Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

25 reviews

frogggirl2's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

After the intriguing first chapter, this book changes perspective and gets off to a very slow start.  This is not a new or original story; kidnapped girls, racism in Appalachia - none of this is groundbreaking.  This whole let's take everyone relevant to the plot into the woods (because one of them is clearly guilty) so we can see who betrays us thing is just tedious, ridiculous, derivative and boring.   Everyone is a suspect and there's no way of knowing who the guilty party is so it's just a lame plot device.  There's a lot of showing not telling; if you have confidence that your book has clearly conveyed your message, you don't need to actually word by word spell out the metaphor of the novel on the last page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, and Racism

mfrisk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It touches on the history of the area, has a good build up of thriller elements, and a lot of social commentary around race and class. Where it gets a bit confusing is the more supernatural/horror elements that while interesting I’m not sure are weaved into the story enough early on for them to feel fully realized. That being said I really look forward to reading more from this author given that this was a debut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content

emzhay's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Gore, Murder, Racism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual content

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

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

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child death, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Cursing, Murder, Bullying, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Excrement, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Confinement, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Hate crime, and Sexual assault

abbys_nook17's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book had me literally on the edge of my chair for most of my time reading it. I really enjoyed the way the author went back and forth between time frames. I didn’t find the ending predictable but I also did not completely enjoy the ending either. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Kidnapping

hahibbard's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Enjoyed the incorporation of real history into the story, but a bit convoluted and the ending wasn’t hashed out enough for my taste. The main character felt both knowledgeable and naive in a contradictory way 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

angiebradley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Murder, Blood, and Animal cruelty

michaelion's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This is the hardest review I've ever had to write.

This is the best book I've ever read.

This is the hardest review for me because I don't know what to say. I don't know how to say it all. It's too good. I can't talk about the amazing writing, the beautiful imagery, the twists the turns I fell for every time. It's so personal. It's everything I've ever been looking for. Not even a quarter of the way through I was recommending it to people. Please, please, do yourself a favor, please, read this masterpiece. Buy this masterpiece. Listen to the audio of this masterpiece! Thank me later. I love you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Blood, Genocide, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Violence, Racial slurs, Addiction, Death of parent, Racism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Animal cruelty, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Gore, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Body horror, and Bullying

Minor: Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault