Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan

4 reviews

mysterymom46's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Addiction

Moderate: Murder, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Trafficking, and Death

Minor: Vomit

Saying “Christ” repeatedly; person “selling” access to a child for abuse; scene with a noose; talk of abortion

art_books_chemistry's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

First off, I love that I listened to this as an audiobook; Aoife McMahon is a fabulous narrator that makes the book more immersive with her accent.  

I loved this storyline! You were given just enough miscellaneous clues along the way to be able to see that not everything was as on the up-and-up as it seemed to be. I thought it was interesting the book wasn't all from the detective's point of view even though it is a crime/detective novel based around the detective, Cormac Reilly. There were several different crimes going on simultaneously that were occasionally hard to keep track between but this was quite purposefully and masterfully managed. Bonus Points to Dervla McTiernan for me not being able to guess the culprit. In hindsight, I'd bet there are more clues pointing in that direction than I noticed. It's a win for an author when I'm so immersed in the storyline I miss details.

My one big complaint is that I felt like I was thrown into the middle of Cormac's story instead of the beginning. There are all these cryptic hints about his girlfriend and past cases from when he was in Dublin all over the place that seem to have bearing on the storyline, at least as far as interactions with other Gardaí. I like that it means there is more depth and more to learn about the character but not that it left me feeling like I was missing something. 

I definitely recommend starting this series and I will certainly be reading the rest of it as well!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, and Drug use

carlytenille's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

Moderate: Suicide, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Murder, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Miscarriage

narbine's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

It was a confusing ass plot and so many characters I couldn't differentiate. ACAB. 

Apparently the book is the start of a series and this stood fine on it's own. I won't be reading another.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Suicide, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Medical content, Murder, Addiction, Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage