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remixofyourguts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
litwithleigh's review against another edition
2.0
Writing: 3/5 | Plot: 2/5 | Ending: nah
SYNOPSIS
Ann's father is in jail awaiting trial for the murder of numerous girls over 14 years. Despite the evidence pointing toward daddy dearest, Ann refusing to accept her father's alleged guilt and sets out on a journey to prove his innocence.
MY OPINION
Maaan I read this a couple of weeks ago but surprisingly it's still pretty fresh in this block of cheese they call a brain. I've read Romy Hausmann's [b:Dear Child|48893162|Dear Child|Romy Hausmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581444250l/48893162._SY75_.jpg|67041044] and loved it, so I was looking forward to her latest English release. Yes, this book has already been released in Europe, but we're just now getting an English version.
First I want to give my kudos to translators because DAMN. I can't imagine how difficult it is to translate a book line by line while trying to maintain the integrity of the original and ensuring the jokes, sentiments, and emotions are communicated properly in English. Especially in this case where the author includes diary entries that were written phonetically. I didn't feel that anything was 'lost in translation' while reading this book.
Now, let's get into the book itself. I really liked the premise of this book and at first I found the storytelling quite compelling. However, as we went along, I got sick of the 'reverse unos' throughout. For example (not a spoiler because it happens early): Ann works at a fast food resto and is taking a drive thru order. The customer says 'Did you think I wouldn't find you?' anddddd END SCENE. So immediately my cheeks are CLENCHED. But wait. I 'turned the page' and turns out it's just a regular customer and he's making a joke. Imagine this type of 'sike hoe!' moment every other chapter. Annoying.
Next, I found it nearly impossible to empathize with Ann. I can't imagine how devastating it would be to find out your dad is out here wildin. But Ann somehow makes it a challenge to feel sorry for her. She's pigheaded and irrational. Instantly she assumes that some dude named Martin is the actual killer and despite it being obvious as Donald Trump's fake tan, she refuses to accept otherwise. The sheer number of times she says omg it's Martin when it's just a bird flying really close to her head is unbelievable. Not only is Ann delusional but she is dumber than a box of rocks. You seriously couldn't see that X was a journalist? When their advice was to pick a journalist to tell your side of the story? Get some glasses because that's a struggle. I ended up disliking Ann so much I truly didn't give a red fk or blue fk whether she found out if her dad was legit guilty or nah.
What I did like was the transcripts with the killer. That was juicy. But everything else was hella dry. Tons of potential but ultimately it went a lil too whackadoodle for me.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: interesting storytelling structure, solid premise
Cons: lame ending, too many 'gotcha' moments, Ann was unlikeable but not intentionally which makes it 10x worse, the big reveals were disappointing
____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
SYNOPSIS
Ann's father is in jail awaiting trial for the murder of numerous girls over 14 years. Despite the evidence pointing toward daddy dearest, Ann refusing to accept her father's alleged guilt and sets out on a journey to prove his innocence.
MY OPINION
Maaan I read this a couple of weeks ago but surprisingly it's still pretty fresh in this block of cheese they call a brain. I've read Romy Hausmann's [b:Dear Child|48893162|Dear Child|Romy Hausmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581444250l/48893162._SY75_.jpg|67041044] and loved it, so I was looking forward to her latest English release. Yes, this book has already been released in Europe, but we're just now getting an English version.
First I want to give my kudos to translators because DAMN. I can't imagine how difficult it is to translate a book line by line while trying to maintain the integrity of the original and ensuring the jokes, sentiments, and emotions are communicated properly in English. Especially in this case where the author includes diary entries that were written phonetically. I didn't feel that anything was 'lost in translation' while reading this book.
Now, let's get into the book itself. I really liked the premise of this book and at first I found the storytelling quite compelling. However, as we went along, I got sick of the 'reverse unos' throughout. For example (not a spoiler because it happens early): Ann works at a fast food resto and is taking a drive thru order. The customer says 'Did you think I wouldn't find you?' anddddd END SCENE. So immediately my cheeks are CLENCHED. But wait. I 'turned the page' and turns out it's just a regular customer and he's making a joke. Imagine this type of 'sike hoe!' moment every other chapter. Annoying.
Next, I found it nearly impossible to empathize with Ann. I can't imagine how devastating it would be to find out your dad is out here wildin. But Ann somehow makes it a challenge to feel sorry for her. She's pigheaded and irrational. Instantly she assumes that some dude named Martin is the actual killer and despite it being obvious as Donald Trump's fake tan, she refuses to accept otherwise. The sheer number of times she says omg it's Martin when it's just a bird flying really close to her head is unbelievable. Not only is Ann delusional but she is dumber than a box of rocks. You seriously couldn't see that X was a journalist? When their advice was to pick a journalist to tell your side of the story? Get some glasses because that's a struggle. I ended up disliking Ann so much I truly didn't give a red fk or blue fk whether she found out if her dad was legit guilty or nah.
What I did like was the transcripts with the killer. That was juicy. But everything else was hella dry. Tons of potential but ultimately it went a lil too whackadoodle for me.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: interesting storytelling structure, solid premise
Cons: lame ending, too many 'gotcha' moments, Ann was unlikeable but not intentionally which makes it 10x worse, the big reveals were disappointing
____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
aliceswips's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Finished reading: April 20th 2024
DNF at 25% (85 pages)
DNF at 25% (85 pages)
"All of us get the odd scratch and scrape over the course of our life. And not every one is visible on the outside."
I really didn't want a second DNF in April, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to read more. On paper, Anatomy Of A Killer should have been a perfect fit, because I love a good serial killer thriller. I was intrigued by the premise with its focus on the daughter and her trying to prove her father's innocence... I fully expected to love this story, but I guess my intuition can't always be right. I think one of the main roadblocks was the fact that I absolutely despised the writing style. Such a big clash with something so fundamental in a story is almost impossible to overcome, and that is definitely what happened here. I'm not sure if it's the translation or if the story was ment to be this way, but either way it just wasn't for me. Both the writing and plot were extremely confusing and jump all over the place, and I particularly hated the little word definitions written by a young Ann. I'm not sure why, but the badly written words just irked me enormously. On top of this, I simply couldn't stand the main character Ann, which is also a hard thing to look past as we mainly see things through her eyes. The Us chapters from the POV of the killer were at least a little more interesting, but still the writing style somehow just didn't work for me. I confess that I honestly couldn't care less about the fact if her dad was guilty or not... All in all Anatomy Of A Killer and me most definitely didn't get along despite the fact that I usually love serial killer thrillers, and I'm suspecting this author just isn't for me. Next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Self harm, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
missbookiverse's review against another edition
3.0
Wie immer bei Romy Hausmann: spannende Unterhaltung. Allerdings ging mir die Protagonistin Ann mit ihren überstürzten Handlungen und vorschnellen Schlüssen ganz schön auf den Keks, auch wenn es zu ihrem Charakter in der Situation passt und ich bei solchen Charakteren sonst nachsichtiger bin. Generell finde ich den Einblick in die Gefühlswelt von Angehörigen von (vermeintlichen) Straftäter*innen unheimlich spannend, da hätte in diesem Fall sogar gern noch etwas tiefer gegraben werden können.
nordicnadja's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
yy71's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.5