'd Look Better as a Ghost at my library's book sale and went into it with no expectations and it was really good. The humour was very dry and British which I enjoy. I was not expecting the deep exploration of grief and caring for a parent with dementia this book went into. The thriller/mystery aspect kept the plot moving along nicely and I'm looking forward to reading another book my Wallace.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail