Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

55 reviews

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

 The Good Sister was a fast paced read about a complicated sister relationship. Fern and Rose are twins who had an unhappy childhood at the hands of their unstable mother. Fern has some social difficulties and as a child was involved in the death of a young boy. Rose has always looked out for her and when she can’t become pregnant Fern decides to have a baby for her.

Loved the pacing of this, and the way the author uses the unreliable narrator trope. We hear from Fern directly, while Rose’s perspective comes via her journal which she is keeping at the behest of her therapist. Ever so slowly discrepancies start to arise between the accounts of the two sisters, forcing the reader to question their suppositions, and which if either sister they can believe. There were enough twists to keep me interested but not so many as to be unbelievable or for me to feel manipulated. A great escapist read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Murder

msennflinn's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

This is the second book I read by Sally Hepworth and probably the last. I thought I would give her another go after being slightly disappointed by her book, "The Mother-In-Law". This one was even worse.

The setup for the plot was intriguing, but it ended up being trite and predictable. Basically, instead of having carefully curated twists, the author simply has her characters tell you exactly who the bad person is and why they're bad. They quite literally spell it out. There was no mystery.

I guess I can now say that I'm just not a fan of this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Murder

marlenealina's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

jdizzo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

shaney_swift's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

aliciahupprich's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Murder

knutsonb315's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder

littlebookcastle_sam's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

aimzthereader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I liked this book even more than The Mother in Law , I think Sally Hepworth is going to be an auto read author for me. I guessed the mystery fairly early in but i still really enjoyed the book. Most of the characters are horrible but I don’t mind that. I really enjoyed unraveling the truths form the lies and I enjoy unreliable narrators  . I felt the pacing was really nice and there were many times that I got so tense and so angry at the characters or what was going on, which for me is a mark of a great book. 

You will not like this book if you don’t like unreliable narrators or need to have redeemable characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

reading_ladies_blog's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Unreliable narrator