Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod by Casey Sherman

8 reviews

alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Kidnapping

idkimoutofideas's review

dark medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

makcrowley's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

If you read this as a fiction book with a few facts, it’s interesting, though a little chopped up. 
Because the author meshes facts with fictional convos, it is hard to determine which are real facts based instances and which are fictional. So it should not be read as true crime. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

cervinlibrarian's review

tense slow-paced

4.0

I thought it was well written, but found all of the details on Vonnegut and Mailer distracting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.5

 I don't think authors should narrate their own books most of the time, but this author did okay. However, the book was at least 5 hrs too long with all the Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonget stuff. Also, the gruesome narrator of the crimes was graphically described WAY too many times, it was just over and over again. I did appreciate the amount of research the author put into the book, but I probably wouldn't recommend this book. It's simply just too long!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide

theoceanrose's review against another edition

The background information on the killer was interesting, but there was so much that seemed irrelevant that it was frustrating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

ceeemvee's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

2.25

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This was a very hard book to get through.  The author is the nephew of 19-year old Mary Sullivan, the last and youngest victim of The Boston Strangler.  Sherman’s previous books are predominantly true crime.  I thought that perhaps his style would center more on the criminal mind and the trial proceedings, however, there were some very graphic and gruesome descriptions of the murders which are repeatedly referenced.

We begin on Cape Cod in the late 1960’s, where young women are starting to disappear.  While there is some effort on the part of law enforcement, the disappearances are attributed to the drug and counter culture mantra: turn on, tune in, and drop out.  But then their bodies begin to surface.  The common denominator is Tony Costa, who will soon be arrested, convicted, sentenced and commit suicide in his cell.

The author fictionalized Costa’s relationships with the women, as well as the actual murders.  Costa always maintained his innocence, blaming others as well as an alter ego, and Costa’s conversations with his alter ego are also fictionalized.  The details are gruesome, and they are again repeated in the court proceedings.  Once was enough.  My feeling is that the author should have noted up front, not at the end of the book, that this is a work of fact told with elements of fiction storytelling.  That left me wondering what parts were true, and why the author didn’t just market the book as a fictionalized account based on a real event.

There are also so many side stories which give us a sense of the times, yet are not directly relevant to the case itself.  We have stories of Charles Manson, the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Mary Jo Kopechne’s fateful night with Ted Kennedy and the Apollo 11 moon landing.  There are also in-depth biographies of Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer, both residents of the area that wanted to write about the case.  While the author could have touched on all of these subjects, it was just way too much information, and fictionalized information perhaps.

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

Really not worth the time or effort.

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia and Outing