Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

114 reviews

adearajean's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

A tense well written book with poetic passages. Kept me hooked and while I didn't enjoy the narrator's voice I did enjoy the characters and twists. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death and Grief

Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt

rachaelwho's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.25

First of all, this cover blurb: 

I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night." BuzzFeed

is just racist. This book bears nearly no resemblance to either of those except that they were written by Black people and there is a paranormal element. This pissed me tf off when I realized how inaccurate it was, you're just naming two Black things you're aware of. Gross. 

Anyway. 

I mostly *really* liked this despite not being into thrillers-- until the wheels came off in the last third. The first 2/3 got ~4 stars, and the final 3rd is like a 2. There were so many threads, a few of which felt like they belonged to an earlier draft, and they got yanked together clumsily.

The supernatural elements didn't feel earned, and there was a weird "both sides" tone in the closing that undercut the nuanced work it had been building around racism, the legacy of segregation, and anti-Blackness from within the community and the self. It also didn't quite deal with Liz's dangerous secret alcoholism. Also, I get that they were going for Anubis, but the jackal didn't quite work-- there are no jackals in the US and they're tiny, like fox-sized. And Anubis wasn't evil? It just didn't really work and was explained away by "uhh... It's your imagination!" Also, these mfks are still racist, and the police just suddenly say the jig is up, guess we'll follow up on all this, our b...??? A lot of the book had a deft touch so idk what happened here toward the close.

 

ETA: The audio performance by Sandra Okuboyejo was fantastic, hope to hear from her again. She really gave it a lot of feeling that even many very good voice actors wouldn't. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Vomit

stellenelcielo's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was an excellent book. It really kept me on the edge of my seat, and I finished it in three days. 

The themes were spread evenly throughout the book so that no reveal was really that "woah, where did that come from??" but more "well, shit!" and the supernatural theme? Phenomenal. Beautiful. Creepy. On point reflection of how society does not and has never taken the murders/disappearances of Black women and girls seriously.

Honestly, great addition for spooky season reads.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Gore

brittgeorge's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.5

Achingly beautiful writing. There’s an entire universe to explore inside this story about Johnstown, but what a ride this was! Especially the final 40 pages; I nearly held my breath arriving at the conclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting

errie's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

lilawsahar's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holy crap. Must read. 

Liz goes back to her hometown for her best friends wedding. When on watch of her friend’s kid, Caroline, Caroline goes missing. Liz learns that there is a history of young black girls going missing in her town. She must recover what she forgot in the woods so long ago to discover what happened to Caroline. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

jamieleepilk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

starryfruits's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Genuinely LOVEDDD. A mix of past and present events, full of mystery and clue piecing with a supernatural aspect that keeps the hair on your nape on edge. 
It's sad and all consuming and looks into the politics of small towns run by class and race.
I can EASILY see this getting a TV show adaptation with how well structured it is.
Note: my listening to the audiobook GREATLY helped my understanding and enjoyment of the novel. There were 2 narrators which was a first but helped in differentiating POV/overall narration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Classism

hillysreads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Ok i need to chat about this ending ASAP

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

Jackal by Erin E. Adams is a fascinating horror novel that explores the terrors of a small town and the epidemic of black girls who routinely go missing every summer.
Liz is coming back to her hometown to attend her best friend Mel's wedding. Liz has been away for quite some time and is unsure about returning to the town. During the wedding, Mel's daughter Caroline goes missing and Liz is pulled into the search to find her, and how it connects to a string of missing black girls who disappear each summer.
I found Jackal to be a fascinating story with an interesting supernatural twist. The characters felt very human, which meant that they weren't always likable, but this did make them fascinating to follow. I found the mystery was well plotted and, up until the final reveal, I was going back and forth on who I thought the culprit was. I can understand why some people may have conflicting feelings about the story, especially considering the ultimate reveals at the end, but ultimately, I found it fascinating and an interesting take on this type of story. If you are looking for something horrifying but with an underlying level of social commentary, I would recommend Jackal. I will be interested to read more of Adams' work and see what type of stories she chooses to tell next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Kidnapping, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail