Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

236 reviews

riexy's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

lisettemarie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Murder

leahhslibrary_'s review

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 death, Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

bubblybelle's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

1.25

this was just so not what i wanted it to be. i am not in favor of the death penalty, especially given the state of our current justice system. however, i also simply am not going to pity a serial killer who feels absolutely NO remorse for the lives he’s taken. i feel bad for what Ansel endured as a child, but that does not excuse his behavior as an adult. 

there was way too much romanticizing and pitying for a violent criminal throughout this book despite the blurb implying that it would do the opposite. it was only in the last few chapters that it would try to switch that narrative, but by that point it was frankly too little too late for me. 

the fact that Ansel’s pov was in 2nd person was also just annoying. all of his narration made me feel icky and gross. also, the first half of the book had so much random, unnecessary smut. it didn’t really fit in with the story and again just felt icky. i almost dnf’d so many times and frankly i wish i had. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse and Death of parent

santaggy's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

One of the best books I've ever read in my life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Excrement

lit_as_fakh's review against another edition

dark

• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

ashleymg99's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a book i was skeptical about. as a former true crime junkie, i’ve grown weary of the way we talk about real life tragedy, as if it’s a piece of salacious gossip. Too many times are cases talked about callously, carelessly, and real people suffer because of this.

What drew me to true crime is the curiosity of “What makes a person do THAT?” and anyone who spends any amount of time will have a lot of answers, patterns that we look for that have clearly damned theses poor monsters. Abusive parents, a hit to the head at a young age, various traumas that explain away why they weren’t quite right in the head. 

At first, I was afraid that Notes was going to focus on the wasted brilliance of Ansel Packer, the evil genius who got away with murder, until he didn’t. A poor child who never had a chance to be anything but tragic. but what was surprisingly refreshing was that as you go on, the book gives him no grace. He is revealed to be exactly what he is, middling intelligence, cruel, selfish, and ultimately, a man who is nothing special. 

There are millions of men out there who want to hurt women—people seem to think that Ansel Packer is extraordinary, because he actually did.

I devoured this book. while this is not based on a real crime, the story is not far from not just one, but dozens, hundreds of real life cases. It handles every character with care and grace, even Ansel, in the end, in a way he doesn’t deserve. He’s give the voice that his victims don’t have, and realizes that just the fact that he could have been good in another time and place  isn’t enough to undo the evil he’s done in the here and now. 

This is not a crime drama, a whodunnit mystery, or an exploration of the twisted mind of a serial killer. it is the stories of many fractured individuals, weaving together a tragic fabric that urges the reader to reflect on life, death, justice, and humanity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

hilivingston7's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was pretty unsettling at the beginning as I waited for the shoe to drop. I appreciated that the author kept the murders off the page and really gave a non biased perspective from each character. I think the ultimate ending and build up to the execution highlight the performative nature of executions 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder

raefoth's review

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

Beautifully written and important take on how serial killers affect the lives and women around them. Touches on the death penalty, and themes of good vs evil. I loved the female characters’ perspectives in contrast to the male serial killer’s. A heavy read, check your trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, and Abandonment

nclausel25's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Pregnancy