Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

68 reviews

bankotsedo's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

Ok so this was marketed to me as horror. I wouldn't call it horror. Maybe thriller without the supermarket-mom aspect that most thriller books have. My nana wouldn't want to read this. 

I, however, am someone who can only sort of tolerate the supermarket-mom-paperbook vibe. I dip in occcasinally to keep up with super popular books because I have extreme fomo. 

This book is not that! If you want a little creepy (some paranormal, some murrrdaahhhh) then this will do it for ya. And the main character is a woman vicar, which is sick, and her name is Jack, so. I'm immediately in. And she was fairly likeable! This was fun. Read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Vomit, and Murder

booksnbrooches's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

3.0

I greatly enjoyed the opening of this book. It had ghost girls, religious fervor, and a creepy setting, what more did I need? Unfortunately, I found the main story less than appealing. I was hoping for more of the supernatural side of things, and that isn’t what happened. Maybe my own expectations let me down. 

Still, it was a fast paced thriller. I loved the writing style and would be willing to read more of the author’s work in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, and Cursing

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, Murder, and Pregnancy

jasminechocklettslee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

samburkhouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Bullying and Vomit

pspude's review against another edition

2.0

This review is just one big trigger warning.

I wanted to like this book... and I did finish it, but maaan I hated the ending. This book was essentially one big trauma dump after the next in attempt to distract readers from figuring out the mystery. Like the almost rape scene for Jack's brother Jacob?! Like why?! And Jack actually being Merry, one of the original missing girls? Hated that because she seemed so out of touch with the town... that she grew up in??? And no one recognized her or Flo?! And Wrigley was a killer..... for fun.... and enjoyed torture with Rosie? Like okay? What were the odds?  And let's just throw in the religious trauma with Jack being part of the church. 
I felt like this book were three major traumas loosely tied together in a haphazard ending. Tudor really paints a picture, but it was so far fetched in tying everything together that I was severely disappointed.  Also, who killed the mom?! Wtf is this town. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Murder

maisiedodds's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

madladchad's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

bluejayreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious

3.75

This book is sad, dark, and incredibly intense. It goes hard on the mystery elements, and even though there's some hints of the supernatural, most of it is entirely human. Everyone has secrets, the question is just how they fit together. I called several of the twists at 51% of the way through, but I didn't spot all of them, which surprised me. There's heavy questions about whether people can be truly inherently evil or if "good" and "evil" are defined by our actions and everyone has the capacity to choose. I didn't expect to like this one very much, but it was surprisingly good. I didn't adore it, but I did enjoy it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia

Romantic partner death, unreality

zeeck07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia

chilivanilli28's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Child abuse