Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Killingly by Katharine Beutner

2 reviews

katy_bee's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

This felt rather sprawling, which left me a bit unsatisfied. I only realised on reading the afterward that it's loosely based on a true story and includes contemporary sources- a newspaper article and short story. Once I read that, it made a bit more sense as to why things didn't come together more nearly and why those sources were dropped in. 
Given how much fictionalising of the original story occurred, I would have preferred the whole thing to have been more tightly focused. It wasn't clear who the main character was or what journey we were supposed to be following. 
The foreshadowing felt a bit heavy handed at times, the reveal of the "mystery" of Bertha's disappearance was somehow both mundane and a bit melodramatic and the wrapping up of characters many years later also felt a bit off to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Self harm, and Stalking

jrosebartoli415's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Suicide