Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

101 reviews

marina_s's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

For someone with limited knowledge of “the Troubles”, this was an informative and insightful read. The narrative weaves between characters and through time in a way more reminiscent of a novel than of non-fiction. 

This book centres on the people who lost the most, and gives a real sense of trauma inflicted on everyone both during the active fighting, and the rippling after effects. I kept thinking this was further in the past but the events at the end of the book were well within my adult lifetime. How do people move on, and should they?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Police brutality, Murder, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Torture, Eating disorder, and Alcoholism

qqjj's review

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Vomit, Death of parent, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Medical content, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Grief, War, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Trafficking

lipliplip's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, War, and Police brutality

taytastic's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.5

Totally enthralling and truly captivating. It was a slow start but once I got past the first 60 pages, I could not stop reading it. The book is a nonfiction book about a war zone in modern history, engage accordingly.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, War, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Suicide

nitar8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

a_v_h's review against another edition

challenging informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Murder, and Death of parent

mmccombs's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Patrick Radden Keefe is the example of how to do great investigative journalism that blends facts, personal narratives, and emotional nuance. It took a while for me to get fully invested in this one (as opposed to Empire of Pain, which I immediately couldn’t put down), but after I switched over to audio to mix it up, I loved how Keefe guided our view of the Troubles through the lens of individuals and how their stories intersected. He never placed value judgements on any one person’s actions, but didn’t shy away from showing the incredibly devastating impacts of violence on communities. I learned a lot from this one and feel I have a better grasp on what I now realize is a vastly more nuanced, cultural history that is felt today. 

“Who should be held accountable for a shared history of violence?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, and Violence

dtodd's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

A tense exploration of a murder that was part of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which provides a lot of background about the conflict too. At times it was a little slow, but the final third is extremely gripping, with a shocking final reveal. Radden Keefe is forensic with much-needed detail, though this sometimes slows down the central narrative. I’m grateful to have read Say Nothing in order to broaden my knowledge of the region, and would recommend it to others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Suicide and Torture

aislingmoconnell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Eating disorder, Torture, Hate crime, and Colonisation

sonygaystation's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Blood, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical content, Torture, and Addiction

Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Dementia, and Drug use