Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

26 reviews

silversparkles50's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol and Child abuse

hagwife's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Starling House holds a special place in my heart among Alix E. Harrow's books. I love that she keeps some of her trademark elements (faerie tales, vibrant and flawed characters, fuck you's to the patriarchy, etc.) and this time mixes it with Southern Gothic and horror elements. The result is a brooding fantasy novel that combines family, monsters, the House, and the all-too-real violence of small-town nastiness into something biting and beautiful.

I love that the characters' flaws have rhyme and reason and the chance to change; morally grey characters are always one of my favourites, but neither Opal nor Arthur nor Jasper are flawed for the sake of being flawed. They're all aggregations of their lived experiences,  of inherited traumas and expectations that they didn't ask for, even as they continue to perpetuate some of them.

I love that this is a haunted house mystery without the haunting necessarily being about the house. Harrow's Starling House is less in the company of Hell House or Hill House, but that of Mervyn Peake's Gormengast, Susanna Clarke's the "World" from Piranesi, Jeanette Winterson's Tanglewreck, Tilly Walden's castle in The End of Summer, and Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle. 

It has a life of its own, but it's not really a haunted house. The haunting is separate and the House merely does its best to contain it.

Concerning the end of the book, I wanted perhaps just a bit more.

I understand that part of the healing process here is that while "angry gets shit done", in order for Opal, Jasper, and Arthur to move on with their lives, they, along with Eleanor, have to put down what they can. The finale allows for the main characters to get the time they need to carve out a life for themselves and dream about a future that has hope and not despair. I just wish that perhaps those who had it coming had a little more actually come to them.

For those who liked this book, especially the gothic and horror elements, I highly recommend Cherie Priest's The Toll.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death, Murder, Grief, Racism, Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, Violence, and Child abuse

ljp817's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Car accident

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Lesbophobia, Vomit, Murder, Slavery, and Homophobia

booksandstardust's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Suicide, and Murder

biblioglot's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Enjoyed the mystery aspect and the whole novel. Storytelling was great but I found myself confused sometimes as to whether or not our MC  was having a dream or she was experiencing reality. Also confusing sometimes when the narrator switched the perspectives of Opal and Arthur but that may have been just the audiobook component. Enjoyed this novel overall though and it was quite the switch up from my normal lineup and I’m happy I picked this one up! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

sashahc's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I just finished a really good one.  “Starling House” by Alix Harrow is a glorious onion of a Southern Gothic.  Although linearly told, it masterfully tangles myth, dream, reality, past, and present.  There are family abandonments, small town dramas, an evil coal company, and a haunted house that may be the gateway to the underworld.  The main character is fierce, funny, scrappy, traumatized, and deeply loyal.  It is beautifully written and not at all a cozy, but it was a wrench to let the characters go at the end.  Read it.  #book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Incest

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Cursing, and Racism

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual content, and Slavery

micheala's review against another edition

3.0

This is a haunted house story that toes the line of horror. Honestly, if not for the fact that it came in my Illumicrate box, it's far enough outside of my normal reading preferences that I would not have picked it up. 

There is a plot, however this does feel like the characters are the main focus. It's hard, because most of the characters are very unlikeable however that's clearly the point. It's also in first person, which always knocks down my enjoyment a little. 

At the beginning we had these fun footnotes that kinda just stop, as if the author forgot that was a thing she was doing. I wish they had continued, especially based on how the ending of the book was framed. 

There are a lot of topics that fall into content warnings that feel more in line when you view this as a horror novel rather than a fantasy novel. None of them are super graphic, but they are clearly on page. 

The prose was good, and I might give Harrow another go with a book that has a more appealing premise. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, Incest, Xenophobia, Body horror, Gore, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Grief, Car accident, Child abuse, and Child death

jessicarenz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This would make a good movie. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Grief, and Slavery

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Racism, and Classism

darkdahlia9's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abandonment, Murder, Incest, Slavery, and Alcoholism