Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

#murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil

6 reviews

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

I don’t normally read horror books but this one was the perfect amount of scary for me. No jump scares, a really creepy premise and a lot of mystery. The main premise is that the US has decided to turn Alcatraz into a town where death row inmates live until they are theatrically murdered by masked seri killers. The whole thing is filmed and shown to the country as the ultimate reality show. The main character, Dee, is convicted of murdering her step sister and sent there to live out her sentence. But she says she didn’t do it, and so do all the other young, beautiful people there. Is something weird going on?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, and Torture

Minor: Cannibalism

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I have had this book on my shelves for YEARS and finally picked it up.
"#Murdertrending" follows a cast of young characters, people who have been convicted of various crimes, and all sentenced to serve out their prison sentences on an island. This island was created by the newly elected President of the United States who is also a huge internet celebrity. He created this island of games as entertainment for the world. There are cameras everywhere and murder is encouraged, and in fact there are people who have been hired to murder the prisoners in over-the-top ways. These criminals are faced with their greatest challenges yet: surviving. But the island is much more sinister than it seems, because everyone imprisoned might not be guilty of the crimes they were convicted of.
I think this story was good in theory, and I might have enjoyed it more if I had read it when I originally got a copy, but it was kind of a flop for me in the present. The whole social media craze has always been a bit odd to me but seeing it in this context really makes me question us as a society and the value we place on internet fame.
I think this book has an audience, but unfortunately this series is not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Stalking, and Violence

theworldof11's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Stalking, Death, Gore, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide

skullotonin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

lot of twists and turns. would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, War, Death, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

it's....... very....... gory............

loppylolly's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Kidnapping and Stalking

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

cheye13's review

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This was fun but I wish there had been... more of it? Like I wished it pushed a little further, got a little more cerebreal. I went into the book with very low expectations, but the exposition was structured so well that I expected a better payoff. I think the "dark comedy" angle really washed out any kind of significant effect or takeaway and I didn't really view it as "comedy" any more than absurdism.

The action and violence was entertaining and the premise was original, but with the level of intrigue in the initial setup, I wanted more of a plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Most of the content is genre-standard, but the portrayal of villains as "psychopaths" or "sociopaths" could be inaccurate and harmful