Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

95 reviews

entityj's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Vomit, Islamophobia, and Alcohol

missbreathing's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I give this one 4⭐️. Some thoughts:

HEX expertly blends paranormal horror with psychological horror, focusing as much on the witch as on the claustrophobia of being stuck in one place and the insidiousness of mob mentality. The idea of a haunted town is scary enough, but little by little the reader is introduced to more human sources of horror. The author conjures an inescapable sense of dread, and guides us unflinchingly towards the haunting climax. 

This is a translation from Dutch, and, as a result, it’s easy to feel unmoored and confused. The story is also a bit dated in its use of technology (it was published in 2013). And, apparently, the original story is set in a small Dutch town rather than in upstate New York and has a completely different ending (good luck finding it online, though!). This made sense, since the upstate New York setting feels a bit incongruous with the story. However, the ending of this version is pretty great; it feels earned and unavoidable.

Honestly, this might be a new horror favorite! I’d recommend it to fans of the genre. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Islamophobia

mlemzor's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

marleens's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

On reread in 2025: this was my first Olde Heuvelt, but having read several more of his books, this one still remains the favorite. Great atmosphere, and so creepy from the get-go. And the second half just gets more and more horrible. Walking around my own house at night was suddenly very scary, I hardly dared enter my bedroom.
———————————
I read this book mostly in broad daylight and I’m glad I did. So creepy! I loved the growing sense of dread throughout the book, the feeling that inevitable horrible things were coming. I also loved the writing. I read it in its original Dutch, and while I rarely read in Dutch, this book is making me want to pick up more Dutch authors as well as more horror.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Death of parent

adarkswitch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was such an original storyline. It was creepy, scary and sad. There are tons of trigger warnings: suicide, animal death, child death and abuse. If you can stomach all that....this was a very good book that will stick with me for a long time. A town of people who have become prisoners to fear for hundreds of years. Grief, fear and a curse....can all lead to chaos and disaster.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Suicide

Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder

becah's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

kingsteph's review against another edition

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, and Toxic friendship

coleyglasses's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

1.5

The concept for this book was fantastic but the ultimate execution was very much lacking, especially in the back half of the book. 
Additionally

Way too much nipple torture and very poorly written female characters

Made for an uncomfortable read at times and not in the good way

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

misty_muskrat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Islamophobia, and Grief

annapple1's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death