Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

4 reviews

angorarabbit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

TLDR: Unless you are allergic to twee in your mystery this is a good series to try out. Or maybe I’m just getting old and soft. 

 

Context: For reasons unknown I chose to read #2 and #3 in the series before reading #1.I also think Richard Osman is quite funny and smart on the telly. 

 

I usually find the first book or two in a mystery series  to be still finding it’s legs in a crowded market. Mr Osman hit the ground running. Which considering what he has been doing with his life is to be expected. While there are a few things that may stretch credulity it is for the most part believable as you can expect a murder mystery novel to be. There is one thing that happens which is out of line for a character as there also was in The Bullet That Missed but other than that all characters were well described and acted consistently. 

 

What I love so much about this series is how Mr Osman gets aging. Not just the body failing but the mind. There are murders in the book but there are also natural deaths and dementia. All of it portrayed in a truthful without sugarcoating. 

 

I see that The Thursday Murder Club Mystery is adapted and is currently on Netflix, which makes me sad that Alan Rickman can not play the part of Ian Ventham although I’m sure David Tennant does a fine job. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Graphic depiction of aging. Moderate illegal drug selling.

miriamgibbs29's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

It was just plain lovely from stay to finish. 
I had to audiobook and adored the narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The characters were lovely.  I imagine I will pick up the next in the series at some point because I thought it was a charming read, even though it wasn't my usual cup of tea.

Also, I know it's a murder mystery but I wasn't expecting so much casual death.  Was a bit grim at times.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

It starts off slowly but the characters suck you in ❤️ I found myself verklempt time and time again at the end. 

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Content Warnings

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