Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

10 reviews

leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

This was a quick, compelling read. I kept trying to figure out who "Charlie" was, and while there were some red herrings, the culprit did make sense. There were some good twists in the book, and they were appropriately spaced apart, making the story believable.

On a related note, I liked that the narrator became less reliable as the story went on and unraveled.

I would recommend this book, especially to book lovers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cursing and Death of parent

Additional TW/CW: rape of a minor (somewhat depicted), strained parent relationship, brief JKR reference

kassidypf13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Car accident

jacksonaugust33's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, and Suicide

annajoybooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

linguaphile412's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

uchihas's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

i honestly never expect anything from the books i'm reading, but especially when the recommendations come from tiktok. i'd heard people rave about this one and despite not expecting anything i was still disappointed. i kept waiting for something interesting to happen. the protagonist is insufferable. absolutely could not stand him. the ONLY plus sides were that the minor characters weren't too bad, and there was a cat who stays safe and sound throughout the entire novel. 2 stars for the cat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

kimberlyswalters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I read this one in one sitting. I do have some things to nitpick. I am peeved because I did want to read a certain book myself.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

. I did read the list of books mentioned to judge what I needed to read ASAP, what I already knew, and what I wasn't interested in. That title and spoiler appeared out of nowhere (as it's not listed as one of the eight perfect murders). 

There was a slight error in one of his book descriptions too, so that was bothersome.

("Someone with a D name was the last person killed." In reference to The A.B.C Murders on page 7. That's a mistake. Someone with the wrong initials gets killed, but there was a D nearby which was thought to be the intended target, but in reality it didn't matter who they killed anymore because this killing was supposed to look sloppy.) I read that book less that 72 hours before picking this one up, so I know, unless the story was altered in my edition for some reason.

I really enjoyed the actual story of this book and I genuinely thought it had some good twists. I felt dread and tense at certain points. I like when a book actually makes me feel something in my chest, like something is really wrong and truly terrible. It was just the right amount of disturbing for me to still consider this a somewhat cozy mystery/thriller to lose yourself in.

[If this review sounds bonkers, it's because it's 6:08am and I need to sleep.]

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Car accident

katieav's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

I liked this book for exactly what it is, a fast paced and interesting concept for a mystery. But, I wish there had been a better track of the murders within the book as I felt throughout that I would forget which ones we had discussed and which ones were remaining.

Also, while I liked the symmetry of the murders, I was a little disappointed with the reveal of the murderer. As I feel the passive voice given to our narrator caused the reveal to be like a shrug when I’d hoped for a bang

Overall it was a good book plot wise, but I think the voice of the narrator created by the author is a bit to blasé for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use

Minor: Rape

bethanyearle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction and Rape

bookscoffeehayley's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

CW: death, violence, gore, mentions of addiction, sexual assault

What a quick, entertaining, contemporary take on the classic whodunit novel! This was the first Peter Swanson book that I’ve read. Was it a ground-breaking mystery? No, but it kept me guessing the whole time!

This was a great palette cleanser for me after reading the Shade and Bone Trilogy and Six of Crows Duo. I really liked the deep dive into classic mysteries, but there are some spoilers for those in this book. I definitely want to pick up some classic mysteries soon, but do be cautious if you are worried about spoilers if you read Eight Perfect Murders.

I didn’t love our narrator, Malcolm Kershaw. The book is written as Mal’s memoir and his voice is a bit pretentious throughout, which was sort of annoying.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, ode to the classics I do think you’ll like this one! I enjoyed it while I was reading, but I don’t think it’s a book that will stick with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault