Reviews with content warning for Murder - Off Season

I should have learned long ago that Jack Ketchum just isn't my cup of tea.

Everything about this fell a bit flat for me. No character depth, weak plot line, no back story to our villains. Just some horny folks in a cabin in the woods, and a disgruntled police officer who should have retired ages ago.

Wad it gory? Yes. Was it beyond brutal? Also yes. However it felt that the attempts at shocking the reader with violence far outweighed any attempt at building a storyline worth following. More attention was put into the spice level than the actual plot line and that just isn't my thing.

If you're into brutal gore stories with nonplots, this is for you.

Content Warnings

cclancaster13's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Eh, it was okay. Very fast paced. Sometimes it was just painfully written by a man. Like when your rental house is being surrounded by a unfathomable amount of cannibals trying to break in and tear you apart you totally stop to notice and admire a hysterical woman's naked body that you're trying to get dressed, as a woman, right? Right? LOL

Overall it was fine. The writing was fine. The story, fine. And gruesome and not a very happy ending. I kinda nothing this book tbh.

Content Warnings

benwoll's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I love deep, intricate stories… but I also love fast-paced, no-nonsense slashers that develop characters just enough for you to care and then kill them off in extremely violent ways. That is exactly what Off Season is. It’s simple, it’s gory, it’s entertaining… it’s just a good horror novel.

Content Warnings

reddarko's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? No

2.5

Not a fan of the weird sex stuff and Ketchum's "woman was obviously written by a man" writing. It was intriguing for sure but not a favorite and not something I would personally recommend

Content Warnings

wholesome_chaotic's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

From the perspective of a horror fan this book has it all. Lean and mean. Gore soaked. Unforgiving. As a horror book it's 5 stars for being so visceral and unrelenting with it's brutality.

However it also contains every single trigger warning a person could imagine. Very taboo subjects are presented and Ketchum lacks the deft hands to present them as anything more than shock for the sake of it. (I 'm only referring to this book with that previous statement.) It's also grossly sexist and even as a male I found myself rolling my eyes at how the women are portrayed. It doesn't help that the characters are thinner than paper. This why it only has a 3 star rating.

There's no subtlety in this book. For better and for worse.

Only recommend for hardcore horror fanatics with stomachs of steel and some questionable morals.

Content Warnings

debbiesf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-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

3.75

Content Warnings

More...