Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Penance

This was dark, twisted, and thought-provoking on several levels. Presented as a non-fiction true-crime book about a horrific fictional murder in a small seaside town, this is about evil, our fascination with it, and how capitalism monetises this fascination.

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mookisbooks's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-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

2.0

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deannamartin113's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

A mimic book. A book that is a novel, but presents itself as a non-fiction, true crime book. It explores the damage that the true crime community (podcasts, Reddit groups, Tumblr, books, and others) can have on the victims, the victim’s families, the perpetrators, the perpetrator’s families and the community at large.

I had a true crime season. I thought I partook responsibly, but I’m rethinking that. The true crime podcasts I listened/watched are very well made. Their stories are well written and captivating. How much artistic license is taken with their stories?

They can tell us until they’re blue in the face that they’ve spoken with the victim’s family and have their blessing, but they give no proof, or receipts (in internet parlance).

I was becoming more uncomfortable with one of the TC podcasts I watched when they covered current cases, or even open cases with suspects, because one host was particularly intense about who she considered guilty. Once she considers you guilty, she’s like a dog with a meaty bone. The comments and innuendo never stop. Her jokes about the suspect never stop. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is not a phrase she particularly likes, however she will yell long and loud about her own freedoms.

I find a gaping disconnect there.

Penance is not a book to read lightly. TW for s**cide, miscarriage, murder, some graphic, teen drinking violence, SA off page, misogyny language, gaslighting all over the place, gross sexual language and jokes, and probably more I’m missing.

I think I am finished with True Crime podcasts and books. I’m not sure how I feel about crime documentaries, except that they need a governing body to impose standards. I’ll stick to reading the court documents, watching the actual trials, and listening to the commentary of real lawyers - there’s plenty of them on YouTube now. I’m looking at you, @theemilydbaker

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arianaf's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This is a fiction book presented as a non-fiction true-crime story, written by this writer/journalist that, at the lowest point of his career, moves to a small sea-side town, to investigate the murder of a teenage girl who was kidnapped, tortured and set on fire by three of her classmates. The plot is interesting and intriguing, and it offers some strong social commentaries, mainly on society's growing obsession with true-crime. Although, I really enjoyed reading this, it has a few minor drawbacks imo. In some occasions, the slang used by certain characters doesn't seem right for the time period the story is set. Additionally, the author explores in great detail a lot of sub-themes that are not that meaningful to the main plot, making it a little longer than necessary, and that can throw some people off (but this didn't bother me, personally, that much tbh).

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