Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

108 reviews

readwithmesarah's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Death, and Child death

heollona's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

While I enjoyed the story itself, I was so annoyed by the writing style when Blythe talks in second-person. I get that the author was trying to make it sound like Blythe is telling the story to her husband but it just came off as really annoying most of the time. Also the author seems to have a thing for boobs because she always mentions how a female character's chest looks like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Alcoholism

anewton's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

An intense thriller that keeps you guessing. Once you start reading, you can’t stop. An immersive read, wonderfully written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Death, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Miscarriage and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit

her_little_library's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! It's very dark, but I loved seeing how everything unfolded in the end. The writing style was very interesting and kept me engaged throughout. It's a quick read, too, which shorter sentences that flow together well.

I loved seeing Blythe's descent to truly believing her daughter is a cold-hearted killer at 13 years old, and how it might just be all in her head. How everyone around her dismisses her, but comes running to her by the end to say she was right. I just wished this book went down that insanity path. I wanted to see Blythe snap in the end, but I'm glad she found some closure from her son's death.

This was an interesting tribute to the scary, dark parts of motherhood and I'm excited to see what this author does next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

This book is very, very dark. There's a lot of horrific things that happen in detail and that come back up over the course of the book.

catarina_fernandes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, and Murder

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

This book....WOW. Okay.

So what I want to say first is that I think going into this book expecting a thriller is a mistake. Even on the inside flap, it says it's more of a psychological drama. *Drama.* Anyone who goes into this expecting jump scares and some mystery to solve is going to be disappointed. I, however, went into it without any real expectations, other than that I knew it would be fucked up because every single person I spoke to who read it told me so. There are definitely horror elements, I would say, but I wouldn't say that it's a true horror or thriller.

The writing was so rich and haunting, it had me horrified even throughout the mundane parts of it, which I think takes a certain skill - a skill that I certainly don't possess. I also really enjoyed the themes within pertaining to generational trauma, found family, and how our parents - even if they want us to be different than they are, sometimes can't help but rub off on us. I also loved reading from Blythe's perspective - what an interesting and flawed character to get to be inside the mind of!!

I don't want to talk too much about what this book is actually about because I think you're better off going in at least partially blind. Be mindful of triggers and take care of yourself as needed.

I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long, long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Rape, Suicide, Gore, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Death, Child death, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Excrement

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

4.5

3 words: dark, unsettling, addictive

Short chapters made it easy to read.
Emotions were raw.
Writing was gripping.

I read this is one sitting. It's a disturbing read, but worth it. It goes into the unspoken realities of being a wife, but most specifically motherhood. I love an unreliable narrator and Blythe can be categorized as one. This is categorized as a psychological thriller, but I think it's more along the lines of psychological family drama. This is Ashley Audrain's debut novel, and I can't wait for the next books she'll write. I don't want to spoil it and it's better if you go in blind, so here's the last part of the blurb just to be safe:

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and about what if feels like when women are not believed.

Read it if you haven't already, but as usual, check trigger warnings first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

iordanmoore's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child death, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

vikidoki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

this was an interesting read. normally this wouldn’t be a book that I would read but I’m glad I read it. it shows a whole different perspective on motherhood and it a book that will make you speechless and stay with you for a while. I will probably think about this book every day at least especially before I will decide if I want to become a mother. this book feels unbelievably important and I’m glad that I read it since it’s dark and tens and questioning but also so heartachingly grotesque.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Child death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Addiction

Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Blood

keijiwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, Physical abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Excrement, Abortion, Car accident, and Dementia