Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

50 reviews

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

whiskeywoman79's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

 Fiction / Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Crime / Suspense
⭐⭐⭐/5
TW: SA (graphic once, but mentioned in different ways throughout)

I am not sure what to say about this story. It was creepy. It had its good parts and its bad parts? I was left confused and underwhelmed? I am rather unsure how I feel about it as a whole.
 

 
I feel like the author kept trying to justify inappropriate adult-child relationships. Like the one that was forced was bad, but because the young girl liked the teacher back that one wasn't bad, TF?!! Both shouldn't have happened, and neither should be condoned.
Can we also acknowledge that he was sexually assaulted!! They kept glazing over that Other than when he asked about the accusation made at the church "What he did to you - some people would give that same name."
I have no idea how it won the awards it did.
Will like this if you like Stephen King? For me it is like SCI Fi movies it's the B-rated version of Stand By Me.
I grew up in a small US town in the 1980s, yet I felt so disconnected from the flashbacks, maybe it is a UK v US thing? I never believed they were 80's kids.
I had such high hopes for this read because The Burning Girls is one of my 5-star reads for this year, after DNFing The Drift, and now my experience with this I am starting to think it was a one-off. 

I am using this for a challenge I am just not sure which one yet. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Gore, Dementia, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident

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

crusoe's review against another edition

100 pages in I realised that this mystery did not grip me at all. I had no interest in who the girl (found dead) is, who her killer is, the role of the characters in this mystery... For a thriller, that's a really bad sign. I'd rather invest my time in a book that's more interesting and I don't think I'll pick this book up again. 

The SA of the MC by his bully (Sean) and the overall way in which women and relationships between men and women were described was also disgusting. I'm so sick and tired of thrillers that objectify women and write about SA/inappropriate relationships without critical engagement. Yuck. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: 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

maryshelleysbestie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

bobinsbooknook's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Overall I did enjoy this read a lot with some of the foreshadowing being really well done. I liked the dual timeline plot to see the impact of the secrets and lies.

C.J Tudor does really well in writing out an intriguing horror scene and each chapter left on some form of a cliff hanger which made it quite compelling to read. There were a lot of twists to keep track of by the half point way - some stronger than others.

The fact that 2 different characters had inappropriate age related relationships felt a bit lazy.

I wanted to rate this book higher but the wrapping up of mysteries feel a bit short for me and I did feel a little lost at times. Though the final 4 pages - Wow! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Dementia, Car accident, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Suicide, and Death of parent

sylvermoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

It was a decent, fast read. The twist wasn’t shocking, but I didn’t see it coming either. I liked some of the foreshadowing, but some plot points seemed rushed or clearly written because the author didn’t know how to get from one point to the next without them. It was long enough, but would have done well with some things fleshed out a bit more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion

breruby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, and Alcohol