Reviews with content warning for Outing - My Policeman

** spoiler alert ** 4.25 stars <3

i honestly loved this so much. i watched the film before reading the novel, and i really liked seeing each character in my head so vividly. absolutely loved tom and patrick's relationship, but not marion at all. i stand for all marion slander!!! L character fr.

the fact we got to see patrick's journal entries was so exciting. i only wish we got to see tom's point of view, as done with patrick and marion. that would've made the book so much better, tbh.

hated that marion never apologized to patrick nor attempted to get him out of prison, given he obviously did not deserve to be there. and tom not attempting to help either whatsoever. patrick needed him and tom abandoned him completely. L tom.

overall, loved this so much and the entire storyline. i am constantly thinking about it after seeing the movie months earlier. i'm so glad we have a book version too<3

Content Warnings

linnea1801's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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hollymileham's review

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

first 100 pages or so were quite slow but then this really picked up, think i prefered patricks sections to marions. a very emotional, hard hitting read and it made me very sad, but also was so good and relatable

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slayharrie28's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

My favourite book. I’m so in love with this book. It’s absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking simultaneously. Absolutely in love with it. A book everyone should have read. The movie was incredible too. Patrick and Tom have my heart.

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bernard_black's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Fun to read during math classes.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

What a brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking story. I usually prefer plot-based stories to character-based, but this one captured me completely.

Content Warnings

mons278's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

Content Warnings

insanelyfruity's review

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

"You were looking at Tom without smiling, with an expression of deep absorption. You considered him, in the same way that others in the room were considering the displays."

I think the quote above sums up the relationships between the characters very well.
it took me a while to read this book because I could feel just how sad it was and that made it hard for me to read. everytime I picked up the book I was immediately engrossed and wanted to know what would happen but I had to pace out the reading for the sake of my mental peace.
this book is so gorgeously written and even though I wasn't alive in Brighton in the 50s-60s, I'm sure it's very accurate about the time period it mentions. I'm so glad that the author chose to deal with a sensitive topic like this with the proper care and respect by doing research and not romanticising terrible moments in history. the movie recently came out and I think because of all the details in the book, the book is more impactful than the movie.
I am so glad I stuck with this book. definitely would recommend.

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