Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

6 reviews

illiterad's review against another edition

4.0

makes me feel the way i did about ya fiction when i picked up my first in the genre in elementary school. addictive, fun, edgy enough for a current young adult, and writing solid enough to keep an exciting pace and give you something to chew on at the same time. i had a great time so i just hope the second one is also fun

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, and Body horror

eternallyunsatisfied's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Kidnapping, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

yomireads's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A darkly compelling introduction to this YA series. Part murder mystery/whodunit, part supernatural monster hunter I found the protagonists uniquely compelling in his plight to embrace just the right amount of a darkness inside himself. After finishing this book and learning it had a sequel there was no hesitation. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Stalking, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Torture and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse

sexualedward's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Medical content, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Stalking, Sexual violence, Cursing, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Ableism, and Addiction

cassnbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

really loved the start of this book but then the whole demon, supernatural aspect kind of through me for a loop in a weird way. definitely found myself wanting to see it through, though. fun, fast read! don’t know if I’d continue the series, but I enjoyed it for what it was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Blood, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder

elly29's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-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

This is certainly an interesting premise: a sociopath who fights against his desire to become a serial killer, and who instead uses his knowledge to solve a string of murders. 

This felt like a first novel, definitely. I listened to the version John Allen Nelson narrates. (Apparently, Kirby Heyborne's version is supposed to be really good.) I was turned off in the first few chapters, because Nelson's narration was gratingly similar to Will Wheaton's narration of "Ready Player One," which I loathed (I also loathed the writing). The books have in common a whiny, angry, angsty teenage boy who hates the world around him. And, they also have some mary-sue levels of self-control and self-discipline.

But, things took a turn, and here be spoilers.

I didn't realize that this book had

an element or fantasy to it, ie the murderer is a demon

. So, that was a fun surprise. Shame on me for going purely on my friend's recommendation and not reading the synopsis. Had the book not had some level of the fantastical to it, I think I would've liked it a lot less. I could chew on something other than the main character's one-dimensionality.

I think a book like this is important in that it really gets inside the head of a sociopath (and perhaps if one is a sociopath, it signals what one should not do, such as not stalk the girl you have a crush on). Again, interesting premise. Rather creepy.

Oh, and an early scene describes in-detail the process of embalming in a mortuary. I had to skip over a lot of that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death, and Animal cruelty