Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Relic by Douglas Preston

12 reviews

cathepsut's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The first Pendergast book. I read another one a few years ago and didn‘t like it, too gory. But tastes change. I might have seen the movie a very long time ago. I read some books involving Nora Kelly, who is part of the series later on. I read quite a few Preston & Child novels about 20 years ago and liked them a lot.

So, a novel with/about a FBI agent. His looks and manner are so over the top that he almost comes across as a caricature. And a monster that is borderline fantastical/supernatural, very much in creature feature territory. I think when the book was written in 1995 there was a lot of talk about DNA sequencing, it was a hot topic at the time. That is reflected in this book as well, in terms of the characters trying to figure out the creature. Evolutionary biology and anthropology play a part as well.

Fast-paced. High body count early on. Lots of suspense, characters are fleshed out enough to be interesting. I enjoyed this a lot. So much that I already picked up another Pendergast novel. This was on Kindle Unlimited, sadly #2 wasn‘t. But my Libby has #3, so I started that one. I don‘t think it matters too much.

If you are looking for something fast, a little sensationalist, a bit over the top, slightly ridiculous, suspenseful, gory and full of action, you have found it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

sappypatheticm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

donnanoble's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Blood

bev3203's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

First 100 pages were slow and then really gory, but after that I couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

andmingmingtoo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I love that it's a mystery rooted in science (or "science"). As a biologist, it's fun to read a mystery book with terms you saw in your genetics classes used as integral clues. 
I also love a good ensemble cast, and this book got me attached to several main characters with the narrative switches and different mystery-solving niches.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Xenophobia and Alcohol

ashes456's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

kitkat_reads93's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Mental illness and Death of parent

chelsearose's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

mari_books's review

adventurous mysterious 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

3.75

Honestly great fast paced, mysterious and adventurous read. Classic and comfortable detective mystery with some what of a new “scientific” twist. Love a museum setting too. I say “scientific” because the book lost its way at times trying to get readers to understand the irrelevant/ fake “science” of what was going on instead of just allowing readers to buy into the drama. None of the characters are super deep or memorable besides Pendergast but I don’t expect that from this kind of book. But, I would still recommend and will continue reading the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

sarah_ann_roth's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, and Murder