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sshabein's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Not bad, but definitely not as enjoyable as some of her other books I've read. At least, even though it's from the early '90s, the homophobia and transphobia regarding the subject matter remains somewhat minimal (I mean, I guess. I expected worse), but not everything holds up. I may read others in this series still.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Police brutality
unripebanana's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, Homophobia, Torture, Police brutality, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
emilistevenson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Hoo boy, okay, let's get it out of the way. Concerning a trans character, there is some major Values Dissonance (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ValuesDissonance) between the audience reading this in 1995 and the audience reading this almost 26 years later. This gets pretty uncomfortable, so please support some of the trans writers - Juno Dawson and Juliet Jacques - McDermid has recently championed.
Anyway, other than that it's a pretty dark, pretty good, serial killer mystery with medieval torture instruments and a sub plot about erectile dysfunction.
Anyway, other than that it's a pretty dark, pretty good, serial killer mystery with medieval torture instruments and a sub plot about erectile dysfunction.
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Suicide, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gore, Death, Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Vomit, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism
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