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mhickman23'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? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and War
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
pros:
- the cult setting was extremely well done, very frightening and sinister and the traumatic effect on Robin and the others was obvious in their reactions. It definitely made you think about the horrors of cults.
- sadly J.K. is a talented writer and the pacing and characters are very good, with the complicated plot coming together and the characters growing throughout, to a degree.
cons
- the plot did feel too complicated towards the end as I struggled to keep straight who certain people were, including Graves and Abigail and some others. Would probably reward a reread.
- Strike was a bit annoying in this book, as he seemed naive/careless about the torment Robin went through (which though well addressed as it was happening and immediately after, seemed to be forgotten as the plot came together at the end), his jealousy towards Murphy is tiring, and his lack of action towards Robin gets frustrating.
- J.K. is clearly also making a point about how the law hesitates to go against people for PC reasons and overly tip toeing around sensitive issues, like religious freedom and people living differently. Strike snidely says 'live and let live' to criticise the cult. I think she is doing a subtle dig here towards trans people and their rights.
but overall another compelling Robin and Strike novel, probably the one that gripped me most so far with the scary cult plot.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
All the content warnings here, very dark.hexagon9067's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
kitpotter'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Minor: Dementia
emilyhof613's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Murder
mdking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
The depiction of cult life, in depth undercover investigations, corporate espionage and the ever interesting relationship between Strike and Robin was so gripping, I couldn't stop listening.
Some difficult moments in this book. The tension was high.
I didn't find the answer to "who dunnit?" satisfactory. There felt like a lot of gaps in the answers given.
Overall however, a powerful and engaging book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, and Trafficking
madelaney'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? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail