Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith

33 reviews

lukerik's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.0

First I’d like to whinge about the ebook version. I had to get this because since the lockdowns I no longer have the upper body strength for the hardback. Part of the novel takes place online and there are mocked-up screen shot style illustrations of in-game chat, sometimes with three channels open at once. These illustrations have been imported to the epub as image files, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately they are too small to be seen by the human eye, which is what I am equipped with. To counter this, the images are transcribed afterwards in normal ebook text. There are some formatting errors: sometimes the first line of the transcription is in a larger font. Also, the three conversations are sort of run on and jumbled up with each other which is extremely confusing. I recognise that this is a formatter’s nightmare, but we’re dealing here with one of the top authors of one of the largest publishing houses in the world and I’m sure better solutions were available. In the worst sin, one short part of the text does not appear in the transcription at all. I had to get my Compact OED microscope to read the screen. At this point, after an awful lot of mucking around, I was able to find settings that brought the text with the range of vision, but I don’t think this will be possible with all ereaders nor all eyes. Perhaps Hachette will deign to push out emended files to their customers. While they’re at it they can correct the spelling error in one of the chapter headings and add the word ‘had’ which is missing from one of the novel’s many sentences. 

So the novel takes place partly online. A massive risk. It could have gone terribly wrong, but somehow Rowling pulls it off. It’s generally an accomplished novel, with tight control over the great sprawl of it. If anything I think it’s these sections of the novel which will best bear re-reading as the central mystery is the real-world identities behind the handles. And they’re fully integrated into the themes of the novel with consists of contradictory counterparts. On the one hand you have the anonymity of the online life and it’s strange intimacy with people who may not be who they seem. Contrasted with this is the relationship of Strike and Robin whose lives are so intimately entwined, yet they never say what they really feel, often not even to themselves. Also it’s a very funny book, the humour contrasted with the grottiness of London life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Alcohol, Bullying, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, and Medical content

kathrynamonett's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Chronic illness, Ableism, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Racism, Eating disorder, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Child abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

I love the Cormoran Strike series. Rowling (aka, Galbraith) is an accomplished storyteller who can handle multiple characters and a complex storyline. Here she shows a facility with online gaming that, to me as a non-gamer, is mind-boggling. While I really respect her talent, I found the story so complex that I need to go back and reread this to see what I missed. Definitely recommend the entire series starting with The Cuckoo’s Calling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical trauma, Racism, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Antisemitism, Cursing, Gore, Hate crime, and Mental illness

druknduck's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual harassment, and Bullying

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, and Body shaming

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, and Rape

kponturo's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Self harm, Rape, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Antisemitism, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Racism

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

I bloody loved this book - it’s another great addition to the series!

There’s a lot more character development for Strike and Robin whilst keeping it in line with what you’d expect for them. Strike keeps his moody persona whilst the story brings in more about his amputation and how he’s struggling. Robin being a partner and it (finally) being accepted by the team - though outsiders will still go for Strike as apposed to her but she does handle it really well.

Being set in 2015, the mentions of Tumblr was a real throwback for me! All the social media and game chats were a great addition in telling the story, though it did take a while for me to get the hang of which order to read them in.

For the killer, I did have an inking who it was. This was purely based on the details they gave in the game chat relating to the kind of person they acted like, how Strike and Robin described them and then matching that up with each of the characters that had been mentioned and how often the appeared in the book.

My only real complaint is how long the book is! It’s extremely detailed, which I liked and was really engrossed in, but at the same time it just felt like it was never going to end! I did actually take my time reading this book though, knowing from the previous 5 just how detailed they can be and I didn’t want to miss any details by skim reading it.

I am extremely excited to see this book adapted for the TV series and I cannot wait for the next book, I just need to know what happens next with Strike and Robin!

* I do not support the author or agree with their views *

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Cancer, Bullying, Child abuse, Ableism, Rape, and Animal cruelty

abriggs07's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I love this series but I also donate to the Trevor Project every time I read one of her books, as JK Rowling is transphobic. Lots of triggers and an interesting subject considering the author’s own experience with twitter. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Addiction, Murder, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Medical content, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Rape, Homophobia, and Grief

lonelypinereads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Animal cruelty

samantha_blue's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Sexism, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Pedophilia