Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards

18 reviews

xalrynne's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I picked up this book because the author was visiting my local bookstore and I wanted to attend the event, but I felt that I should read at least one of her books beforehand.

I liked the premise here: seven teens are working late at the movie theater on the last night ever it will be open. But once all the customers leave, the manager essentially locks them in and starts getting a little violent. The teens escape to the attached abandoned mall as they try to outrun their manager who is killing them off one by one as they are looking for a way to ultimately escape the entire building altogether.

I love the idea of an abandoned mall as the setting for a thriller. And the novel takes place in Sandusky, Ohio, which I have been to multiple times! So I thought that was pretty neat. It was also exciting to know from the beginning that four of the characters were going to be dead by the end of the book, so I try to guess whose untimely end was going to be next.

I enjoyed Four Found Dead, but it was also very middle-of-the-road. The setting and the synopsis made the book sound like it was going to be better than it actually was, which is to say that the execution is what was lacking. I flew through the first 50%, but after that it wasn’t as “thrilling” as I expected it to be. The narrative felt a little repetitive at times, too. 

Overall, this was a fine thriller while I was reading it, but it will likely not be too memorable in the long run. I was able to meet Natalie Richards at the author event, and she was a delightful and fun person to chat with. I ended up grabbing two other books by her that sounded like they would be more my style as I’m definitely interested in reading more of her novels in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Confinement, Grief, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Mental illness

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

The book was pretty good, I did see who the not-so-mystery "bad" person was, but I didn't immediately know the motive though. I liked some of the characters but the person whose POV it was wasn't as likable as some of the other characters. I liked that it was horror without too much gore. Overall it was enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Gun violence, Grief, Stalking, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Vomit, and Toxic relationship

darquedreamer's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The book wasn't bad. It could have been better. It felt a little predictable, and cliche. Nothing really made it stand out from any other ya thriller, but it was tense enough to keep me reading until the end. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Body horror, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

cover2covertx's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Gore, Child death, Blood, Murder, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia and Chronic illness

abbi_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.25

While I can’t say it was my favorite Natalie D. Richards book it was still definitely a great read. It was very tense the entire way through and really draws a reader in. I do wish we had gotten to know the characters a little more but I can see how that would be hard with seven people and running from a murder. Definitely would recommend to people who like thriller movies/books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Blood

bookishbabe93's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

danileah07's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Gore, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

beckyremillard's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Seven employees of a local theater, Jo, Lexi, Quincy, Hudson, Summer, Noemi, and Hannah, are working their last shift under their manager, Clayton, before it closes. It’s the only remaining business left in the local mall, which is about be renovated. The movie-goers leave, and the employees are closing up for the last time. 

Instead of finishing up the closing shift and going to get pancakes, there’s a gun, a fight, and a power outage. 

The story is told primarily from Jo’s perspective. There are a few new snippets and other thing scattered throughout, but Jo is the main narrator. We get a couple flashbacks to a past experience she had, but it’s mostly a linear timeline. 

Honestly this wasn’t my favorite by this author. I felt like something was missing. I get the basic motivation which we discover in the end, but there’s so little backstory about the main plot point. 

It definitely kept me interested, but nothing was actually shocking and it left me wanting more. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for a chance to read this ARC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Death, and Murder