Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

119 reviews

erica_reads_things's review

dark funny mysterious 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

5.0

Holy fucking shit. One of the best horror novels that I have ever read, period. Loved the themes, loved the characters, loved the voice, loved the pacing. Loved everything, absolutely no notes. I enjoyed the gore, the plot, the twists, the dark humor, the grounding themes of women, aging, losing yourself and finding yourself. Phenomenonal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, and Medical content

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

ellysiap's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Rape, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, and Blood

spacebee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Sexual assault, and Murder

theoakden's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

I wasn’t sure about this book for a long time it was so uncomfortable and I was worried about this being written by a man. But it all comes together in the end and was a really great story. I’m sure I’ll be thinking about this for a long time 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, Bullying, Murder, Misogyny, Violence, Body shaming, and Body horror

emory's review

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Cursing, Misogyny, Gore, Blood, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, Animal death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Excrement and Vomit

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

augustcarter's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

No fucking shot a man wrote this. No fucking shot a man wrote my favorite piece of feminist literature I’ve read to date. Shocking, funny, poignant, and most of all, accurate. Letter-perfect to the experience of being a woman. Nat Cassidy may not know, and he may not understand, but he fucking listens. Nat Cassidy has women in his life that feel safe and loved enough to talk to him, and Nat Cassidy committed every word they said to him to eternal memory. 

It’s also, frankly, a genius book. Mary is a character that is so easy to hate and so easy to sympathize with at the same time. I found myself going back and forth with every page turn. The plot twists were so well done. There is a twist that you catch on with, and I think you’re meant to, but then there’s another that blows you out of the damn water, and it still makes sense! It makes perfect sense! It makes you go “goddammit, of course!”

A 2024 favorite so far. Read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, and Rape

Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

dijigoo53's review

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

An incredible portrait of the mundane horrors of being middle-aged and the psychological pitfalls that accompany it. While conventional horror tropes are used throughout, at no point does the book become "predictable." This book blew me out of the water! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, Body horror, and Murder

Moderate: Dysphoria, Bullying, and Body shaming

Minor: Animal death, Vomit, and Sexual content

rebrosecca's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

 Disturbing in all the right and wrong ways. I was surprised to learn the author was male considering the main character and 99% of the plot is pre-menopausal women issues. In the end, though, it makes a lot of sense. The misogyny is heavy. The horror is gruesome and uncomfortable. The humor is morbid. The way he paired legit issues about society's portrayal of aging women with gritty, in-your-face violence was unexpectedly confronting. The making of the monsters in this book is chilling and leaves you unsure if the ending is a victory or justice has gotten out of hand. If you want to read something that feels like Stephen King but includes violence against women, this is a solid pick. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Death, Murder, Misogyny, Animal death, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-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

Loved it much more than I thought I would. Mary, you're a queen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Sexism, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Homophobia

kaitlouise94's review

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gore, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Bullying, Body shaming, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood