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Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
28 reviews
zenzi2read's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The amount of information provided in each chapter allowed me to participate in the investigation. The most difficult part was that because some of the accounts of the crime were, and some were inaccurate different characters had different names, and you had to work to remember whose point of view different from everyone else’s. There were a lot of characters to remember, and the chapters were quite long. There was a clumsy exposition dump at the end, but generally speaking I like the way the story was crafted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Classism
disguisedposer's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic friendship, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Abandonment, Police brutality, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
notlikethebeer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.25
Having read (and adored) The Appeal, I was really excited to read this one - and I don't think it disappointed!! It was a fast-paced, super twisty page-turner that I found really difficult to put down (and therefore raced through). I do think that it was hindered by there being a LOT of characters, and I found it really hard to keep track of who was who, which isn't helped by the epistolary format that puts distance between the reader and each character. The format also made it hard to follow at times and a bit confusing, especially towards the end. However, I also liked the way that various elements came to light more slowly, and that things you thought were/weren't important were later revealed to be quite the opposite... I also really liked that the characters were quite complex, and at times there were some good critiques of true crime and the lengths some will go to. I thought the ending was fantastic, there were some bold decisions made by the author but personally I loved them!!! More than anything, I absolutely loved the dedication to Jill Dando, Michelle McNamara and Lyra McKee, as well as the brief explanation in the acknowledgements.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
sophialib's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This was a great book, especially the audio version. I think it would have exhausted me to actually read it, so I definitely recommend listening. It took a little bit to get into since it’s written as a bunch of research documents and correspondences and felt too long at some points, but once I was into it I was hooked! Very suspenseful; everything wrapped up nicely in the end and answered all of the questions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Kidnapping
aileron'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, and Gore
Minor: Classism, Bullying, Car accident, and Vomit
darlab86's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Emotional abuse
kefink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, and Murder
mels_reading_log's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is like a season of the Podcast Serial mixed with a Sherlock Holmes novel. I’ve never read anything like it and I was engrossed from the first page. Instead of telling a story in a normal, linear way, you are presented with all of the evidence (emails, articles, text messages…) and it is left to you to figure out what to do with it. Highly recommend for anyone who is a fellow true crime junkie!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Violence, Gaslighting, Blood, Mental illness, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicide
cloudyworld's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
I loved Janice Hallet's other book, The Appeal, bc it was witty, fresh, and an interesting way to piece together a crime. This one was one million times better. It's a book I could only listen to while driving because I didn't want to miss anything. All of the actors in the audio version are talented, and make the book even more thrilling. I gasped, I shouted, I laughed out loud. It was a twist upon a twist upon another twist that I couldn't have even come close to making up. Absolutely gripping. I loved it. If you want to solve a murder mystery and you love cults and cover ups, this is the book you gotta read. I'm gonna go recommend it to everyone now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
megelizabeth's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
"It sunk into the scene like a stone beneath quicksand. Like the truth sinks lower with every telling of a lie."
I really, really enjoyed this. For a while I wasn't sure about it because I didn't really like the main character and couldn't tell if we were supposed to, but that ended up bothering me less and less because a) she does become a bit more bearable but more importantly b) the story is just SO ridiculously clever and tightly-plotted and honestly pretty genius. It's so layered and fascinating and had me so, so gripped, and I shouldn't have doubted the mixed-media format as it was SUCH an interesting way to tell the story (and in itself raises such interesting questions about what was inevitably omitted). I also loved the subtle commentary around true crime and the ethics of writing about it.
I will say that there were a couple of elements I was still slightly confused about by the end, hence it not quite being a 5*, but I don't know how much of that was the book versus how much was just me (and me reading it very late whilst extremely tired because I couldn't put it down). It also ended up being a lot darker than I expected, but mostly in a good way and definitely in a really interesting and unique way, and yeah I just really loved it!
I really, really enjoyed this. For a while I wasn't sure about it because I didn't really like the main character and couldn't tell if we were supposed to, but that ended up bothering me less and less because a) she does become a bit more bearable but more importantly b) the story is just SO ridiculously clever and tightly-plotted and honestly pretty genius. It's so layered and fascinating and had me so, so gripped, and I shouldn't have doubted the mixed-media format as it was SUCH an interesting way to tell the story (and in itself raises such interesting questions about what was inevitably omitted). I also loved the subtle commentary around true crime and the ethics of writing about it.
I will say that there were a couple of elements I was still slightly confused about by the end, hence it not quite being a 5*, but I don't know how much of that was the book versus how much was just me (and me reading it very late whilst extremely tired because I couldn't put it down). It also ended up being a lot darker than I expected, but mostly in a good way and definitely in a really interesting and unique way, and yeah I just really loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping