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cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
lyricallit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Dementia and Grief
Minor: Xenophobia
hannahschaef's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Xenophobia
andloveistoolong's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, and Pregnancy
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Each chapter switches between quite a lot of point of views (to be honest, maybe too many). This certainly helps to keep the narration interesting and varied but, at the same time, it does not allow to explore the characters in depth and it can become a bit confusing to keep track of everyone and every storyline.
I think that the book relies a bit too much on the characters' "quirky" traits and, even though this makes the narration funny enough, it can come across as somehow overdone.
I'm not really sure about the mystery part of the story, it did make sense
(sort of) but at the same time it felt a bit convoluted, maybe too much twists and turns towards the very end of the story?
All in all, a nice and quick read but I don't think I'll continue with the series.
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, and Grief
Minor: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
prism_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Xenophobia
imreads'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? No
2.25
I enjoyed the main cast of characters, Ibrahim and Donna, being one of my favourites.
My only main criticisms with the book is
However, I enjoyed the groups friendship and the unlikely friendships along the way.
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Misogyny, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism
There is numerous xenophobic statements by one character and misogynistic statements. I wouldn't recommend this book if you can't handle topics of s*icide, misogyny, xenophobia/racism and death.therobinjoyce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lkbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage
happylilfaerie's review against another edition
4.5
The parts that dealt with death and grief tugged on your heartstrings, and were perfectly balanced with the lighthearted and comedic bits. The plot was great and there were so many twists, it kept me engaged as I came up with theories and was constantly happily surprised with the reveals and the way the plot progressed.
The worldbuilding was wonderful, Osman painted such a vivid picture of the retirement village and the lives of the residents there, it felt so cozy and lovely.
I have been so frustrated with many (both classic and modern) mystery books that are constantly recommended (coughAgathaChristiecough...) that are filled with racism, sexism and all kinds of bigotry that makes the story un-ejoyable. I DNF'd 3 books in a row before hesitantly starting this one, thinking I should give up on this genre all together - in my opinion it did the bare minimum (no being bigoted is apparently very difficult) but I suppose compared to its colleagues it deserves a small applause.
The interview with the author at the end of the audio version of the book had the refer to himself as "left wing", he talked about class struggles and how that impacted his writing, that made me like the book a lot more as it meant parts and themes that I liked were a conscious effort and not a coincidence. I like the way he handled it all whilst still ensuring the book stays a fun light read.
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racism, and Xenophobia