Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

24 reviews

brandilovesbooks's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

If I was rating Murder in the Family based on the mystery.  It would be 4 stars.  A reality TV series delving into the 20-year-old case of who killed Luke Ryder.  The producer of the show is the murder victim's step‐ son who'd been 10 at the time of the murder.  The panel of experts brought in to dig into the case include a reporter, a retired NYPD police officer, a retired Metropolitan Police member, a criminal attorney, a crime scene investigator, and a forensic psychologist.  There are tons of plot twists.  The ending was unexpected.

The reason I only rated it 3 stars was the unconventional format.  Murder in the Family does not read like a normal story.  Each "chapter" is a transcription of a broadcast of the show "Infamous- Who Killed Luke Ryder?" There are also e-mails between people involved on the show, voice-mail message transcriptions, screenshots of a reddit group discussing each episode, and text messages.  

I read books for all of the stuff that goes on between the dialogue.  For the point of view that allows insight into thoughts, feelings, observations, and memories.  This book didn't have that.  You were forced to read between the lines.  Cara Hunter did a great job with this chosen format, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Recommended for people who like true crime and people who don't mind the unconventional format.

My content warnings include - cursing, murder, and graphic detail of the body.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

thebiblioboo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racism, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

monarcadelibros's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

At first, I thought I'd really like this book and fly through it. While the story is fun, the formatting really distracted me and the arguments going in circles really prevented me from finding any motivation to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

dotirene's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Once you get used to the format, this is a brilliant book. The reveal not a huge surprise but really well done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

readwithbp's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

maddireads13's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Dementia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

priscillarobock's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

mollyb13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I was excited about the unique format of Murder in the Family, but feel that it wasn't used to the full extent that it could have been. I found it a bit hard to distinguish the experts from one another during the first 2/3 of the book as none of their personalities seemed to differ much. However, the last third of the book definitely picked up and made the read worth it in the end!. 

This book also reminded me why I'm not a True Crime fan - while this book was fiction, it definitely highlighted a number of reasons why true crime media (books, podcasts, documentaries) feel exploitive and icky to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Grief

leebeeloves's review

challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, and Blood

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail