Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison

30 reviews

ethuiliel's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

The story was great, and the characters were compelling. I did have terrible keeping track of people and places though. Too many unfamiliar words. A glossary like there was in The Goblin Emperor would have helped

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Death, Murder, Gore, Violence, Suicide, Body horror, and Outing

Minor: Rape, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Medical content, and Pregnancy

kagamiri's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

welgan's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

It was harder to get in this book than into The Goblin Emperor : I found it's pace more enjoyable, in the Witness for the Dead, there are three intertwined mysteries and it can get confusing. The first person narration was necessary to my opinion, but I like it less (I prefered the third person in the Goblin Emperor). It get especially confusing as there are a lot of names and invented words for places and roles, it requires a lot of attention and to have read the Goblin Emperor before to even understand some sentences (so many locations with invented names. Why was it so important to focus and the buildings of the city?)
That being said, I love Thara Celehar. He's traumatized and sad and severely lacks self-esteem, but he's sweet, he's relatable, he's highly lovable, and I really want to see him go better and make friends and heal. I will definitely read the other book in the series because I love the world and characters, and even if this book was confusing some times, it was interesting and quiet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Homophobia

pvbobrien's review

emotional mysterious reflective 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: Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Blood, and Death

Minor: Outing, Classism, Vomit, and Pregnancy

alisonvh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s really good, but the world building is pretty intense. All the names were so long and unfamiliar that I had trouble keeping track of who was who.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault, War, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Classism, Death, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Rape, and Toxic relationship

jupitermond's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Rape

kal517's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Gore, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, and Racism

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

It feels like a detective novel, except the detective is a priest who can commune with the dead. With that angle this book does get rather sorrowful. As someone who deals with depression, I saw a lot of that reflected in the main character, Thara Celehar. At times, when he was struggling, I found it quite heavy. It’s also a bit slow at times. However, it all wraps up in a very interesting way, but a bit fast for my liking. 

“‘Tranquility in strength’ meant having the strength to keep one’s tranquility of mind, no matter what the world brought.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Death, Grief, Suicide, Blood, and Mental illness

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Violence, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, War, and Racism