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ecstarr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
katelynprice's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Cursing, Infertility, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Death of parent
brookey8888's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
random_reader's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was a pretty solid locked-room murder mystery set in an Australian ski resort and concerning the Cunningham family who, by the narrator's own admission, have all killed people one way or another. The manner in which these family members have killed people is actually pretty anticlimactic and dull, but it makes for an interesting premise, and I was drawn into the story nonetheless, albeit against my will.
The thing that makes this book stand out from other books of its ilk is the narrator, who breaks the fourth wall continually, even going so far as to sometimes spoil the events of later chapters. He tells you the "rules" of how a murder mystery novel should work, and then doesn't break a single one of those rules, meaning he is knowingly not really subverting anything. And yet, despite spelling everything out so clearly and explicitly, this book still managed to surprise me in terms of who the culprit actually was, and why.
That being said, the mystery itself is not all that interesting, and things did get a bit convoluted in places. I struggled a little bit to keep up sometimes. It definitely didn't help that I was already uninterested in what was going on (because of aforementioned having to read it for work book club), but I can see reading other reviews that I'm not the only one who thought this, so I'm not blaming it entirely on that.
If you enjoy murder mysteries and want something that's told in a slightly different way than what you're used to, definitely give this one a try.
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Infidelity, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Infertility, and Fire/Fire injury
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail