Reviews tagging 'War'

Fortune Favours the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

5 reviews

kappafrog's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

What a FANTASTIC novel! So many mysteries fumble the ending, but the last thirty pages of this novel just got better and better! My jaw dropped, I was vindicated and excited, new moral dilemmas were introduced, and it was SO MUCH FUN!

I loved the 1940s Brooklyn setting. That's where half my family lived in the 1940s so it was really fun to see it in fiction. I LOVED the two detectives, Parker and Pentecost. Parker was a very funny protagonist who was easy to root for in spite of her flaws. I was impressed at how well a male author wrote all the women in this book, including the queer women. There were some really tender moments with queer characters that felt very real.

Pentecost and Parker played off each other really well. I loved their found family relationship. And can I just say, it was really moving and exciting for me to read a character as badass as Ms. Pentecost who walks with a cane and has a dynamic disability that makes her require lots of rest and slur her words. I have chronic daily migraine and not MS, but I related with her so much and felt seen and represented in a way that felt really good - and really unusual. Hats off to the author for impressing me so much with the representation in this novel!

The mystery itself was really fun. I loved how we followed along as Parker and Ms. P figured things out. There were a lot of things that I was slowly piecing together. I liked how the book didn't have the protagonists overlooking obvious clues but had the detective pair constantly pointing out suspicious details and speculating, putting just what I was thinking into words. And yet, many aspects of the ending took me completely by surprise!! Even when this book employed classic tropes of the hard-boiled noir, I ate it all up.

I loved the librarian coming back from his holiday in the 11th hour to provide crucial information, all of Parker's talk of detective novels, the 40s slang, all of it!

I loved the complexities opened up by the final few chapters.

Two queer men, unfairly targeted for their sexuality, make your heart break a little for them - and yet our finally-revealed archnemesis of Ms. P saw them as worthy targets because they were war profiteers and badly exploited labourers. Ms. P condemns the professor for her vigilante justice - just to have their handling of Becca thrown slyly back at them.

What a great book! So much to chew over, and so much I'm excited to see explored in future novels in this series!! I can't wait to read more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, and War

nanoauthor's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and War

rainbowbrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Cancer and Chronic illness

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.0

An excellent first mystery in the series.  I especially enjoyed the characters and look forward to reading the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

karcitis's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and War