Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

20 reviews

moreta1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Cursing, Rape, Abandonment, and Kidnapping

amccurley's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, and Murder

Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Infertility, Gore, Child abuse, and Cursing

elkiebear's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Rape, and Sexual assault

jillianalice's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

I loved the twists and turns in this book and how all the pieces fit together in the end. The character development was satisfying and written very realistically.

I didn’t like the paranormal aspects of the book and found that portion unbelievable. Otherwise, I love the author’s writing style and the atmosphere she creates. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexism, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Death, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Violence, Pedophilia, and Rape

jujusand's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Addiction, and Abandonment

jennyoli96's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed the book but I'm getting tired of the "plot twist has something to do with a sibling" trope that has appeared in every book so far of this recent thriller marathon I'm on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Cursing, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Police brutality

blouviere4's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Car accident, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Murder, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence

elysedc's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Gore, Blood, Death, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

art_books_chemistry's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.0

My first gut instinct when finishing this book was that I liked it. After thinking about it more and ripping through it in my bookclub I have decided to lower my rating from a 4 to a 3. 

First off this book is classified as a mystery as well as horror or paranormal. Although there is some of the latter (no horror in my opinion), it is used as a device in certain spots to further the plot in such ways that would be unnecessary if the sequence of events was simply thought about a bit more. This book would have been much more suspenseful and mysterious if the paranormal bits were more vague. Some people will laugh but some of the paranormal instances in the book don't fit in with the typical standards for such things making it feel forced. 

There were a variety of other details that felt forced, as if the author was trying to meet a page count and didn't have enough ideas left to develop the plot further. I love the cat, but it's storyline was thrown in as if we needed to see that Shea's life is perfectly-normal-thank-you-very-much-look-she-has-a-cat. However, Shea has an incredibly rich back story that could be delved into a lot more. We barely scratch the surface of her trauma, instead focusing on her fear of cars. Maybe a psychologist would disagree but it felt very flat and unrealistic. And I don't mean in the sense that someone can't have a pathological fear of cars or strange ways of dealing with trauma; I mean the way she acted and reacted in the book felt like how someone without trauma thinks people with trauma are. 

I liked the base storyline and thought the mystery components were well thought out. Some of the characters were likeable. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Drug abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Terminal illness

tlynn_07_14_21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book and cannot wit to read more by this author. This book was definitely dark and mysterious,  creepy and suspenseful. The mansion was so atmospheric. I truly got some Goosebumps at times. The first chapter of this book grabbed a hold of me like no other book of this genre ever has. I was not expecting that paranormal twist at all. 
Beth Greer gave me some serious Evelyn Hugo vibes, but darker.
Lily Knowles 100% Lisa vibes from Girl, Interrupted. 
Even the MC, Shea is lugging around some darkness. 
If you're into Thrillers, this should be on your tbr.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence