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bronzel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Murder, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Blood
earofthedog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence and Murder
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Dementia and Racism
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Reading this a few years after its release, I couldn't help but feel it didn't quite live up to all the hype, but I still enjoyed it overall. It's well-written with an interesting plot and fun set of characters, and it's of course very witty and full of a very specific British humour which I appreciated. It's also a great combination of gripping and fast-paced on the one hand, and then complex, layered, and bittersweet on the other, with important things to say about ageing, relationships, and illness and death.
My main issue with this book is that there's a significant part of the ending which just didn't make sense to me at all, in terms of a certain character's actions and the impact that these then have on the plot. Maybe I was missing something, but it just seemed so out of character for me that it was difficult to look past, particularly as otherwise I found the various strands of the mystery to be wrapped up in a satisfying way.
On a lesser note - and perhaps more of a personal preference - I wish that more of the story had been told from Joyce's point of view and particularly that the police officer characters had been less prominent.
I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book, as there were definitely elements of this that I really liked and I do enjoy Osman's writing style, but there were also big drawbacks for me. I suppose time will tell!
Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Racism and Sexual assault
cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Blood, Classism, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Racism, War, Cancer, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, Addiction, Homophobia, and Gun violence
luananki's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
the mystery didn’t catch me at all, it had way too many plots that didn’t even connect with each other at the end. if the book had been written from one or two povs, i would have enjoyed it so much more but with so many characters introduced and puzzles to solve it was very confusing to get into.
also, the sexist and racist comments in between could have been left out, they had nothing to do with the story.
all in all, lovely characters, great setting but the execution was not what i expected it to be
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Murder, Grief, Suicide, Death, Dementia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
Minor: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Racism, Police brutality, Ableism, and Blood
johanna08's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Minor: Racism
imreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I enjoyed the main cast of characters, Ibrahim and Donna, being one of my favourites.
My only main criticisms with the book is
However, I enjoyed the groups friendship and the unlikely friendships along the way.
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Dementia
Minor: Racism
There is numerous xenophobic statements by one character and misogynistic statements. I wouldn't recommend this book if you can't handle topics of s*icide, misogyny, xenophobia/racism and death.yellow_library's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Moderate: Fatphobia and Murder
Minor: Racism
happylilfaerie's review
4.5
The parts that dealt with death and grief tugged on your heartstrings, and were perfectly balanced with the lighthearted and comedic bits. The plot was great and there were so many twists, it kept me engaged as I came up with theories and was constantly happily surprised with the reveals and the way the plot progressed.
The worldbuilding was wonderful, Osman painted such a vivid picture of the retirement village and the lives of the residents there, it felt so cozy and lovely.
I have been so frustrated with many (both classic and modern) mystery books that are constantly recommended (coughAgathaChristiecough...) that are filled with racism, sexism and all kinds of bigotry that makes the story un-ejoyable. I DNF'd 3 books in a row before hesitantly starting this one, thinking I should give up on this genre all together - in my opinion it did the bare minimum (no being bigoted is apparently very difficult) but I suppose compared to its colleagues it deserves a small applause.
The interview with the author at the end of the audio version of the book had the refer to himself as "left wing", he talked about class struggles and how that impacted his writing, that made me like the book a lot more as it meant parts and themes that I liked were a conscious effort and not a coincidence. I like the way he handled it all whilst still ensuring the book stays a fun light read.
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racism, and Xenophobia