Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

98 reviews

katherinejayne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This was well written and paced, with good characterisation and a solid plot. 
I found it an enjoyable reading experience and desperate to know how it ended - the last 2 readings lasting longer as I wanted to finish. 
Despite being set in the past, it felt fresh and relatable. The historical note at the end was interesting, I didn’t know it was grounded in such truth. 
I’d be keen to read another book by the author, which is always a good sign! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Fire/Fire injury

moriahleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual assault

curlywiggles's review against another edition

dark sad tense

4.0

I enjoyed most of the book and especially going down a rabbit hole about the Sami people. The pacing at the end felt fast compared to the rest of the book which felt a bit off but I'm glad for it because it was a bit traumatising. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence

paniquemecanique's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious sad 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? No

4.75

I would have rated it a 4 right after reading it but I just keep coming back to it in my mind. It was long and a bit hard to finish (shout out to my short attention span girlies) but it was a wild and beautiful ride.
This is a historical book based off real facts that takes place in Lapland in the 1800's, about the big european witch hunt, the colonization of the indigenous Sami people, and about a matriarchy. The characters are deep and nuanced and beautiful, and the whole story forces you to be fully there with them in every moment.
KMH is a divine autress who writes so intensely and beautifully, it is very hard not to be haunted by the book (I am writing this months after finishing it and I cant forget the most thrilling parts ).
Absolutely recommended,  but be very mindful of the TW. It is a hard and truthful story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Hate crime

emeraldjulep's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

A beautiful, but bleak cautionary tale for our time. This island of women and what happens with, and to, them will stick with me for a long time. The story is artfully told on the Audible version. The narrator has a Scandinavian accent as well which I felt added an authentic atmosphere to the story (and pronounced all the names I would have have never gotten right). I would recommend reading The Mercies in any format.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Torture

thenorthernirishreader's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Death

Minor: Murder and Miscarriage

typedtruths's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Murder, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Colonisation, Alcohol, Racism, Sexual content, Death, Torture, and Racial slurs

Minor: Pregnancy, Gore, and Animal death

➸ Trigger warnings for period-typical misogyny, colonialism, anti-indigenous racism, forced marriage, religious bigotry, persecution for witchcraft (theme) including the on-page depiction of witch trials and burning women at the stake, graphic martial rape and sexual assault, infidelity (the protagonist is in a forced marriage though), pregnancy and pregnancy from rape discussed, childbirth, miscarriage, alcohol consumption, blood and gore depiction including dead bodies, death of a friend (on-page), death of a father, husband and brother mentioned, mass death by boating accident, murder (on-page), torture (implied), imprisonment mentioned, near-drowning incident, and animal death.

lillyrose97's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Torture, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

amelia_d's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

Beautiful, heart-breaking, powerful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

cosmic_griffin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved this book. It was written so well, and I felt fully immersed in the story the whole way through. It had such a beautiful historical feel to it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts