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remi_san'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
savage_book_review's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
I read this book years ago, and it's definitely the one I remembered best of all of the Chris Carter books I have read (about half the series). The murders in this are particularly memorable in their gruesomeness, and definitely set the tone for the series more than 'The Crucifix Killer' in my opinion. It's certainly not for the squeamish, but where you're looking through the eyes of the detective, the descriptions are objective enough for you to see past the gore to the evidentiary value of the bodies, while simultaneously being subjective enough to evoke an emotional reaction from the reader. It's a very well trodden line.
The plot is clearly well thought out and meticulously paced, taking you through the twists and turns of the investigation and keeping the reader engaged throughout. The eventual reveal of the killer and their motives made sense and it was all to easy to understand, and perhaps even sympathise a little.
I did find the chapters to be a little too short in this one though; for the most part, it still flows well, but on the occasions where you shift from Robert's POV to that of the killer or another character, it's a bit jolting and you don't get a chance to get into their mindset before it's shifted back again. Similarly, a lot of the chapters end with an exclamation from one of the characters at something they've just seen, or another sort of mini-cliffhanger. It's fine at first, but it does get a little repetitive. And when the cliffhanger is resolved on the very next page, it felt a little pointless after the first couple of times.
I also didn't get as much depth from this one. It sticks pretty closely to investigating the case rather than exploring Robert and Garcia's characters in greater detail, which I feel is still necessary at this early point in the series. There are moments where you get more, but not enough. The last scene is a case in point - it felt like a great opportunity to see a little more of the 'real' Robert, but there just wasn't really anything to it and it left me a bit underwhelmed.
There are trigger warnings a-plenty in here; definitely one to read with the lights on!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Infidelity, Excrement, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol