Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

39 reviews

arkwen452's review against another edition

challenging informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I think my notes and thoughts are too unpolished to post right now. TBD

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

minimicropup's review against another edition

dark funny 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? It's complicated

2.5

The Energy: Accusatory, dogmatic, sensationalized

The Scene: 🇬🇧 Campden Hill neighbourhood and filming studio in London, UK

The POVs: The investigators cast by the true crime streaming docuseries, the producers and staff on the show, and the family and interviewees of people connected to the featured cold case. 

 

🎬 Tale-Telling: No chapters, everything is presented as a screenplay/transcript of the show. It was structured almost like a movie or play, since each time someone spoke, we first got their name and any expressions or body language, as if directing an actor (even when they were filming and it wasn’t the edited episode). I enjoyed the more intimate peeks via email, texts, and articles. 

 

👥 Characters: With this story-telling method I recommend a notebook nearby (not just for the clues). We are introduced to the investogators via their photo and CV/resumes, and that’s all we get to start. And no pictures for the producers, staff, or family, even as they appear on camera. It made those characters feel half-established. I didn’t get a sense for any of the characters because they all read the same, so I needed those headlines to know who was speaking and it affected the pacing for me. 

 

🤓 Reader Role: Audience member Googling during the ad breaks. Since we are privy to non-Googleable insider evidence like text messages and emails, we usually have slightly more information than the cast or viewers. 

 

🗺️ Ambiance: The book mimics a show, which I usually love, but it felt awkward and stilted for me. Title screens and occasional floor plans or autopsy reports (just listing what the investigators already said) were included but it made me more frustrated than if it had been excluded. The characters were discussing things I couldn't wait to see but we never get to!

🔥 Fuel: The mystery of who killed the stepfather drives the plot, introducing twists about suspects with each new clue and new theories. As the story unfolds, the investigator drama takes over. 

 

🚙 Journey: Adjusting to the novel’s format took a moment, but once I got used to it and remembered who was who, it was an interesting story. I gave it my undivided attention, but it ended up feeling like I was watching a TV show with volume off, closed-captions on, on the worst internet connection. It started off feeling like a real Netflix or Discovery+ show, but by the end I felt like this show would have been cancelled if it wasn’t marketed properly. 

 

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🐺 Growls: The screenplay format should have been a tail wag. But it failed in the visuals. The author teased us by discussing documents and images I really want to see but instead we literally got things like a basic map of Canada. It felt half-assed in terms of the documentation and photos that were prepared for readers. 

🐕 Howls: I had one prediction for the killer early on and was correct. The reverse red herring strategy made it obvious, as well as the epistolary ‘hints’, and the melodramatic distraction about people connected to the case that felt contrived (though I didn’t predict that). During the story I was curious, but by the end I felt disappointed. 

🐩 Tail Wags: The investigatory pace and finding clues police could miss was an engaging way to build a story without diluting the mystery with unnecessary details. 

 

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Mood Reading Match-Up:

• Metafiction true crime meets reality TV docuseries melodrama
• Whodunnit cold case puzzle, sleuthing alongside investigators
• Screenplay style writing where we are watching a TV show via novel 
• Light themes around secrets, true crime, family dynamics, money can’t buy happiness, ambition, and conceit

 

Content Heads-Up: Suicide (implied; off page). Murder. Violence (bludgeoning). Adult/minor relationship (recalled; off page). Theft (identity, money). Car accident (hit and run; brief recall, off page). Infidelity (recall, off page).

Rep: Heterosexual relationships. Black and White Brits and Americans. Cisgender.

 

👀 Format: Kindle

 

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Car accident

cardanrry's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Minor: Racism

peggyt's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

wishyouweresober's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

hematthews's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy

mikaiten's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and War

monarcadelibros's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

At first, I thought I'd really like this book and fly through it. While the story is fun, the formatting really distracted me and the arguments going in circles really prevented me from finding any motivation to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

maddireads13's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Dementia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

brandonssmead's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Alcohol