Reviews - Notes on an Execution

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11.8k reviews for:

Notes on an Execution

Danya Kukafka

4.11 AVERAGE

desjarlaist's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bunnyjax's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

megha_mind's review against another edition

3.0

***

I think my expectations were too high for this one.

At its barebones, this book is about a serial killer who is about to be executed and the women around him. It’s a very interesting concept, to see the inner voice of a killer while also hearing the perspectives of his mother or the detective who caught him. But I didn’t get much out of this book. Most of the concepts felt old, and the portrayal of the serial killer seemed stereotypical. I got bored quickly.

bluenote's review against another edition

4.0

emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

While I really enjoyed reading this book, as it was so gripping to read I couldn't put it down, I have a lot of complicated feelings about it. I really liked the way this is structured, how we learn about this murderer's life through the women in his life; his mother, his wife and the detective pursuing his case, while his POV is reduced to the few remaining hours of his life. I haven't heard anyone mention her but Shawna was also an MVP to me, I loved how she

got him to believe he had her in the palm of his hand and then just swept the rug out from under him

I just wanted to share that that was really enjoyable and vindicating even if he is a ficitonal killer. I really liked how the women in his life were so written about in such depth; we learn their fears and their motivations, and the actions they take in their life to get to where they want. I found them to be captivating characters to read about, and the way Kukafka writes Ansel as only a little part of their lives (e.g. Lavender's journey to find her own freedom, Hazel's relationship with her sister) compared to everything else they have going on was great.

Saffy's chapters were the longest ones, but still really engaging to read. It was really Saffy, the detective, whose POV I was most excited to read because she would be the character most detached from him, for whom Ansel would be the smallest part of her life, compared to Hazel and Lavender, and I was curious to see how that would play out. However, Saffy has a childhood connection with Ansel, having lived in the same orphanage and first hand experienced the morbid acts Ansel is capable of.

The author tries to make Saffy's life about her mother whom she misses, and the father she never knew, but really Saffy's entire life revolves around Ansel. Even her very career as a detective is a result of Ansel's actions. And during this career, she latches onto the idea of Ansel being the killer. She is cited as an amazing detective, that she "knows how to solve a mystery" but we never see her doing so. Instead of doing any real detective work, she just holds onto her gut feeling,

and stalks Ansel for many years. It is ultimately her actions that lead to Ansel being provoked enough to get caught, but I feel like this cause and effect could have been achieved without Saffy's childhood connection to Ansel.

I think that Saffy should have been two separate characters; the girl from Ansel's orphanage, unable to forget about his horrific actions, convinced that Ansel is the killer, and the detective who is put on his case.

I really, really liked this book, I loved reading it, but Saffy's feelings and her work being meshed together in a way that contradicts her character really let me down, since it was one of the things I was most looking forward to. I think the ending of the book was really powerful, how Ansel got what he wanted in a spectacle, how victims become stories and are reduced to the crimes that happen to them and how in chasing the why of the criminal, we give no thought to the lives lost.

sarahc122's review against another edition

4.0

The switch in perspectives made this book very enjoyable. I admired the author's choice to focus less on the main character's killings and more on the surrounding characters' experiences with him. I applaud the sensitivity and realism associated with the themes on domestic violence and good and evil. I also appreciated that the author chose to include stories of the victims' lives after so much darkness from the rest of the story. This is definitely a read that will leave you cloaked in melancholy until the very end.

jess_wright_73's review against another edition

3.5

dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mariacobos_'s review against another edition

5.0

Would you believe me when I tell you I was driving past the Sam Houston monument at the same time I read Ansel pass it ? Beautiful writing Ms.Kukafka, you have captured my heart.