Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

123 reviews

navayiota's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me Secret History-but they grew up vibes. Now I really want to start a map collection.. 

Two things that bothered me were how stereotypically not-like-other-girls Nel is, (petite, unruly hair, big glasses, big cardigans, not chic, bookish, quiet but feisty) i struggled to imagine her that way and the wording always prompted an eye roll from me. The second thing was just how easily everyone spilled their past to Nel even though it was the first time they had seen her in 2+ decades, and the fact that they included all their petty drama. It completely broke immersion for me whenever someone who was prev ously reserved started talking about what was going on in their relationship and even their sex lives. I liked the story but the way it was conveyed to the reader felt weird.
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cyndi1966's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jramoly's review against another edition

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

3.75

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vhlm's review

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It took a while for the story to properly take off, but I really enjoyed the intrigues and mysteries in the book. It would have been nice to include more information on mapmaking,
but the spin on maps and the "truth" they show was interesting.
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cgreenstein's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Fast-paced and inventive, with enough hints to make the reveals feel earned rather than out of nowhere but not so many that everything is obvious right out of the gate. That's a hard balance to strike, I think, and this book handles it well, so each time something is revealed it's satisfying instead of prompting eye rolls. I would've appreciated a little more explanation of the climactic scene, and some of the ins and outs of how everything worked required me to go back and reread, and I am still not 100% sure I got it, but I think that's on me-- I'm not a detail-oriented reader, and I was more interested in the plot, which is rapid and twisty. The characters are fun, too, especially the family friends!
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trilli_pop's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The concept is great and actually the execution is pretty good too. I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery, and even though there is some murder I definitely wouldn't call the book a thriller. It doesn't linger too long on the murders before it moves the plot forward. I also enjoyed the exposition provided in the form of characters telling their entwined stories. Altogether an enjoyable book, but starts slow and pace really picks up toward the end... 
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alexlily's review against another edition

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4.0

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curlywiggles's review against another edition

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2.0

The concept had so much potential but was not executed well. It was an easy read but I guessed quite a few of the twists early on in the book, which was disappointing. There were some loveable characters but the romance felt very YA and they were not a good fit for each other at all. I did not understand the motivation of the villain of the piece. Seemed to be a fairly well rounded guy, if painfully shy, and then just became obsessive and a full on criminal for no reason. 
I did quite enjoy learning about cartography and the NYLP. 

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the_book_bee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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vdesjardins's review against another edition

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

5.0

The Cartographers was a fun listen. Twists and turns. Engaging world building. It's worth a read if you have any interest in geography or fun stories. 
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