Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

216 reviews

mrichards0's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was lovely, read this on my Night shifts this week and it had me crying in the holding area. This was beautiful in its theory and how it explored good and evil. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Murder

archer3's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad 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

This book was beautiful and superbly written. The organizational structure of character perspectives and chronology was not necessarily unique, but it was done very well and fit the story wonderfully. Kukafka's goal when writing this was to put the narrative into the hands of the women affected by serial killers, as compared to the stories that glorify white, male murderers; I think she accomplished this and so much more. Her evaluations of humanity, motherhood, fear, love, and so much more were integral to the completeness of the story. I am very glad to have read this work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

There are millions of men out there who want to hurt women - people seem to think that Ansel Packer is extraordinary, because he actually did. 

This book was amazing! Yes it's incredibly dark and it hurts but it is so skillfully written and immersive and makes so much sense, I am pretty much in awe. The cover also makes so much sense when you read it and that's really cool. I didn't give it 5 stars because of a principle I have, if animals get unnecessarily hurt or die in a story, it isn't 5 stars,but yeah otherwise I fully recommend it. It really gives you a new perspective on the obsession people have with murderers or serial killers specifically - is the murderer really the most important thing about that? Is it most interesting, what made them like this? How their psyche works? What would be if they wouldn't have made those decisions? How they impacted the people around them and vice versa? 
The book is not pro death penalty or police it shows flaws in the system, it also isn't against reporting on serial killers, it is just in some ways a comfort, hope, warning and another perspective from death row as well as from impacted outsiders left behind and I think that is all it should be. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Car accident, Confinement, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

lau_leo's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, Abandonment, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

claytonator90's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Murder

misspashx's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Murder

applesodaperson's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

Wow this was a stunning book. The one thing I will say about it is that even though it was written from a lot of povs, Saffy did feel like the main character, not Ansley. I also wish that there were pov chapters from Blue, Jenny, and Shawna. 
Read from the Provo library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, and Pregnancy

homebodywitch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

This is truly an incredible work of fiction. It’s viscerally disturbing and haunting. At first, I did not like the second person perspective as I did not want to be in the mind of this serial killer. I also find that perspective really tends to feel like self insert fan fiction and can read as very juvenile. But as the story progressed and we got to experience the other perspectives from a more omniscient point of view, I grew to understand why the author chose to show the character Ansel that way. It separated him from the women that were impacted by his actions. I do appreciate that while the book didn’t shy away from depicting the horrible things Ansel Packer did, it didn’t make them into overly gory spectacles. There is animal cruelty depicted, but not the cruel actions themselves. He obviously murders women, but it doesn’t spend too much time spelling out the gory details of the killing. The spectacle is unnecessary and again, I appreciated the author for not going there when it wasn’t needed. I did find some of the thoughts of the characters towards the end a little heavy handed while trying to hammer the author’s point home, but it wasn’t too bad. It was just clear the author had some things to say and just kind of shoved them in there. But they were things that needed to be said about the state of the world and the way the whole true crime spectacle focuses on the actions of men instead of the women they killed. I didn’t give it a full 5 stars because of some things that fell flat (I’d have really liked at least one chapter from the perspective of Shawna- I was so intrigued and then confused by her behavior), but it’s really worth a read especially if you are a woman that is exhausted of the true crime obsession permeating pop culture. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Grief, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Stalking

sawshiwen's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Murder, Stalking, Animal death, and Physical abuse