Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

203 reviews

nunparasite's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide

desiredisasters's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This was a lot more grotesque than what I was imagining and more ways than one…… 
IYKYK

I read this book at 3.75. I think that this is definitely a gruesome book for Halloween and spooky season. I will say, however, if you have any type of issues with mutilation, gore, and incest, I would stay away from this book. 

The main character, Lori, definitely is fighting some demons in her head. Things that should never have happened, things that she could have easily not let happen. Because of these demons, it seems like she is dealing with a sort of mental illness. Her mind is definitely not right and she somehow falls in love with a serial killer. The serial killer, Edmund is behind bars, but she believes that they are meant to be.

Edmund sends her on a journey to go find the river man and give him something that was left in his old shack. Lori goes on this quest and takes her sister, Abby, and it all goes downhill from there… 

Very creepy… More grotesque than scary, but if you’re into that type of spook, this is for you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Eating disorder

butzjenna's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

listen, this book is messed up, but if all the other horror books aren’t doing it for you, you have to read this one. def check all the content warnings though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Murder

sonyaantonie's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Rape, Blood, and Murder

momostark's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

wutheringlows's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Murder, and Sexual harassment

elonn's review

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

a_novel_craving's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chantheman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent

stephanieluxton's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I was a little hesitant to give this book 5 stars because it wasn't absolutely perfect by any means, however I really enjoyed reading it. Some parts made me incredibly uncomfortable but they weren't there just for shock value - they did add to the story.

I don't like the official synopsis for this story because I feel like it reveals a little too much of things that would be better as a surprise. This is the story of Lori, a nearly 40 year old woman who has been having a correspondence via letters and visits with a brutal serial killer named Edmund, who's in jail. After developing a sense of trust and kinship, Edmund tasks Lori with going on a mission to deliver something to The River Man. Lori, wanting to prove her devotion, accepts the quest (bringing along her disabled sister), which turns out to be darker journey than she could have ever imagined. 

This book is neat because it jumps back and forth between Lori and Abby's journey along the river to Lori's adolescence, where we are given the information needed to understand why Lori is the way she is. We also get glimpses of Lori and Edmunds letters to each other as the story goes on. The pacing in this book is excellent. Things are revealed gradually and we get a deep look into Lori's psyche.

Some of this is uncomfortable to read but it works. I'm not sure the book ended in the most satisfying way but the ending worked.

A few parts of this story, more so towards the beginning of their journey were quite unsettling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and War

These are major spoilers but the worst things that happen in this book are:

We find out Lori repeatedly molested and blackmailed her little brother when she was a teenager to the point where he developed an eating disorder and died from the shame and humiliation. There's a scary scene in a cellar in which Lori finds a rotting desecrated corpse and needs to reach inside it to retrieve a key - the description is pretty intense. Lori is responsible for her sister's disability and brain damage after pushing her off a cliff. Edmunds letters to Lori are pretty off-putting - he describes his fetish for killing and SAing asian women based off of the atrocities his uncle committed in vietnam - the descriptions aren't too intense but it's still unpleasant.