Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Northwoods by Amy Pease

12 reviews

luverbyrd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, War, and Drug abuse

Minor: Murder and Medical content

lgmelcher's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

If you like crime procedurals with well-developed characters, you'll enjoy this book. The rural Midwest setting contrasts natural beauty with human deception and violence, and the characters feel realistic and relatable. I would recommend this book to fans of William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor mystery series and I will be on the lookout for more from this author! Of note: not to be confused with a book with a very similar name that came out around the same time, but which is set on the East Coast and an entirely different type of book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Murder

sarahshock's review against another edition

mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.5

Kinda boring. Not mysterious really. Lame ending. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Murder, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Torture

morethanmylupus'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I'm so tired of stories about incompetent police officers. There has been so much trauma to communities from these people and such a lack of consequences for their actions that we really don't need to further glorify them in books. In this case, we have two incompetent police officers: Eli and his mother Marge, who is the chief of police for their town. 

Eli is dealing with a lot of PTSD and alcoholism. My frustration with him was less that he's showing up on the job armed and completely black-out drunk (although this is obviously a giant issue) and more that he's been enabled to do so. We fail our veterans in so many ways, but in this case, it was his mom that I took the most issue with. She has a duty to the people she serves and she's failing that duty by allowing her son to serve when he is in that state. 

Separate from these frustrations, the mystery itself was compelling. I liked the Wisconsin small-town setting, with the lake serving almost as its own character, especially with a Kwik Trip present. But my frustration with Marge and Eli brought down the book for me. I don't think I can read another story about these two.

 

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Murder

zspettif's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Child death, Murder, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicide attempt

author2223's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Child death

Moderate: War, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

mtnest's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Drug use

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Murder, Blood, War, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Confinement, and Death of parent

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Gun violence, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse

readingwithmygoldens's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

This was a really excellent debut and I hope that it continues to find success and leads to more books with these characters. If you're like me and you like books that have a mystery element, but make you think about things or reconsider your perspective on a people, place or thing then this is the book you should grab to start your 2024.

Without really going over the plot, I think what this book does best is take a lot of contemporary struggles (opioid use/addiction, PTSD) well, without being preachy or beating the issue to death. Things were presented like we were all intelligent adults and we weren't talked down to. Even if I agree with an author on a particular issue, sometimes I think the plot can get a little lost in pursuing the urge to educate or change minds on a particular issue (even if I agree), so I was really glad that this book didn't get bogged down in that. You were able to see the impacts on each character and how that reverberated throughout their life. (I realize I just went on a mini soapbox myself just now!)

The mystery was a good one and even though I kind of figured out the outcome towards the end, it didn't take away from my enjoyment what so ever. In fact, this book really shined because of the characters. They were interesting, complex and sort of random! A local police chief, her son (who used to be an Special Agent with the US Fish & Wildlife service who is now part of his mother's dept) and an FBI agent who comes to assist them. 

I think this would be a great start to a series and it should also be optioned. This would be an excellent adaptation. I am very excited to see what Amy Pease writes next and it will absolutely be at the top of my list. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books & the author for a gifted e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review Date: 01/09/2024
Publication Date: 01/09/2024 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Addiction

Minor: Suicide attempt

melindapeterson's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Alcoholism, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt