Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon

9 reviews

ashleycmms's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, Blood, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, Infidelity, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy

kwaeisig's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? No

4.5

Gesethame is very relatable to any other millennial out here making their way through life without wanting to be a disappointment to family. As a quick witted Black woman I think she holds herself down well and does a great job and standing up for what she knows is right even if she doesn’t have all the answers yet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her tenacity, comebacks, and her willingness to accept challenges set before her. Overall this is an easy read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Stalking, Self harm, Murder, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Infidelity

phantasmaboo's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

Murder in G Major follows Gethsemane, a young African-American woman who moves to Ireland to take on the position of orchestra director at an school. Gethsemane quickly finds that her house is haunted and there’s a ghost that wants her to prove his innocence. She also has to bring together a failing orchestra and win a school band competition to get the job of her dreams. 

I think that this is a cozy murder mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s face-paced plot also keeps you on your toes and there really isn’t a dull moment. That being said, the book fell flat to me in terms of character and plot development. The plot for the orchestra and the murder investigation fight with each other for space to the point where neither are very fully developed. It seems like the main character does little to accomplish either one and we are left to fill in the gaps ourselves. Furthermore, it seemed like everyone in this small town was involved at some point, and it quickly became hard to tell who was who and who was doing what. None of the characters were developed beyond some basic-level characteristics. 

Finally, I found the ableism against people with mental illnesses to be quite alarming. Without spoiling, I can say that the author heavily stigmatizes those with mental illnesses and uses derogatory language to refer to them. While this is a trope, I believe it to be an outdated one at best, and the ending left me feeling quite disgusted for how the main character talks about those individuals. Perhaps with more character and plot development, it would have felt more purposeful, but really it just came off as cruel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Ableism, and Mental illness

henrismum's review

informative mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

First in series - Gethsemane Brown Mysteries
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I found this on a list of recommended mysteries. I put it on my TBR pile  in summer and its number finally came up.
Will I read more of the series / author?     Probably Not     Maybe    Highly Likely The book contains an interesting setting and concept - an African American musician in Ireland who solves a mystery for a ghost.
The narrator was Jessica Carroll. Her voice was a little baby-ish in some points. I hope she gets better.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

leanne_miron's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Ableism, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Murder, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

jacquelynjoan's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I liked this book (listed to it on audio - and mostly while IN Ireland on vacation) - and I am left wanting to read the next one to find out about some loose ends so I am invested. However, as a prison industrial complex abolitionist, I am put off a character asking "why don't you just arrest them?" a few times, but this chummy-ness with law-enforcement is common in myesteries. I can't wait to someday read a mystery that advocates for restorative justice. Anyway, the other thing that bothered me was the use of abelist language like "crazy" over and over again and then taunting someone with it... and also realted issues that I can't give away without spoilers. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Grief, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Racism and Sexism

fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Suicide, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

thelizzielibrary's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Can we all have an Eamon ghost in our lives? I loved all of the relationships and characters in this! It was a cozy that didn't follow the typical character personalities, and I was so drawn into it! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Suicide attempt

karcitis's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Extensive use of slurs/derogatory terms for people with mental illness.