Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Missing from the Village: The Story of Serial Killer Bruce McArthur, the Search for Justice, and the System that Failed Toronto's Queer Community by Justin Ling

6 reviews

belletex's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

Fantastic book about true events and the unfortunate failure to stop a serial killer terrorizing Toronto’s gay community.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Police brutality

ruthlessreads's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

This is one of the best, most thoughtfully done true crime books I've ever read. Ling takes great care to represent the victims honestly and to include interviews and permissions from family members. He also discusses the exploitative nature of true crime, as a genre, and the ways in which telling the stories of crimes against & within marginalized communities is valuable. 

Using over 5 years of research, the author outlines how a serial killer hunted & killed members of Toronto's queer community, how that community responded, and the egregious mismanagement of these cases by local police. He also humanizes the victims, providing a window into their lives through the interviews of their family & friends. This account of loss, grief, and systemic discrimination against race, gender, and sexuality speaks to current societal issues while also highlighting the real human cost of failed policing & marginalization of personal identities.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

This book was written with tact and empathy for the victims and their families. The author made sure to seek the help of those whose loved ones he was working to memorialize, to ensure that the attempt at enshrining them wasn't instead causing harm. Missing from the Village addresses issues of community, and the explores the amorphous idea that community exists inherently among people who share a marginalized identity. The book calls into question the organization and priorities of the Toronto police, and offers solutions to the issues inherent in how the current system treats cases outside of the purview of general policing, especially missing persons cases. These issues allowed a killer to slip away from punishment for decades. Despite living in an area of the United States that is close to Canada, I don't have much more than a cursory insight into Canadian social issues and politics, and I'm astounded by the policing, harassment, and profiling issues that still plague queer and other marginalized populations.
I'm glad to have read this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

Minor: Gun violence

alanna17's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

bookishdi's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Cannibalism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Grief, and Murder

rigormorphis's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse and Emotional abuse