Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann

12 reviews

kas010's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, and Murder

mitzee's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This was mostly a book of self discovery under the guise of a murder mystery with multiple deaths. In some ways quite dark but also light hearted or maybe I just see it that way because the primary cast is a household of elders who live together to support each other, and that’s nice to hear about. Everyone has their quirks.

Summary for myself:

The story is told in third person but led by Agnes’ account of things. She seems like she used to be a detective or cop beaded on clues throughout the book about her “doing this kind of thing”. She seems to be mentally all there and still sharp (given that she tried to solve the murder mystery) until the end when it’s revealed that she might actually have hallucinations of her twin sister who died at a young age. 

What I liked about the book is that it treated the house hold like they were (mostly) well functioning adults. The idea of Sunset Hall is pretty nice - you live together and essentially write down when you’d want someone to remove you from this world and how you’d want to go. But I also  wonder how annoyed I would be with some people’s quirks once I get to that age. Would I be able to live with them? I guess it’s better than the alternative of living in a home.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Toxic friendship

styxx's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

boats's review against another edition

funny mysterious

3.5

This start to this book had me laughing and turning pages, but it somehow turned less funny and less interesting. It was fine, but could have been excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Dementia, Child death, Murder, and Death

Minor: Child abuse

rhgrimes's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Death

Minor: Blood, Violence, Kidnapping, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Terminal illness

callidoralblack's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Death, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Blood, and Car accident

siriface's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Medical trauma

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

'The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp' by Leonie Swann is a cozy murder mystery centered on the older adults in a small English town in the countryside. 
The housemates of Sunset Hall are dealing with the death of one of their own when they learn that a murder has been committed at the house next door. Though this murder provides the perfect cover for the death of their housemate it also stirs up concern. Who would kill in their small town? The group of older adults band together to find the killer and return peace of mind to Sunset Hall. 
Swann has written another really enjoyable murder mystery. This story is filled with a full cast of engaging, complex characters that are mostly all older adults. I loved getting to see the dynamics between the different housemates and how they each try in their own way to solve the murder. The titular Agnes Sharp is given the most time, which makes sense. As Agnes attempts to unravel the mystery, she also begins to unravel her own past and some memories that she has kept hidden. All in all, an incredibly enjoyable murder mystery with a great cast of characters. There are two wonderful animal characters in this book as well, one dog and one tortoise. The tortoise even gets some chapters told through her own perspective. I believe this is a series, which I am excited for since I cannot wait to see what this group gets up to next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

What a hilarious and fun book! I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to read a book through the eyes of an elderly person, a totally new perspective since I mostly read YA and books featuring younger adult characters books. It had twists and turns but in a gentle mystery way more than a thriller. The misadventures of the characters were at times a bit sad but mostly funny. The narrator did an excellent job! Overall, it's an amazing book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Ableism, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Dementia

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Murder

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

I was expecting this one to be a lighthearted, banter-filled book, as I’d expect from a European cozy mystery. While it did deliver on whimsy, such as chapters told from the perspective of Hettie the House Tortoise, and bubbly side characters, this was much darker than I expected. It dealt with a lot of hard issues including: ageism, dealing with chronic pain, the impacts of getting older, and what it means to choose, to direct the life you want. Which was good, but maybe not exactly what I was looking for as a mood reader.

That being said, overall, I liked this one, and I would recommend this book to read who enjoy

• Darker cozy mysteries
• A large cast of characters
• Grumpy, curmudgeonly main characters
• Unreliable narrators
• The Thursday Murder Club series

A note on the format: I did listen to this one on audio and very much enjoyed the narrator, Moira Quirk, especially with the distinct voice choices during scenes of dialogue. Also, this book was translated to English from its original German, and had a narrator with an English accent, so I had to keep reminding myself that this is set in Germany, not the UK.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced listening copy. I’m not sure that I’ll continue on with the series, but I did enjoy my experience with this audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Death, Confinement, Mental illness, Grief, and Fatphobia

Minor: Pedophilia and Alcohol