hatchets's reviews
12 reviews

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

4.0

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

It’s tough to rate this book, because there were a few genuinely spooky scenes and concepts that I enjoyed. The litany of the twisted ones, the manuscript (though that might be controversial), and a few of the encounters with the effigies were actually really creepy. There was genuine promise that made me stick through the book, but it never pays off. Any time the author gets close to something scary, we have to back away from it so the main character can make some relatable quip.
By far the weakest aspect of the book is Mouse, one of the most insufferable #notlikeotherdogmom millennials to ever grace a page. I think it’s entirely possible to have an enjoyable book with an annoying main character if it’s done on purpose, but I quickly realized that her grating personality was supposed to make her relatable. She ruins every moment of suspense by either 1)making an attempt at humor, 2) cycling through the same 5 default topics, 3) letting us know that she’s not like other story protagonists and she’s just a normal girl like us, or 4) some unbearable combination of the three. I hate her. And I hate her stupid goddamn dog.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

3.25

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

3.0

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

4.5

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

5.0

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

2.75

Verity by Colleen Hoover

dark mysterious sad 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

2.75

Overall, I’d say it was an okay thriller. I had some fun reading it, and I found the formatting interesting. I picked it up because I’d seen it on a list of disturbing books, but I would say it is just more disturbing than most thrillers, but is pretty tame compared to a lot of horror. I did come close to DNFing a few times due to the ableism of the text, but I’m glad that I finished it, as the twist made me reconsider. I can’t go into much detail in the non-spoiler section. 

My biggest problem with thrillers is the fact that they so often rely on mental illness as the scare factor. I nearly put the book down forever when Lowen googled “psychopath” to diagnose Verity. I think the demonization of ASPD is a major problem in fiction, and was annoyed by how much they were playing into it. However, the final twist made me reconsider the ableism of the narrative in a lot of interesting ways. While much of the novel lacked subtlety, the way that we see Verity’s “evil” version of herself seemingly seep into Lowen by the end was really interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fatphobia