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huntress's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
kimberlyswalters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, and Pregnancy
divine529's review against another edition
- 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
The setting was different and I really enjoyed the characters overall and their friendship, but the plot was a bit more complicated than it needed to be. There was so much going on and it often pulled me out of the story. So many murders and pieces at play and somehow everything was connected and wrapped up nicely at the end (for the most part).
I figured out the killer for the first murder as soon as they walked on page because there's a stereotype with specific kinds of characters and it was disappointing that they fell into that same thing over and over again. The thing about knowing that though, it didn't explain anything and there really weren't many clues along the way to lead you there unless you squinted. Elizabeth just seemed to know everything from the start and pretended she didn't for the benefit of everyone else. Given her background that makes some sense, but still, it should be more of a group effort than one being a puppetmaster and everyone else the puppets to the point where several of the characters just kind of notice it and roll with it. The writing and pacing also had a lot of issues too.
The relationships are truly where this book was in its element and some of the sleuthing was fun to read, but overall it was fun and I will probably continue just to see if they improve a bit, but slightly disappointing.
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Pregnancy
sophiestbr's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.75
It is written in a really accessible and straightforward way, the mystery is set up early and in a way that made me want to read on and get to the bottom of it. The characters are rich and interesting, easy to connect to in one way or another.
Where the book fell down for me and soured the experience is a spoiler that comes with a trigger warning, so read on at your own risk:
Overall, with the above and the fact that I felt too many of the 'red herrings' were resolved too quickly made it less gripping and suspenseful than other crime/mystery novels. That said, I will read at least the next book in this series at some point to give another mystery with this fabulous cast of characters a shot, they were really the highlight for me.
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Cursing and Pregnancy
chsm8's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Murder
nat20charisma's review against another edition
4.75
It was an easy paced enjoyable mystery.
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Child death and Suicide
han_amey's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Terminal illness
brieoqueijo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Deportation
annaeslane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Suicide and Dementia
Moderate: Child death
hsieh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Edit: Reading a friend's review, I'm reminded of one character whose running "gag" is that he is overweight and all the other characters keep commenting on it. Sadly it's like every time this character comes up. Very unfortunate.
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, and Violence