Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

42 reviews

wifeslife's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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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froukjereads's review against another edition

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3.5

This was far too long. 

I read it to see where she would take Cormoran and Robin, and I’ll give her some stars for that. It was much better than the ink-black heart, and I love Strike and Robin as much as I hate the author. 

I feel like JKR needs to stop putting her real life grievances into her books (last time it was cancel culture, now she has
conflated a scientology-like cult with woke ideology
. Her obsession with fat people and all the fat shaming really needs to stop too. 

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ruthie_the_librarian's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

I thought my eyes might bleed out from how intensely I was reading this - I was totally caught up in the story, and read it at any spare moment I could over the last 2 days.  I did quake a little at the size of it (could only read this as an e-book...I'd brain myself in bed trying to read the hardback!), and there were moments when I wondered if I could possibly keep all the many, many, many characters and plot lines secure in my menopausal head.  But somehow I did.  It ranged from creepy, exciting, tense, funny...I didn't always like Cormoran, or Robin, in this episode in the series which gave it an interesting edge because I came in fully committed to the pair of them.  I loved Pat.

I always wonder if RG/JKR's author is just too terrified to ever suggest an edit, but even at this ginormous length, I'm not sure there's anything I would have cut, as it all felt like absolutely being immersed in the detective agency's world the whole time I was reading.

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bonnie92's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.75


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jhbandcats's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love all the Cormoran Strike books - they get better and better with increasing complexity of Strike and Robin’s characters. There are complaints that this one, at close to 1000 pages, is too long, but I found the story so riveting that I never felt the plot was unnecessarily long. The occasional dry humor is a relief from all the tension - it feels good to laugh when there’s nothing remotely laughable about the story as a whole. 

This entry in the series is particularly horrific. I knew the part about Robin going undercover in a cult was going to be tense but I didn’t know it would be quite as terrifying as it was. I found myself consumed with dread as I read it and kept having to stop and pull back from the story. 

I did have trouble keeping the relationships of the characters straight. There were a lot of people and parentage wasn’t always what the cult leaders claimed. The next time I read this I’ll make a cheat sheet so I can remember who’s who. 

I’m already looking forward to the next in the series. I hope there are a lot more books to come. 

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ashleygreenslibrary's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Idk how each book keeps getting better but it does. The cult in this book was so well imagined that it was believable and terrifying in how true something like this could be and has been in the past. Absolutely terrifying. The entire section of Robin undercover was just incredibly nerve wracking! The endings of these are always well tied up and well explained, and there’s always the little hook of the relationship progressing to keep you going waiting for the next. Absolutely love this series!

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wednesdayzombie's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0


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mdking's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Possibly my favourite Strike novel so far, although I felt slightly disappointed by the resolution to the investigation. I did love the overall ending however.

The depiction of cult life, in depth undercover investigations, corporate espionage and the ever interesting relationship between Strike and Robin was so gripping, I couldn't stop listening. 

Some difficult moments in this book. The tension was high. 

I didn't find the answer to "who dunnit?" satisfactory. There felt like a lot of gaps in the answers given. 

Overall however, a powerful and engaging book. 

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dianezeise's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5


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biancacseke's review

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

5.0


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