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remi_san's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
slintangel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
⢠the author seems to offer wikipedia style descriptions of characters regardless of whether they're relevant and uses them as some silly pretense for an introduction or worse... character development. maybe it's all about me being usually turned off by this sort of writing style (jo nesbo comes to mind) but i found it jarring and a little tiresome. did we need someone's lifestory complete with name drops only for them to get killed a few pages later? why not spend that time on some real development for characters like robert or garcia... even hopkins or blake, anyone really.
⢠the whole subplot felt incredibly unnecessary. i kept thinking the slasher was going to be a set up for a sequel somehow (silly me, i know.) the side characters just didn't contribute much to the story other than extra pages especially with them being forgotten about for several chapters. it's like they served their immediate purpose and were instantly discarded.
⢠robert is insanely good at everything and everyone loves him. i honestly don't care about this but if it's something that annoys you this isn't the book for you.
⢠i will not comment on the reveal but just know i have thoughts. what i will talk about however is the blatant, shameless copaganda that doesn't even bother to cover or even make itself interesting. "cops need to break procedure and withhold information... it helps them save more civilians!! it's for the greater good of everybody!!" this is almost word for word by the way, the implications aren't subtle and the dialogue even less so.
⢠speaking of which, i found the dialogue to be clunky and very exposition heavy. sometimes it didn't feel as if the character was speaking but rather as if they were reciting the script of a forensic files episode. an example of this would be when they speculate on how certain victims' deaths must have taken place and how those individuals must have felt in those moments. i didn't believe in it as a real conversation anyone would have but rather carter's attempt to shove a bit more gratuitious violence for us to clutch our pearls at. robert and garcia continued each other's sentences, on the same wavelength, their revelations coming across as flat and disinterested. none of the tension was palpable because these events were told in such monotone dialogue lacking any interjections or personal effects. in fact, there were hardly any times i could distinguish these two from your average hardboiled cop. isn't that such a sad fate for a literary hero?
⢠props for being insanely readable i guess, finished this in a day while in a reading slump and though i couldn't stop rolling my eyes at least it was done.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
savage_book_review's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I read this book years ago, and it's definitely the one I remembered best of all of the Chris Carter books I have read (about half the series). The murders in this are particularly memorable in their gruesomeness, and definitely set the tone for the series more than 'The Crucifix Killer' in my opinion. It's certainly not for the squeamish, but where you're looking through the eyes of the detective, the descriptions are objective enough for you to see past the gore to the evidentiary value of the bodies, while simultaneously being subjective enough to evoke an emotional reaction from the reader. It's a very well trodden line.
The plot is clearly well thought out and meticulously paced, taking you through the twists and turns of the investigation and keeping the reader engaged throughout. The eventual reveal of the killer and their motives made sense and it was all to easy to understand, and perhaps even sympathise a little.
I did find the chapters to be a little too short in this one though; for the most part, it still flows well, but on the occasions where you shift from Robert's POV to that of the killer or another character, it's a bit jolting and you don't get a chance to get into their mindset before it's shifted back again. Similarly, a lot of the chapters end with an exclamation from one of the characters at something they've just seen, or another sort of mini-cliffhanger. It's fine at first, but it does get a little repetitive. And when the cliffhanger is resolved on the very next page, it felt a little pointless after the first couple of times.
I also didn't get as much depth from this one. It sticks pretty closely to investigating the case rather than exploring Robert and Garcia's characters in greater detail, which I feel is still necessary at this early point in the series. There are moments where you get more, but not enough. The last scene is a case in point - it felt like a great opportunity to see a little more of the 'real' Robert, but there just wasn't really anything to it and it left me a bit underwhelmed.
There are trigger warnings a-plenty in here; definitely one to read with the lights on!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Infidelity, Excrement, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
vlad02's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Outing
ernareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Definitely recommended to those who enjoy reading psychological thriller books. But! Before reading, do search up on the trigger warnings.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder
t_higgsreviews's review against another edition
4.5
CAWPILE = 8.32
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infertility, Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
saartjeinwonderbookland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
hopelessromanticbookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Unfortunately I had to rate this book a 3âď¸ as it had animal cruelty and pedofiler in it. The animal cruelty was detailed and me being an animal lover just couldnât get the scene out of my head. The pedofiler wasnât detailed but from what you read you could of guess what happened, especially what the person thought.
However, the crimes itself were gruesome and I enjoyed the investigation. It kept me guessing who the killer was as there was multiple people who could of been the killer.
Robert and Garcia make me laugh so much with her friendship, and especially how Robert is with his lovers. Apart from what I mentioned above I thoroughly enjoyed the book and canât wait to carry on the series x
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia