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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
lpdx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug use, and Antisemitism
Minor: Confinement, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, and Homophobia
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.thismermaidreads's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Bullying, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Rape, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, and Child abuse
I found the flash back chapters to be incredibly triggering to me. I thoroughly enjoyed Andrea’s character development between Pieces of Her and this book, I wanted more of her and less of the flashback scenes. I thought it was necessary to read Pieces of Her before this, but now that I’ve finished it, I think you could get away with reading this as a stand-alone. BUT I would highly suggest reading the first book first, I think you’ll appreciate Andy 100% more if you do.backpackingbookworm'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
4.5
However, always happy to be proven wrong and this is one such case.
Where Andy was weak and pathetic in book one, newly recruited US marshall, Andrea, is the complete opposite (which I found hard to believe but hey, happy to roll with it if means she's grown a damn backbone). For the majority of the novel, she was smart, savvy, and switched on - something I love to see in female law enforcement. While I couldn't see at first why this book wasn't written as a stand-alone, it soon became clear when the backstory started falling into place.
Sent to the hometown of her manipulative and imprisoned father, Andrea is set two tasks - one public and one secret - 1) protect the esteemed judge who is receiving death threats and 2) find evidence that her father was responsible for raping and murdering a young girl from his culty friendship group forty years prior to prevent his release.
As per the author's usual style, this book may be long but it is by no means filled with fluff. Every sentence is relevant and you're constantly left pondering certain actions or revelations. Slaughter knows when to take it slow (setting the scene and introducing new characters) and when to ramp it up, making this one a rollercoaster thriller that leaves you constantly questioning people's true motives.
The intertwining storylines were brilliantly plotted; I was particularly invested in the flashbacks leading up to Emily's murder and her own investigation into who raped her while she was drugged and got her pregnant. I wanted answers just as much as she did and while I wasn't overly enamoured by the outcome, I thought the motives were strong and believable.
It was the sequel I never knew I needed that concluded with me only craving more. The ending sets us up for a third instalment so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for sending me a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating breakdown
Plot/narrative - 4.5
Writing style/readability - 4.6
Characters - 4.3
Diverse themes - 4.4
Ending - 4.6
Overall - 4.5
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Eating disorder, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault
becksreadsbooks'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
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Rape
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Cancer, Dementia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Self harm, and Suicide
sjena's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love Karin Slaughter's books. This one really kept me on my toes.
I really liked the way she did the POV's.
I REALLY REALLY hope there are more with these characters
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, Dementia, and Drug use
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship