Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Shadow Friend by Alex North

23 reviews

yomireads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I was genuinely spooked reading this book and the plot twists were spectacularly well foreshadowed, and yet unexpected. The resolution felt a little anticlimactic, but it still felt satisfying and tied the loose ends nicely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Torture, Terminal illness, and Suicide

Minor: Domestic abuse, Animal death, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, and Homophobia

ellarroz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

tarynreadss's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

I LOVED this book! I read the Whisper Man by the same author and it definitely has similar vibes to this. This book was dark, mysterious, heart-pounding, creepy, and kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times throughout the book but I was wrong every time. This book gives major fall/Halloween spooky vibes and it's amazing. It felt like a fever dream at some parts. I think you'd like this book if you're looking for something to keep you up at night and be scared to go to sleep! I absolutely loved this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Torture

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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

I first read Alex North’s earlier book, The Whisper Man, about two years ago.  It legitimately scared me, cost me some sleep, and became a benchmark in thriller for me.  It’s probably the reason it took me so long to read another of his books – I didn’t think it could stand up to the first one I read.  Finally, earlier this month, I borrowed The Shadows on audio book from Libby and ended up finishing it in one day.  

 

The bottom line (for me) – in terms of mystery and twists, it is as good as The Whisper Man.  In terms of tense moments and creepiness, it is less jumpy.  In terms of dark and disturbing, it’s on par. 

 

In The Shadows, the protagonist is Paul who switches between two timelines: his teenage years and his current adult years. The book opens with the murder of children and alludes to the crime being committed by other children, though it takes the duration of the book to fully understand it all.  There’s a current day copycat mystery, a slow to reveal picture of the past murders, and an ambiguous sense of who you can trust throughout.  There’s also a paranormal element that add to the creepiness factor.  

 

Overall, the mystery held throughout.  The ending was satisfying with a bit of a twist, maybe even two twists depending on how well the author distracts you from reality.  If you enjoyed The Whisper Man and were holding off on this one – go ahead and give it a go. 

 

Content warnings: Murder, Death, Violence, Child death, Animal death 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia

kingsteph's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, and Torture

Minor: Suicide

kris386's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Bullying

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Minor: Alcohol and Infidelity

book_banter's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I didn’t see the twist coming so that was great! I did find the characters a bit flat, though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

awalls143's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

The overall plot was good. The chapters were a little confusing between the switching point of views and time periods. There is a twist towards the end I feel I should have seen coming but totally didn’t. It changed the way I saw the characters in a good way. Definitely recommend for someone who likes darker books, some scenes are pretty graphic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

2.0

Twenty-five years ago, Charlie Crabtree and Billy Roberts, killed a classmate in some kind of ritual, but whilst Billy went to prison, Charlie disappeared into thin air. Paul had been sort-of friends with both of them and a third boy, James, but had a falling out before the killing,, but he was still tainted by what happened, and he left home to go to university and never returned. Now his mother is ill and Paul returns to his home town, and he stays in his childhood home, but odd things start to happen. Is someone watching Paul, have they been waiting for his return? What happened to Charlie all those years ago, and is he still alive?

This started off well but it was a bit underwhelming to be fair. It couldn't make its mind up if it wanted to be a creepy thriller or a supernatural horror and didn't manage to be either. All the characters were so bland and dull, it was unfortunately a rather boring read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Minor: Animal death