Reviews tagging 'Murder'

How I'll Kill You by Ren DeStefano

23 reviews

spencer3327's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Murder

creativeteacherreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

In contention for my favorite thriller of the year! I loved the unique plot with the triplets and it kept me guessing the whole time. I would think I had it all figured out and then something totally different I didn’t call at all would happen instead!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

kreglow's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bibliostorian's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

miacorkum's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

caitiebarton's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Vomit, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

3.25

This was not a bad book by any means. It was actually very well-written, but if you aren't down with graphic descriptions of murder, I would not suggest it because there is a graphic depiction of murder in basically every paragraph. It also details how to clean up a murder if you need that advice. 
One thing I love about this novel is its emphasis on the fact that romantic relationships are not the only ones that can be abusive. This, of course, does not mean that I think the main character, Sissy, was in the right for her actions, but she is very clearly traumatized and feels compelled by the dynamic with her sisters to commit most of these heinous actions.

On the other hand, I am not sure how I feel about her getting away with helping her sisters commit multiple murders.

I think Ren DeStefano does a remarkable relationship using Dara's romantic relationship as a place to draw parallels for.
At times, the relationships between characters were hard to follow, especially the dynamics between Iris, Moody, and Sissy. While the author tried to clarify this at the end, it was never quite clear who was on the same page or who knew what. 

This last complaint is going to seem super trivial, but why the heck was one sister named Amelia and the other was Emily??? Those are basically the same name. Also, these name reveals were so lackluster. I waited the entire book to find out this woman's name is the same as any other white girl?

Finally, I'm just going to put it out there Colin is so underutilized. He's in the book for about two seconds but is by far the best character. He has his own life going on, but he isn't plotting murders in detail or being a creep. Give Colin more pages!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug use, Abortion, and Pregnancy

d0505'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy

vjmorris's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol