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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
The Box: A Heart-Stopping Read Packed with Suspense, from the Bestselling Author of the Regret by Dan Malakin
2 reviews
michelles_book_nook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
⚠️ TW: murder, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, xenophobia, sexual assault, black mail, violence, alcoholism, drugging, rape, torture, conversion therapy, grooming, mentions of domestic violence ⚠️ Wow this is a dark, page turning rollercoaster ride of a thriller! This book follows Ed Truman and his family. He's been accused of sexual assault by 3 former clients, his son, Mitchell, won't speak to anyone and his daughter, Ally, is being targeted by an alt-right organisation when she disappears. Ed believes the organisation targeting her have abducted her, but before he can go to the police his DNA is found on the body of a murdered young woman. Suddenly he's the subject of a nationwide manhunt led by the tenacious DCI Jackie Rose. Ed finds himself on the run with Ally's friend, Phoenix, who claims she knows where Ally is. But what is the truth, is Ed a violent sexual predator or is he the victim of a ruthless conspiracy theory? This book has so many layers and will have you hooked from the very beginning. It is filled with dark and gripping twists and is so unbelievably fast paced. I really loved how it was good vs evil throughout the whole book but also didn't make Ed and his family perfect either. Also, another thing that made this book even darker for me is knowing that alt-right groups like this actually exist in the real world. Overall, I recommend giving this one a read but please take the TW's into consideration before you do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Murder, Homophobia, Drug abuse, and Torture
Minor: Domestic abuse
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Ed Truman is having a very bad day: first he has incels from the local Men Together group picketing his driveway, his son seems to hate him, his wife is bored, & his daughter is missing. Ally failed to come home & although they received a text from her saying she had gone away for the weekend, Ed is not convinced it is from Ally. She has been targeted by the incel group for 'milkshaking' their leader, doxxed on their website, & threatened. The group have now stepped up their campaign after Ed filed a restraining order against them & got their website shut down.
DCI Jackie Rose hates this time of year as it is anniversary of the death of her family, killed by a car bomb. No=one was ever brought to justice but Jackie lives in hope. Her latest case involves the death of a young woman whose body was found out in the open at a local park. Jackie finds it strange that there was no attempt to hide the body, almost as if someone wanted her to be found quickly. The girl has the hair from her attacker clutched in her hand, if the person is on the DNA database, they'll have their man. When the results come back as Ed Truman, & he is simultaneously accused of sexual harassment out of nowhere by three women, Jackie thinks it's all starting to look a wee bit too convenient.
Ed goes on the run & meets up with one of Ally's friends, Phoenix, who has video evidence of what Men Together are really up to. Can Ed & Phoenix find out what happened to Ally & get the incel group shut down for good?
This book covers some deep dark areas of modern society; incel culture, misogyny, homophobia, & transphobia. It was difficult to read some of the chapters, especially those from the point of view of Benedict, one of the leaders of Men Together. Benedict uses his good looks to mask his virulent hatred of women. It's unsettling to think that there are actual men on the internet who think like him. Jackie is a great character, a strong no-nonsense woman, but I found Ed a bit bleh at times. Overall, it was an interesting read but many of the supporting characters felt quite thinly drawn & I thought it was quite easy to work out where betrayal was going to come from. Good but not great, 3 stars.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Serpent's Tail/Viper/Profile Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
DCI Jackie Rose hates this time of year as it is anniversary of the death of her family, killed by a car bomb. No=one was ever brought to justice but Jackie lives in hope. Her latest case involves the death of a young woman whose body was found out in the open at a local park. Jackie finds it strange that there was no attempt to hide the body, almost as if someone wanted her to be found quickly. The girl has the hair from her attacker clutched in her hand, if the person is on the DNA database, they'll have their man. When the results come back as Ed Truman, & he is simultaneously accused of sexual harassment out of nowhere by three women, Jackie thinks it's all starting to look a wee bit too convenient.
Ed goes on the run & meets up with one of Ally's friends, Phoenix, who has video evidence of what Men Together are really up to. Can Ed & Phoenix find out what happened to Ally & get the incel group shut down for good?
This book covers some deep dark areas of modern society; incel culture, misogyny, homophobia, & transphobia. It was difficult to read some of the chapters, especially those from the point of view of Benedict, one of the leaders of Men Together. Benedict uses his good looks to mask his virulent hatred of women. It's unsettling to think that there are actual men on the internet who think like him. Jackie is a great character, a strong no-nonsense woman, but I found Ed a bit bleh at times. Overall, it was an interesting read but many of the supporting characters felt quite thinly drawn & I thought it was quite easy to work out where betrayal was going to come from. Good but not great, 3 stars.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Serpent's Tail/Viper/Profile Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Violence
Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia
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