Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag

9 reviews

seridia's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

2.0

I really struggled with the violence and depravity depicted in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

summerpy's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

This historical mystery crime procedural novel begins when city watchman Mikal Carnell finds a dead body in the river - arms, legs, eyes all missing.

Setting: We are thrown into the intense setting of Stockholm in 1793. Historically, King Gustav III had just been assassinated. The crown prince was too young and thus Sweden was controlled by an oppressive puppet regime. At the same time, Europe was feeling the after currents of revolutionary fever. In France, Marie Antoinette had just been executed. All of this created a bleak sense of chaotic paranoia and dread permeating the dark, dirty streets of Stockholm.

Characters: The characters really shine in this story. First we have watchman Mikal Carnell. He had fought in the Russo-Swedish War and lost his arm and best friend. As the story starts, he is barely getting by, burdened by shell shock and phantom limb pain, and drowning out life with drink. After fishing the body from the water, he is paired with brilliant, incorruptible lawyer/detective Cecil Winge, who is diagnosed and dying of consumption. We also have Kristofer Blix, a young man with a gambling problem, and Anna Stine Knapp, a poor teenage who after the death of her mother, finds herself at the mercy of depraved men.

The rising tensions of Carnell and Winge working against the clock to solve the mystery, Winge’s declining health, the precarious situations of Blix and Anna, and the unstable social environment really elevate this book to a different level. The different points of view serve a valuable purpose in the end, tying together details and filling in context.

In all honesty, I had to take several breaks while reading this novel. It’s very dark and bleak with a lot of graphic violence. However, it is exceptionally crafted and I am very glad to have read it. The plan is to read a comedy and then go back to the 1793 sequel. I loved the two main characters, Carnell and Winge. Wolf and the Watchman is a definite recommend for me. Just be very careful with the violence and triggers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thyprecious's review against another edition

Way too graphic and slow. I just can’t be bothered to keep going so DNF

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

clemso's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

anne_marie_samp's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This is a hard book, dark, disturbing in a number of ways. People do dark things, some to survive, some because they can. 

Not an easy read, but I do now know more about the Russo-Swedish war, the Swedish royal family, and Stockholm in the 1790s - which is enough for me to know that I am very glad not to have lived in Stockholm in the 1790s. 

Good book, well told, but definitely need something lighter now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicide and Fire/Fire injury

archivofrances's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Abortion

debbie13410's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Gruesome, gorry, disturbing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Excrement, and Murder

hanarama's review

Book at a Glance: 
Multi POV 
1793 Stockholm
Mystery thriller 
CW: extreme body horror, extreme physical and mental abuse, medical trauma, medical content, injury detail, abelism 

More extreme and bleak in its depictions of gore an human cruelty than I want to engage with. I'm not usually squeamish in regards to true crime or medical content, but I found the descriptions in this book to be very vivid. The mood of this book honestly made it hard for me want to press on. As such, I'm calling it quits. 

I'm sure others will enjoy this book, but I just found it to be too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

napoleoniq's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Body horror, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Excrement