Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

43 reviews

savvylit's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

When the Reckoning Comes has many layers to its horror. First, there's the genocidal legacy of chattel slavery. Then there are the deeply sadistic acts of this specific plantation's owner. Third, there are groups of murderous ghosts. Fourth, there's deep-seated modern racism and classism. Lastly, there's the unique terror of a plantation becoming a luxury resort.

Like all of the horror in this novel, the latter element of terror is inspired by reality -- many former plantations throughout the American South have been renovated into deluxe event spaces. McQueen skillfully depicts this unique and ignorant glossing over of the truth. That a place of such immense suffering can be turned into a for-profit monument to a romanticized version of antebellum America? How deeply twisted. At the Woodsman plantation central to this novel, not only have the grounds been turned into a resort BUT one of the paid "entertainments" is reenactment of slave labor. Reenactments that are done by local Black people - the very descendants of the folks originally enslaved at that exact location.

Ultimately, When the Reckoning Comes is revenge horror at its finest. The ghosts of slaves that had been brutally tortured ultimately force many white descendants of owners and staff to reckon with their legacy of death and terror. Not only that, but McQueen's story itself pushes readers to consider the myriad, nuanced ways in which genocide echoes throughout the modern American South. The bloody echoes of slavery are still here. And that's the real horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Classism

lisabrune's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

deidra_shadetreereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

eed8's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, and Colonisation

albernikolauras's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was a solid blend of thriller and murder. You follow Mira as she comes back to her hometown for a wedding of one of her childhood friends. While they hadn't talked since Mira left, she is drawn back in for this extravagant wedding on a local plantation. From there, you are drawn into the mystery of this plantation and the reasons behind this wedding.

I found the start of this to be slower than I expected, but as the end starting coming together, all of the groundwork in the beginning fell into place. The book did an excellent job alternating between the horrors of simply being black in America and the horror of the what might be lurking at the plantation itself. It was tense and it kept you on your toes.

Highly recommend for a thriller, and if you want to pair it with a non-fiction, I would recommend 'How the Word is Passed' as the themes between the two find a lot of overlap.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime and Classism

devynvictoria's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

kellyp's review

challenging dark reflective tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

Recently, I've been working on expanding the genres that I read. In the past, I've avoided horror as I always thought it wasn't for me, but after trying a couple of different books I'm finding that I really enjoy it. In particular, I like horror that roots itself in history or the real world. When The Reckoning Comes does exactly that. 

The story follows Mira as she returns to her hometown for her ex-bestfriend's wedding. There are threads of mystery and horror that get pulled into the story almost from the beginning, but as the plot picks up the horror really amps up with it. The wedding is held on a historic plantation where slaves were brutalized, tortured, and raped and Mira's discomfort and disgust with the location is immediately apparent. The majority of the guests remain oblivious to the ghosts haunting them until it becomes unavoidable.

I am finding that I really love horror built on reality. I think the idea of being haunted by trauma and horrific events is much more terrifying than zombies, ghosts, and devils. This also creates a lot of social critique within the story which makes it even better. 

All in all, I found this a very relevant and scary horror story. If you like a more gothic vibe, current themes, and a compelling main character, you should definitely check this one out! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

This book is about the ghosts of slavery on a particularly brutal plantation. Torture, murder, rape, and other dehumanizing acts are described in explicit detail. If you are sensitive to violence, please consider carefully before reading.

laura_crowther's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation