Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

11 reviews

finalfires's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

3.75

I really loved the mix of genres in this book, the setting, the mystery and the concept. However, the pace sped up too much in the last 150 or so pages, and I feel like the story wrapped up too neat and perfect. I’d give the first half of the book 5 stars and the second half 2. The first half feels like a really cool, well written feminist western horror. The second half feels a tad fanfiction-y. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Deadnaming, Murder, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Gun violence, Sexism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Child abuse, Transphobia, Slavery, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Animal death, Racism, and Gore

dwdillydally's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Child death, Racism, and Child abuse

Minor: Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

notthatkat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Classism, Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Cursing, Child death, and Sexual content

adiajamille's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Murder, Racism, Child death, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

mandi_lea's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Blood

rorikae's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

'Lone Women' by Victor LaValle is an engaging horror novel that focuses on one woman attempting to flee her past by moving east to become a homesteader. 
Adelaide sets her childhood home and her parents corpses afire and then leaves for Montana with only a locked steamer trunk. She's determined to leave behind the life that she lived and the past that has plagued her family. But she's brought along a sliver of it in the steamer trunk and as she finally begins to settle into her new life in Montana, what lurks in the steamer trunk begins to grow restless.
LaValle is an expert at slow, character driven horror and he knocks it out of the park in 'Lone Women.' He slowly unravels Adelaide's truth and what is in her steamer trunk while also building our understanding of her character. By the time we learn what is in the trunk, we're fully invested in Adelaide and her desire to create a new life for herself. This story is very much rooted in the characters and the women who are working to create a new life for themselves by homesteading. This cast is fully fledged and easy to care for, especially when set in light of the more monstrous characters that are their foils. In the end, this story highlights how humans are the true monsters.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Kidnapping and Xenophobia

mgresart's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Violence, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

krysley's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Racism

peachani's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Dysphoria, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Deadnaming, and Confinement

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Racism, and Transphobia