Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

78 reviews

bones008's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It was very gripping! i’m looking forward to more books from this author 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Torture, and Stalking

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol

The author is an autopsy tech by trade so the details she puts in are unnerving and realistic. i think she’s got a special talent for grossing me out while pulling me in. The twist is a wonderful addition i didn’t see coming. i highly recommend this book

katharina90's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I enjoyed it, particularly the dual POV, but the book was short and didn't allow me to really get to know the characters. 

A little more depth to the characters would have gone a long way to get me invested in their story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Infidelity

princess_marie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking

aaannina's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

ninaw2's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.75

this is between a 2.5 and 3 for me. it didn’t do much for me. i’m not a fan of books where i already know who is causing the mayhem. love the author as a podcast host but this kinda fell flat for me. there was a twist i didn’t see coming, the ending was a bit intriguing (like wtf is going on paul?!?) and some descriptions were grossly great. but it was just meh for me. quick easy read though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, and Murder

the_bookish_rose's review

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? Yes

2.0

Typically this isn’t a genre I read all that often just because it isn’t up my alley most of the time (or usually I’ll try to save the spooky reads for October) but I was requested to read this one. I shocked myself by finishing this in three days, though truthfully the writing style was really easy to read and get through, which has its pros and cons.

I feel like I could see the potential this book had, but it needed some more time to finish cooking. This novel had the common writing dilemma of “telling vs showing”, and personally I always love a good murder tale if it’s written in first person rather than third but that’s just me. I also wish there was more character development into Cal/Jeremy, as we (the readers) don’t really get much backstory into how he got into what he does now other than hunting with his dad when he was younger. I also wanted to like the FMC more, but just didn’t find myself connecting with her fully either, but her determination was solid as to finding out what happened. I also wish there was a much bigger climax for the ending, as it felt a bit lackluster, but I was glad to reach the ending. One positive area is the author’s expertise on the medical examiner side, as the level of detail into that aspect was cool to see; I just wish it also spread to other places in the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

tetrootz's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

london_michele's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

It’s a mediocre book. I’m a fan of the pod but this didn’t do it for me. I’ll chock it up to first book blues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

vj_thompson's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

A good start to the series. Also a good debut novel. I picked up this book because I listen to the “Morbid” podcast. Alaina is an amazing storyteller, and it really shows in her writing. This book is very plot and information heavy. I wish there were more details about the characters. I am excited to the next book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content and Stalking

Minor: Vomit and Death of parent

edietz22's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail