Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill

36 reviews

bk2nocal's review

adventurous 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? Yes

4.25

Fun read. Some surprising twists and turns. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Violence

flyoverzoner's review

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

I will start by saying I listened to this on audiobook, so sorry if I spell names wrong. 

I found this book to be really off-putting at times. I didn't like the story within the story, I don't think it was executed well, nor did it add much to the book. 

The portion of the book dedicated to Hannah was my least favorite part. Having her be explained simple concepts by Leo, and then /that/ whole plot doing a 180, seemed completely unnecessary. Maybe Leo's annoying mansplaining was supposed to be telling of his lack of expertise, but it was a struggle to get through. 

In the part of the story involving Freddie, I didn't particularly bond with any of the characters, nor was I invested in their relationships, because they kept making incredibly stupid decisions. Freddie and Cain were not interesting enough to take up so much time in this story, but I guess they were needed to continue the plot. 

The murder mystery itself kept me interested enough to listen until the end, since I was invested in the whodunit and their reasoning. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Pedophilia, and Rape

linneak's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Stalking, Injury/injury detail, and Child abuse

notartgarfunkel'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Injury/injury detail, and Stalking

Minor: Racism

breacommelafromage's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed this so much more than I expected. I read so many psychological thrillers that I can normally sus out the ending at about the 60% mark, but truly it wasn’t until the final puzzle piece was laid on the table that everything came together, and DAMN is it fun to be held in suspense like that. Although I will say I called the tiny subplot almost immediately but that was pretty obvious and didn’t remove any of the fun from the story within the story which is the real story (I promise that makes sense if you read this). 

I’m not sure if I actually *liked* the way it ended but I was very entertained by it. All in all, a fun read and one I highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

tealeaf5's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

Quick, engaging read but I wanted more from the ending

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Violence, and Sexual assault

laura_keoski's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

This was one of the more creative murder mysteries I've read this year! I thought the plot-within-a-plot device was used in a really clever way, and allowed space to explore some interesting topics about the genre itself. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Torture, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Gaslighting, Stalking, Injury/injury detail, and Murder

Discussed in the book: COVID-19 pandemic, characters experiencing homelessness, prison incarceration

Spoiler

This book contains depictions of a serial killer, including some graphic descriptions of violence and murders

bekah1210's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Addiction

purplepenning's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Medical content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Addiction, Death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Injury/injury detail

aseel_reads's review

mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

this had the potential, if they made it author living her life/writing her novel, the novel itself, and then leo advising her about the novel in real life but instead we just get the novel itself (which was odd, hated the characters, the ending was weird, don't understand it) and leo advising on it and apparently the blurb just tells us what is going to happen??? no good 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, Blood, and Death