Reviews tagging 'Violence'

By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl

7 reviews

librerin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

It was interesting to read a mystery written from more of a lawyer/law perspective.  It was a challenging read also because it was set in the early 2000s, and the language/treatment of trans characters was accurate to the time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Racism

ari76's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

I enjoyed this book for its representation of trans women and thoughtful discussions about how that impacts their work, relationships, and life when faced with harm. My main critiques are about Gigl's use of AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) for Sharise and some loss of momentum/clarity on the plot sides.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Transphobia

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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? No

2.0

Intriguing format and overall plot, and the author's background in law grants the story a lot of believability (though it does get somewhat cliche at some points). However, the writing style is very dry -- lots of telling and repetition, which dampens the action and any emotional impact, and the dialogue is very scripted and impossible to distinguish between most characters, with the one exception being a grimace-inducing attempt at AAVE from a white author. The characters are pretty flat in general, and a lot of the suspense is also mitigated by scenes expanding on the antagonists' motivations and plans in detail. Definitely some strong commentary on the legal/justice system and violence against trans people, especially trans women of color, but unfortunately not as compelling a read as I had hoped. Still, it is a debut, so I may still check out more of Gigl's writing in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Transphobia, Hate crime, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, and Stalking

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, and Vomit

joey1914's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Medical content, Outing, and Pregnancy

aislinreads's review against another edition

I wanted to finish this book to see how the mystery would resolve, but I couldn’t take any more trans suffering. This was such a hard and heavy read. Take the TW seriously, please!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Deadnaming, and Racism

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I’m really glad I read this because it enlightened me further on the special challenges that face transgender people who are just trying to live their lives in peace. The author is a transgender lawyer and her main character is a transgender lawyer defending a transgender woman accused of murder. Nothing about this book is subtle but it’s a well-written, intriguing mystery about characters I’d like to know because I admire them. 

I confess I was a bit disappointed in the plot in the last fifteen pages but that didn’t affect my rating. I’m hoping to read the second in this series to see how lawyer Erin McCabe develops. And a third in the series is being published soon so I can look forward to that, too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Stalking, Violence, Homophobia, Outing, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, and Child abuse

willdarlingg's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was so much fun! I loved Erin’s character and the fast-paced plotline surrounding her case, and the dangerous and thrilling situations she gets into. Gigl managed to keep me at the edge of my seat the entire time, and I would have finished this in one night if I didn’t have to go to work the next morning. The representation was excellent and well-written, though sometimes the conversations about correct terminology were a bit grating, but I think those were intentionally written for people who don’t read a lot of queer literature. Plus, considering that this book was published in 2008, I really don’t have many complaints about it. My only other gripe was that there were so many characters and names, and sometimes I struggled figuring out who people were in relation to Erin and her partner. But all in all, the writing was solid, the characters were interesting, the plot was engaging, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. In the end, I’m just so happy this book exists and I can’t wait to read the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Rape

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts