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kimveach's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Murder, Gore, Sexism, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Trafficking, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Animal death, Abortion, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts
teaskate'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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Addiction, Death, Murder, and Racial slurs
Moderate: War
Minor: Abortion
aominechichi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Drug abuse and Racism
Minor: Abortion and Addiction
briely's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Racism, Animal death, Abortion, Child abuse, and Hate crime
criticalgayze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
I really don't have much to say in the way of a review, which I think is the typical point of these detective series. I will say that for a white man, who I presume is cisgender and heterosexual, Spotswood does a decent job of inclusion in his works that asks for a little more from the typical genre reader. (Although, I took issue in this one with the amount he included historical traumas levied especially against Black people given that it seemed more like white observational guilt than necessary plot as none of the key players are people of color.)
I also thought it was a little early in the series to give us a book that was so personal to one of the characters, but that's a more editorial nitpick than it is a note on the book's merits.
Moderate: Misogyny, Abortion, Medical content, Medical trauma, Drug use, Racism, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Drug abuse, and Violence
evilyn's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
prettycloud's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, War, and Medical content
This is a noir book, so it does not shy away from violence, but neither does it delight in gore like horror might. The child abuse/domestic abuse is part of the narrator's trauma but does not take place in the timeline of the narrative. One of the detectives has MS, and though the story never dwells on it long, there is a heavy moment when she mentions another character with MS's suicide. The abortion isn't graphic, but it bears a lot of narrative weight.