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louise_maw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion
microbemom's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Pros:
- Rowling is an exceptional writer; the complicated but satisfying plot, the mixture of straightforward tone interspersed with moments of lyrical descriptions and reflection, the characterisation and development, the slowly eked out relationship development, the depth of every single side character, how each character's dialogue is made distinct and accents rendered realistically, the research that's clearly gone into it... just so much to admire in the actual writing and her skill.
- I like Robin and Strike and many of the other side characters. They feel real and Rowling puts across their emotions very well. There's a very real feeling of being as harried and pressured as Strike clearly is with everything piling up and then the release at the end.
- the plot was complex but wrapped up very neatly at the end. It was complicated by various characters' mixed motives but it didn't feel forced.
Cons:
- My only complaint about the writing was that it was *massively* confusing at the beginning. SO. MANY. NAMES. Got super confused. Also later on completely forgot who
- Rowling's views... Rowling as a person... that was just in my head the whole time I was reading.
- her views then come through in this book, more than the others I think. This is the first book to come out post Rowling revealing herself as a massive transphobe and I think there's a lot of elements of that that come through in this.
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Anyway, the book was written excellently, but Rowling is a piece of shit. Unfortunately, I am also very jealous of her writing abilities and wish they'd been given to someone more worthy.
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
kdmusings's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
This book was very personal to me. However, upon reflection it is important to remember Rowling’s homophobic views and how this has been directly relayed through in her writing.
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
sylvia_reads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
Also I read the Dutch translation (which was 1000+pages) and there were multiple errors that kinda annoyed me.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit
andyincolour's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Murder
samanthaxe's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was also wondering whether Rowling would use this opportunity to make a statement about trans people, and she does.
So, trigger warnings for what you'd expect in a gritty thriller, with an emphasis on almost unrelenting violence against women, and I'd also add a trigger warning for Rowling's seemingly benign use of things like cross-dressing to make an insidious and harmful point about gender identity.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Dementia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders