Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

53 reviews

dustghosts'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this— easy to devour and I found myself hanging on to the mystery. The writing style struck a strange balance between being too straightforward (telling not showing, as the phrase goes 🙄) and too vague, which left me a bit unsure at the beginning. The story and themes feel big, ambitious, like they are tackling a lot of different, lived aspects of classism, racism, and misogynoir at once— some more successfully than others. I actually quite liked the supernatural aspects, here— my only complaint being that I think the author could have left them more open-ended/vague, as I think what lets that part down is the same aspect I mentioned earlier (too clean to be unclear, too vague to be satisfying). This is a bit of a romp and appropriately troubling and thoughtprovoking throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Death, Hate crime, Child death, Toxic friendship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Classism, Gaslighting, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Misogyny, and Grief

abrostek's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Animal death, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent

traa's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pedophilia, Vomit, Rape, and Eating disorder

Minor: Slavery and Cannibalism

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A gripping thriller with a supernatural twist. I love the narrative arc of a person returning to their home town and in the process tackling the demons from their past. I liked the poignant way Adams wove in the town's real history and racist past into the narrative of this book. I found there were some loose ends, but I overall really enjoyed the mystery. 

Wheelhouse items: woman returning to her home town, murder mystery, kidnapping history, serial killers, supernatural aspects, wider conspiracy, black main character.

Favourite quotes: "If there's one thing fear can do, it's make a beast out of a shadow. It turns us all into monsters. The enemy of the shadow isn't light. It's sight."
"When your name is in other people's mouths, they twist it up. They make you into something you are not. When people take you outside yourself, that is when trouble comes."

"I became the perfect vessel for a monster. I'm Black, but not like those Black people. I'm a woman, but not like other women. I've fractured myself as goodness demanded of me."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, and Violence

szyca's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Classism, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Death, Grief, and Blood

literarylion's review against another edition

It felt like Adams doesn't trust the reader to locate clues, so she makes their significance painfully obvious, which sucks the mystery out of the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Grief, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: Blood

keenanmaree's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

kace's review against another edition

dark tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racism, Hate crime, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Gun violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Classism, Alcoholism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

sarahbliss's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Racism, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

taylynnmazz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was devastatingly incredible! I was hooked from the very first page, and was guessing at every turn. While the ending was wrapped up rather quickly, it was done in a way that made me want to read more. 

If you love Dark Fiction, Social Horror, and a touch of the supernatural (and even if you don’t), you should definitely give it a read. The story itself explores the devastating realities many Black communities and Black women face: when they go missing, who will be there to say their names to find them or bring them justice? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Body horror, Child death, Alcoholism, and Blood