Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

True Crime Story, by Joseph Knox

11 reviews

ishouldreadthat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book totally blew my mind. Clever, addicting, and filled with unreilable narrators (my favourite), it's told in a sequence of interviews and mixed media. It kept me guessing until the very end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicide and Sexual assault

lesemaresi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

Loved it. Loved the concept of the book and how it was written/ how the author incorporated himself into the book. Felt like a true crime documentary. I was an Easy and fast read. I couldn’t stop ready because there were So many turns of event but that also made it  a bit exhausting/confusing and hard to keep up with everything.

Spoiler

Unsure about the conclusion/ending… and how reliable the author really is

Spoiler

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Drug use, Drug abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Abandonment, and Violence

sarahmae531's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

I couldn’t put this book down! Between conflicting recounts and juicy teenage drama, I kept coming back for more.
The ending was set up perfectly. I was so sure I knew what was going to happen because it all seemed so obvious, but then I was proven SO wrong. The true ending was also well explained and you weren’t left wondering “how does that all add up??”
The book also did an amazing job of not breaking the fourth wall. Editor, publisher, and author notes included in the book are all fiction. There is a character in the book that’s shares the name and title of a debut novel as the author. Emails, photos, and even a Facebook post are included. It was very impressive. 

I will say, check content warnings before reading, this has almost every traumatizing thing you can think of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Death, Violence, Self harm, Stalking, Kidnapping, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Blood

Moderate: Pregnancy, Cancer, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

themomwithabook's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.5

Review of True Crime Story by Joseph Knox: 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 

 

On December 17, 2011, Manchester University student Zoe Nolan, walked out of a party and was never seen again.  Seven years later, author Evelyn Mitchell begins interviewing those closest to Zoe.  The interviews highlight some of the inconsistencies in everyones stories but also shed light on a secret life and a side of Zoe that not everyone knew.  To help parse out her story, Evelyn reaches out to true crime writer Joseph Knox, in the hopes that he can help her make sense of all the material she has gathered and try to solve Zoe’s mysterious disappearance once and for all. 

 

Ok first of all - if you’re going to read this book I suggest listening to it.  It’s an unconventional narrative that worked and what an experience it was!  Each character has a different narrator so that, mixed with the overlapping and contradicting interviews, make it feel like you’re listening to a podcast.  The author even inserted himself into the actual story which had me questioning everything and it’s that right there, that was the true ingenuity of it all.  I spent far too much time going down a rabbit hole that led to nowhere because Zoe Nolan doesn’t actually exist yet the book feels like she did.  I’m still not entirely convinced that she doesn’t exist - that’s how authentic this book felt.  Knox created a complex thriller that blends fact and fiction and tossed in a slew of suspicious, unreliable (and unlikeable) characters - I truly did not see the twist coming in the end.  I was so absorbed in the story and so caught up with the realness of it all that I just couldn’t put it down; couldn’t even flesh out fact and fiction - that’s what’s most wild to me! 

 

Albeit late in my review, thanks to @LibroFM [#partner] for gifting me with an advanced listeners copy!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

rodders's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

A genuinely beautiful book. I couldn't put it down, reading 100+ pages a day (over double what I'd normally do). The mystery sucks you in but then the characters and their growth keep you hooked. Could not recommend this more highly

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Stalking, and Sexual assault

camona's review

dark mysterious 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

4.5

I couldn't put this book down. It felt so real, with pictures, social media, emails, etc. It is, of course, totally fiction, but the suspense of the storyline definitely kept me hanging on. Story is told from many different (competing) perspectives in the form of answers to interview questions. Really well-done, though needs warnings about language and some sexual content, as well as references to abduction and suicide.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Stalking

milliep's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Spoiler

I really enjoyed this book! I think some parts werent necessarily believable, but I enjoyed the novelty of its format and the twists and turns. Great idea and well executed - did find it strange that there was no disclaimer saying the story wasnt actually true though haha

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Death

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

amichreads's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

novabooks's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

zukythebookbum's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Death of parent