Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Les sept morts d'Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

78 reviews

elle_dee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

laurenleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Okay wow. This is like nothing I’ve ever read before! The day I started the audiobook, I listened for almost 7 hours straight. It was that engrossing! If you are an Agatha Christie fan but are in the mood for something darker and more complex, you need to pick this up. The plot was a little hard to follow at times (so many characters, so many timelines), but I enjoyed the ride so much. The murder mystery on its own would have been amazing, but Turton added this whole other layer of fantasy. Through that creative plot structure, the book deeply questions identity, morality, and the ethics of punishment. Truly fascinating!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

leahrosiee's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Most of this book would have been 2 stars for how I struggled through it but it was unlike any other mystery I’ve experienced so it gains another star. Maybe in a different mood or time I would have liked it better. The way the story spirals in on itself is insane and I truly would have never seen the ending coming, which is frustrating and great at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Torture

Minor: Self harm and Abandonment

katrinasherise's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book so much. However I could have entirely done without the significant fat phobia in several chapters of this book. That aside, I was totally engrossed in this story. I love that I didn’t have any clue what the ending would be. I was thoroughly shocked at several points in the story. The story was extremely clever and exciting. And an interesting look into values and morals of character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Classism

One character is a serial rapist. No rape happens in the book but is mentioned during his chapters. One character is FREQUENTLY described in fat phobic descriptors. The story is about murder and several occur including descriptions, blood, guns, drowning, injury, stabbing, etc. lots of drug and alcohol use. Description of a child’s murder. Things that will really spoil the ending/reveals:

Infidelity, children from that infidelity. Murder by suicide and plots of faking a suicide.

afaulkner3e's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

A mind-bending take on the classic Christie whodunnit; but, wrapped up in some Black Mirror techno-thrills. 

The final reveals that

Blackheath is a mental prison

and that

Evelyn is the killer

deliver a solid punch to the the finale; but, the world-building beyond Blackheath could have been more thorough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Alcohol, and Classism

elliebeemellie's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

TW for the book itself: fatphobia and references to sexual assault, addiction, child abuse, classism, and traditional terrible rich person things.

The style of writing in this novel isn't my favorite, and there's something distinctly uncomfortable about marinating in a soup of unequivocally terrible people, but the premise of this book is DELIGHTFUL. I have a soft spot for watching people interact on non-linear timelines, and I also loved watching the main character (Aiden) struggle with his sense of self. 

The tension ratcheted up nicely as Aiden picked apart the mystery, and while I don't think it's totally possible to predict the ending with the clues you're given, I do think that enough clues are scattered about that it feels earned. 

Also, bonus points for where the book landed on the rehabilitation vs permanent incarceration debate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

lucyselim's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

dustghosts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

+ Beautiful turns of phrase, figurative language, the kind of writing that makes me want to also sit down and write
+ Satisfyingly cyclical, repetitive but full of just the right twists and turns that you want to keep reading to figure out what the exact same scene and setup looks like through a different set of eyes
+ Super exciting exploration and expansion of how to use POV to invoke emotion, tell a thrilling story, and string everything together
+ A very charming cast of absolutely unbearable little bastards; feels like you gain an evolving and empathetic understanding of each character with each new day

+ Despite the author’s sort of muddled/overly neutral comments in his own commentary, I find the book to be a pretty compelling allegory for and argument against the carceral state. The text itself feels distinctly poised against both the current prison system and the future potential for “mental imprisonment”.

- Some really egregious fatphobia that feels uncomfortable and gross to read, especially for a contemporary book. Not really skippable, either— while this character has other values to the narrative, fatness is treated as a debilitating moral failing reflective of character.
- So extremely British—
- Near the end, starts to feel as though things are being wrapped up too quickly, not quite as immersive as the rest of the book.

For example, I think we’re supposed to interpret Annabelle before Blackheath as as heinous as Daniel, whose villainy we’ve watched develop and worsen throughout the week. But whoever she was before feels too simply and vaguely summarized in comparison to the blunt relaying of Daniels crimes throughout the rest of the book. I wish we could spend a little more time remembering WITH Aiden, though I suppose the pacing might suffer for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury