Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

32 reviews

imogenlj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

When I finished this I felt like I'd been punched in my diaphragm- it's devastating, righteous and empathetic, yet hopeful. I felt tense the entire time I was reading. I want to push this into the hands of anyone fascinated with True Crime and say 'Look! It's not about the killers!' It doesn't dwell too much on anything but this is a dark book so check trigger warnings if you're keen to avoid something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Car accident, and Death of parent

savreads28's review

dark emotional informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

haileyeh's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gore, Xenophobia, Vomit, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

thatsssorachael's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

agnela's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

courtney_scott1025's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

4.75

I loved this book. I tried to listen to the audiobook and it just wasn't for me. I gave it a second chance after two people on tiktok said it was their best read of 2023. I read this quick and was immersed in the storytelling. I loved how the three narrators converged. I loved that the three female narrators did not have direct connection with Ansel, but had known him briefly in the past in some way. The reason I did not give this five starts is because the fleeting way in which the author touches serious subjects within the american prison industrial complex and policing in america. I don't think she should get props for simply just mentioning these issues... For example, Saff mentions this dilemma with a majority of the prison population being black and brown men. Ansel mentions that it is unfair that it is mostly black and brown men on death row with him. But that is as far as it goes. I do not think it should be praised at some great look at the prison industrial complex in America because it just isn't. I think it is better to be seen as the way in which true crime culture forgets those that live with the impact of these celebrated monsters choices. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Murder

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

toofondofbooks_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kananineko's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I think this book was very well written and very well done, if a little shallow. Every perspective felt necessary and added to the story, and I really enjoyed the focus on victims and women in the story of a male serial killer, but... I feel like it could've dived deeper into the themes, and honestly, not much happened. Dare I say it was a little boring and forgettable... Keep in mind that crime/thriller isn’t my usual genre (I don’t enjoy these types of books as much as other people do). However, it was still an important book. I did shed a tear in the last chapter, which is rare. I also wish Lavendar had more chapters. Overall, I'd consider it a good book, though. The writing was phenomenal as well. I'm glad this book was written but it wasn't anything out of this world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

charlereads's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol