Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

62 reviews

seventhswan's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

1.25

I believe in "if you don't have anything nice - or at least informative - to say, don't say anything at all" and I really don't have any concrete reason why this book just didn't work for me, so I'll leave it at that. I'm sad, though! I really thought I would enjoy this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Child abuse

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

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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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

aliceaustin's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Gore

Minor: Car accident

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping

tspice24's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Blood, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

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

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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

agathajanemaud1908's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Anything by Janice Hallett is a winner for me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Violence

saccharinewoe's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

very interesting read that i found myself being easily sucked into as we unravelled the mystery along with the MC. framed in a logical perspective from the MC but we also see a mental unfurling of a side character

as he begins to subscribe to the cult's ideologies despite initially being a skeptic - which i feel was portrayed well and shows that anyone can fall into the dangerous calling of cults.

examines the clinical and unempathetic way that true crime cases (especially cold cases which make people feel even more removed due to the distance created by time) are often treated with and spoken about - especially in the sense of journalists and writers that are ultimately exploiting the situation for their own personal gain. this itself was treated with a lot of nuance by the author and i really liked that the way it was presented was really used to its advantage. also touches on corruption, abuse of power and negligence seen in the justice system.

really enjoyed this and might just pick up another book by this author because they balanced character and plot together so well all in epistolary-style fiction which is pretty impressive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

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

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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