Reviews with content warning for Gore - Jackal

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

sierrainstitches's review

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dark

4.0

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natofthecreeps's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Jackal is a thriller with a definitive message and point of view. What begins as a pretty straight forward mystery blooms into something much larger and much more meaningful, and the novel truly shines when it is tackling head-on themes of racism, community, and personal growth. Our main character Liz is well-rounded and has a very clear path of growth throughout the novel, not something always seen in mystery-thrillers, and this makes the story very personal and emotional. Adams really does a great job of frustrating readers and imbuing much of this story with the sort of crazed helplessness Liz is feeling, and I think that really adds to the racial commentary in this story -- it's impossible to not be angry at the gaslighting and micro-aggressions that Liz is uncovering and faced with.

The ending here is sure to be polarizing and reminded me of Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey in terms of the melding of trauma and the supernatural. I didn't mind this, and it led to a good reveal near the book's end, but it did feel a little incomplete.

My main critique of this book is that while certain aspects of it are really well done and Adams has filled this book with excellent descriptions and is able to keep things in suspense, the plot itself feels a little clunky. Liz's internal monologue is a bit redundant at the book's start, and when we get to the parts of the novel that start unpacking some of the town's and Liz's personal secrets, I feel like we're left wanting. There's many loose threads, and I don't know if they're tied up in the most effective way at the story's end.

Overall though, this was inventive and moving, and that cover art is just gorgeous.

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karenreadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.5

This book is a thriller, a mystery, and a horror story. It's important to realize that before going into the book so you'll know what to expect. I found the story compelling and a quick read because I didn't want to put it down.

A small town. Racism. A history of "the flood" but no one really seems to know the full story of what happened there (or at least it's not a story that gets told). Girls going missing, those found have been brutally killed. Black girls. So the stories are swept away as accidents or animal attacks. But there's also something supernatural happening with the disappearances.

The ending comes together rather quicky so it would be easy to miss details of the final review. I listened to this on audiobook and rewound the final part to hear it again to be sure I caught everything.

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calamitydane's review

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dark emotional mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I was in love from the jump. This is a wonderful mystery and an honest depiction of a black girl growing up in a mostly white southern town. I spent the whole time trying to guess who could have done it. There were so many potentials with good evidence to support them. I was texting my partner with guesses and reasons every five minutes

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shannonbauchat's review

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4.5

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carolynkwolff's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.25

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theboricuabookworm's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A gripping and intense (semi-paranormal) thriller that leaves me just a little wary of forests now. The book ends masterfully illustrating a point that Liz was trying to argue for the entire book: the world only cares and believes when the bad things happens to the white women even when the Black women have been the primary - and sometimes only - victims. Throughout the entire book, my suspects kept jumping and that is a credit to Adams ability to make us - and Liz - trust in different people every time. I'm not a thriller person much at all but Jackal is certainly one I will recommend.

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