Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

4 reviews

kimveach's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this mystery novella.  While I had a pretty good idea of who the murderer was, there was enough doubt that it kept me interested until the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Gore, Stalking, Child death, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

moserk's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

My local bookseller's recommendation when I asked for "a holiday/winter set read - without the fluff and traditional Christmas romance storyline"....yup, this fits the bill. 

Holiday thriller with multiple timelines and POVs across both timelines. I, unfortunately, called the entire plot line and both reveals - but I wouldn't say it was obvious; I had a guess but wasn't sure it was correct until the official reveal. Enjoyable nonetheless. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use

boats's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Felt like the skeleton of a novel rather than a meant-to-be-short novella.

I thought that the romance thread was ridiculous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Drug use, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Murder

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

    Told from three points of view. Lolly is an exotic dancer who is kidnapped and held. Madeline is an independent bookstore owner who was almost killed in her teens. Harley is a true crime writer and podcaster looking into the recent disappearance of the young women and if they're linked to Madeline and her friend's case. 
    I found this book fairly predictable. I know since it was a shorter book it was harder to write a more complex mystery, but still. I knew from about halfway through the book who the murderer was. 
     I also could have gone without the romance, though luckily it wasn't a huge part of the book.
    Overall an okay thriller. I just think the story could have been a longer and better book since it had good bones to it.

Extra ratings: Fluff - 0/5  Heartfelt- 4/5   Helpful-NA    Horror- 1/5    Inspiration- NA   Love aka Romance-2/5   Mystery-4/5    Predictability- 4.5/5    Spice- 0/5  Suspense- 3/5   Tear 4/5  Thrill- 4/5  Humor-0.5/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use

Minor: Drug abuse