Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

75 reviews

kt2e56's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Fairly compelling! Definitely a page turner! I think this fell victim though to the problem I have with most thrillers lately: the author is so wrapped up in preserving their big reveal at the end that a lot of the description about characters feels pretty bland or nonexistent outside of the flashbacks to the past. It’s extra infuriating here because some of these reveals are very easy to guess and the reader picking up on them ahead of time wouldn’t really hinder the book all that much. The characters all feel very lifeless and sort of blend together.

The ending also felt a bit rushed but the plot itself does make up for that. It’s certainly entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Car accident, Confinement, Murder, Sexual assault, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Cursing, Alcoholism, Excrement, Medical trauma, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Stalking

allison_elaine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

huetepl's review against another edition

tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

kellyreadingbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I really enjoyed this one! Especially since it was a multi-timeline thriller, and though I tend to only like two POV's, I did really enjoy all 4 and found it easy to understand via audiobook! I really liked the writing and the atmosphere. The downfall for me is this was a little too formulaic and I found myself seeing through all the twists. I was actually waiting for one more twist at the end that never came. 

We are just going to leave Jackson in the tool shed and not use that as a fun plot device?

I think this was more of a character study thriller than a plot heavy thriller but I enjoyed the ride for sure!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Minor: Vomit and Car accident

opplecopter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Vomit, Confinement, Pedophilia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Sexual assault

jkar7's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Gore, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Vomit

terrik_409's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

So taut and engaging, I couldn't stop reading. Love the way Gudenkauf seemingly has these discordant storylines that come together 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Blood, Torture, Rape, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

icieri's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

stephanieluxton'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This story is split into three timelines: The summer of 2000 when a violent crime was committed at the farmhouse, an unknown time in which a mother and young girl are held captive, and present day in which our protagonist, Wylie, a true crime writer who is staying at the farmhouse to finish writing her book is being snowed in and finds a little boy freezing to death outside.

At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.

The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.

My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury

espressoreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Murder, Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and Miscarriage