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secre's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Emily was only 17 when she was attacked and left for dead whilst heavily pregnant. Nobody knew who the father was, perhaps not even Emily herself. Or so it seemed. Yet someone had motive enough to kill her. Some forty years later, Andrea is sent to the scene under the guise of protecting the dead girl's grandmother from death threats. In reality, if she can prove her own father killed the girl all those years go, she will be able to prevent him leaving prison and ever threatening them again. But it's a forty year cold case. Information was slim on the ground then and it isn't going to be any easier now.
It's a well written thriller that has several competing narrative lines, with all of them being interesting and competing for Andrea's attention. In between we get interludes from four decades ago from Emily's perspective, bringing additional detail to the old case but no real answers. The juxtaposition between present and past is done well, and the chapters from Emily help bring the forty years older adults into perspective, highlighting their personalities as Emily knew them. The characters all felt real, although many of them are certainly not people you'd want to get to know well.
So, a strong and relatively tame Karin Slaughter novel. There's apparently an initial thriller looking in more detail at Andrea's background and her father. That's now also on my to-read list!
Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Chronic illness
eeeebs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Drug use, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Vomit, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Dementia, Gore, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Death of parent, Addiction, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, Violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Murder, Outing, Pedophilia, Sexism, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Torture
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pros: I like that the sequel chose Andrea as the protagonist. Her mother was great in the first book. I love strong women, so I liked that the writer spread that out between the generations.
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Gaslighting, Outing, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Drug use, Abandonment, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Violence
shesheshelby's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Moderate: Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Abortion, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, Outing, Homophobia, Gun violence, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Child death, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Cancer
bekah1210's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, Drug use, Rape, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Terminal illness, Outing, Fatphobia, Cancer, Homophobia, Infertility, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury
cannesi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Rape, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Addiction, Abortion, Child death, Homophobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Pedophilia
bandysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
In typical Slaughter fashion, this is a brutal high-octane murder thriller with strong female characters and a wild plot. It is at times incredibly difficult to read, but hard to put down. You’ll find yourself shouting at and cheering on different characters.
Slaughter is known for dark details and unflinching portrayals of the worst of humanity. This book has a lot of that. In my opinion, this story flirts with having a bit too much. I recommend extreme caution to anyone sensitive to rape and sexual assault. (There are further trigger warnings
That said, I really enjoyed the direction she took Andy’s character in. You can tell there’s a lot of growth from the previous book and she is really starting to settle into herself. I also adored her partner on the Marshall’s force. He brought some much needed humor to the story. The villains in this story are also very evil. There is no doubt about who you’re supposed to root for in this one.
All in all, if you like dark reads and are not easily triggered, you may enjoy this one. It is well written and engaging, but not for the faint of heart.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Self harm, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Addiction, Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Torture
In particular, there is a scene where a rape victim is re-victimized by a horrific doctor. I wanted to provide extra warning for it.