Reviews tagging 'Death'

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

24 reviews

kerrionthetee's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

sabripolin's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

My first audio book — and from the reviews I can tell who is from Boston (“accents ruined it for me!”) and who isn’t (“audiobook brought it to life!”) I’m the former — I kept thinking what a terrible book to use as my first audiobook experience. I wanted to fire the narrator immediately. The accents/acting took me out of it completely.

That aside, the story was gritty. I did appreciate the honesty of the racism, but it felt caricature-ish at times. And overwhelmingly one-sided. I expected to see more glimpses of the black community’s perspective, but I suppose we were viewing this from Mary Pats perspective and, as said at the end, she wasn’t doing all this for Auggie, she was doing it for Jules. 

A few scenes difficult for me to digest (the forced shoot-up, the twitching in the station, the crunch of bones…). I feel like I didn’t love the story till the last quarter when Mary Pat really becomes a vigilante. But I was also struggling to believe how she had the physical ability and instincts to plot, hunt down, and attack grown men the way it was described. A little fantastical, even if she did grow up in the rough, tough Irish southie. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Vomit and Mass/school shootings

colenoscopy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Torture and Violence

booksinkandpaper2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kyle_rosa_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 I thought I was getting a story about busing in Boston. To my surprise, the narrative captivated me with the story of a mother who lost her teenage daughter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism

katierobertsonshaddix's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cosmicfey's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy

nutfreenerd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, and Murder

arf26's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book!  So well written - taking a heavy and charged set of topics and adding humor.  The insight into the South Boston neighborhood, code, and mindset was riveting.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

natashaball's review

dark reflective tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Kidnapping