dorsetreader's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Grief, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Blood
alexandra_a_a'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Ableism, Misogyny, and Abortion
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Murder, Cursing, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Rape
jessiejessj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
dlperin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture
charlmax's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
It would easy to mistake this book for a sloooooow burn romance instead of the murder mysetery it should be. I miss the days of Cuckoo's Calling and Silkworm.
If the focus of this book was the investigation into the doctor that went missing and not the many, many relationships Strike has, it would be 400 pages and not over 900.
As far as the investigation side goes, there was plenty of time spent on discussing clues and ideas in an attempt to lead the reader on. And it also highlights the challenges that can arise during a cold case
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
j_sherrill's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse
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
Spoiler
Joanna Hammond- 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.
-
Spoiler
There's the killer, Creed, dressing up in women's clothes to lull his victims into a sense of security, which is the most transphobic bit. Then there's a good bit of fatphobia in there with obvious scorn and disgust angled towards fat people, including Creed being obese. A point I hated a lot was when it's made fun of that Irene has IBS. The condition is given to an already dislikeable character and it's encouraging the reader to laugh at her during that whole episode, which I thought was really cruel. No-one, however dislikeable, should be subject to mockery because of a chronic and painful medical condition. There were other bits too and I can't speak for disabled people but I wasn't sure how some of the portrayals of disabled people would come off to them. Then there's points where I felt that Rowling was hammering home other points, about women's safety, about Robin's rape, about domestic abuse, manipulative men, feminism, and about people who arguing for changing language rather than actually making a difference (the students Strike has a rant at in Max's flat over a so called 'slutwalk'). None of that was wrong, but I felt it linked back to Rowling's perception of herself within the world.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: Rape, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
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: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
cmreadsbooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Sexism
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Kidnapping, and Miscarriage
Minor: Racism