Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

33 reviews

bigcandle's review against another edition

challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really intense and gripping horror, balancing a complicated series of mysteries and horrors which fall together beautifully.

Tudor keeps you gripped by alternating chapters between 1986 and 2016, leaving each chapter on a mini cliffhanger that gets resolved incrementally in a way which manages to be incredibly satisfying, instead of frustrating. At no point does it get jumbled or unclear, which is impressive considering how many plot points are introduced across timelines!

It's brilliantly mysterious and spooky, funny at points and devastating at others. I just could not put it down and read the final 200 pages last night. Just a great balance of tense thriller and contemplative discovery.

Oh, and the epilogue? Incredible. It tied the story together in a way which was equal parts shocking and satisfying. I literally closed it and said "yep. That was a fucking good ending." Very gothic very good.

I think there could/should have been some more exploration of certain types of trauma and how they influence the character, specifically

Ed being raped by Sean, which is really very rarely discussed, but would have been a good point of exploration/relation particularly w regards to his issues with navigating sexuality/relationships with women. Basically just. More exploration of how it affected him, would have tied in more of Adult Ed's personality to the traumatic things which happened

One thing I really enjoyed was the tragedy of consequences, how impulsive, understandable actions led to cascade effects which were unthinkable. It really evokes a feeling of the gothic, of corruption and fear meddling in people's lives, leaving them to stand by and watch their awful role.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Dementia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Violence

anxious_jay's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse and Abortion

eelsauce's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The resolution was slightly disappointing but the ending was enough to win me back. It’s hard for a book to keep my attention but this was really very good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Abortion

lallabc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Rape and Abortion

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense

• Loveable characters? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy

nellzzzz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

madiengen's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual content

I was not expecting the last chapter to reveal what it did at all. I did find the trope of “the pastor did it” to be a little underwhelming to be honest and a bit played out.

rae_em's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death, Gore, and Pregnancy

hailey_horror's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

verelien's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence