Reviews with content warning for Murder - All These Bodies

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

57 reviews

marleens's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

After enjoying my time with this book a lot, the ending was a letdown. I don’t mind not having everything tied up neatly but in this book so many questions are left unanswered, and plot points unexplained. It’s a shame because there was a lot of good stuff in here. I liked the writing style and the setting by and atmosphere, and really liked Michael and his relationships with Marie and Percy. With a few more answers at the end this could have been an excellent read overall.

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guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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paigestilwill's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Blake’s writing is quick-paced and spooky, and she does well to build tension and mystery over the course of the book. What I was less impressed with, like many other reviewers, was the sheer amount of unanswered elements left hanging at the end.

Additionally, for it being a piece set in the 50s, Blake wrote about the teens in a very modern way, a couple of times mentioning soda pop shops or drive-ins, but not really framing the language in any concrete way to make you FEEL like you were in that time period. In fact, many times I had to remind myself that it was set in the 50s, because the writing style and diction didn’t reflect that. Once I thought, why not check security cameras, completely forgetting that was not an option in the 50s 🤦🏻‍♀️

I also found many parts of this story unbelievable—how a 17 year old was allowed to investigate the most prolific serial killer in the country,

Marie being covered in blood from throwing up on herself (what??? The physics don’t add up)

, the lack of depth and complexity afforded many of the characters, including the Nebraskan DA,

Steve’s friends threatening to shoot Michael for trying to get to the truth about his murder

… the clarifications we do get seem half-baked and not well thought through.

In all, it was quick and the fast cadence of the plot made it a more gripping read, but it felt like much of the building action was pointless, and I expected and wished for more answers, even if it hadn’t been all of them. There’s nothing wrong with leaving readers wanting more, but this one had more loose ends than seemed necessary. I understand wanting the reader to make their own conclusions, just like the public had to when similar cases actually occurred in history. However, after 300 pages, the reader deserves some semblance of an explanation, rather than a half-hearted ending that raised its own questions more than answers.

I’m not sure if I’d return to Blake’s work in the future.

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sydresnik's review

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slow-paced

3.25

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conceptuallysound's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

All The Bodies is a Horror movie (Jason) turned Mystery (Unsolved Mysteries) evolved into True Crime story. Marie seems sane and in her right mind, but at the same time delusional and in shock. Micheal doesn’t want to believe what others say is her truth, yet he can’t seem to figure hers out. Caught between reality and her delusions. The book srarts slow building your interests then you can’t put it down.

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vismyth's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

It's a 2 and a half for the interesting setup and initial ambiguity that really does drag you into the story wondering whether there is a supernatural twist or not and what happened to end up with a teenage girl drenched in blood surrounded by bodies
but that ambiguity is never resolved and the ending isnt satisfying enough to make up for it

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notpercyjacksonyet's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Why did I read this book? I wanted a thrilling mystery, but it ended up being such a slog, all to get a dissatisfying ending. If I wanted to be disappointed in the Justice system and never know the truth, I’d listen to true crime podcasts. I get that it’s supposed to reflect the real world, but that’s not what I want from a book.

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