Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

11 reviews

karenschlesser's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard was a bit convoluted, but oh so worth it. I usually hate non-linear, repetitive timelines, and I fully expected this to be one of the worst offenders after the first few chapters, but I very quickly learned I was going to be proven wrong. I really liked the characters in this book, and felt torn between loving them and hating them (but loving to hate them). I loved the way it switched perspective, and our author really delivered here because I almost never say that. The way details were revealed kept you guessing throughout, and while I would say this is more of a mystery than a thriller, I was intrigued and devoured this in 2 sittings (because silly me I started it at 9PM on a work night). I could have easily read this cover to cover if given enough time and I think if you’re a fan of mysterious but realistic stories, this would be a great fit. I truly liked this book far more than I thought I would, so I tip my hat to @bookofthemonth for bringing this one into my life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

pookiee's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

a mystery in the time of the first COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland sounds interesting, but didn’t end up being so.
it is deeper than the average thriller, at least. the author believes in the reformation of criminals, but what happens in this book didn’t help that point

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent and Stalking

Minor: Vomit, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

vj_thompson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Just when you think you know what’s going on, it just got better and better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Bullying, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

rebeccai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide

pagesintranslation's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Chronic illness and Mental illness

Minor: Vomit and Death of parent

ashleylowry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Blood

Minor: Death, Abandonment, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

chronicallyplotting's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

A suspenseful thriller, that keeps you guessing until the end. Takes place during the Covid pandemic, even though we are still in the pandemic today the book takes place during the lockdown. I wasn’t excited to read a book about Covid and all that transpired but this book only used the time frame and the lockdown part. Without being too stressful with the reminders of those days. Book was a bit repetitive but it switched POVs so we had to hear each side. Overall, really enjoyed this psych- thriller. I am always happy when the ending isn’t obvious. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Confinement, Gore, Death of parent, and Child death

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

an Irish novel written during covid lockdown about covid lockdown and murder 🕵‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Murder, Child death, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

planreadrepeat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

Oliver meets Ciara in Dublin, both relatively new to the city. They date a few weeks and COVID 19 lockdown begins. They decide to try living together and seeing how their relationship can grow. 

As a thriller-mystery, the book is full of twists and secrets. New characters and names are introduced and unraveling the threads is difficult. The ending was not what I expected and I found it slightly disappointing because I had higher hopes for the characters. I liked how the POV changed for different characters. 

Spoiler:

It really made me feel sympathy for juvenile offenders. Yes, horrible actions were committed but how much do they understand?  I do not like that Ciara walked free, nor do I find her actions justified. I wish the detective would have caught her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Vomit