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thomwallace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cobblestoneheart's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
naomistrange's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
bitsyreads_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
thefoxy_booklady's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mysterymom40's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Self harm
kjkbooks's review against another edition
4.5
Thoughts:
I love that Matheson doesn’t shy from tackling issues of race and religion that many other authors tend not to highlight. The initial victim is Caleb Annan who is a black man and a pastor killed in London which already makes the case a potentially charged case which is not helped by a local MP intervening and insinuating that Henley is essentially a race traitor for spending time to identify the tortured to near death white man also found at the scene. Henley, Pellacia, and Ramouter can all be seen struggling and coping with the mental health issues and trauma arising from their encounters with Olivier in the previous book in different ways to also highlight mental illnesses further (on top of the handling of the illnesses of some of the victims in the case).
I love that Matheson doesn’t shy from tackling issues of race and religion that many other authors tend not to highlight. The initial victim is Caleb Annan who is a black man and a pastor killed in London which already makes the case a potentially charged case which is not helped by a local MP intervening and insinuating that Henley is essentially a race traitor for spending time to identify the tortured to near death white man also found at the scene. Henley, Pellacia, and Ramouter can all be seen struggling and coping with the mental health issues and trauma arising from their encounters with Olivier in the previous book in different ways to also highlight mental illnesses further (on top of the handling of the illnesses of some of the victims in the case).
maryleong's review against another edition
3.0
This was an incredibly compelling read. I did not particularly enjoy Nadine Matheson's first novel, and was glad I gave this a second chance. Right off the bat, this novel plunges you right into the action – the brutal torture of a yet-unknown victim. A shady megachurch is at the heart of it all as its fire and brimstone preacher is found dead.
But the novel isn't all unsolved murders and serial killings. For our protagonist Anjelica Henley and her partner Salim Ramouter, the novel tackles issues of racism, racial profiling, and the tenuous balance for BIPOC who work in policing and other carceral systems. It also skilfully weaves portraits of individuals going through grief, trauma, and loss.
My main gripe with the novel came right at the end. For such a dramatic, twisty novel with complex characters, the suspects' dialogue during their interviews were flat and one-dimensional. Not to spoil anything, but two of the suspects' speech patterns were pretty much identical, despite them being very different characters throughout the novel. This felt really jarring and broke the immersion for me. Overall, would have been a 4/5 if not for this.
But the novel isn't all unsolved murders and serial killings. For our protagonist Anjelica Henley and her partner Salim Ramouter, the novel tackles issues of racism, racial profiling, and the tenuous balance for BIPOC who work in policing and other carceral systems. It also skilfully weaves portraits of individuals going through grief, trauma, and loss.
My main gripe with the novel came right at the end. For such a dramatic, twisty novel with complex characters, the suspects' dialogue during their interviews were flat and one-dimensional. Not to spoil anything, but two of the suspects' speech patterns were pretty much identical, despite them being very different characters throughout the novel. This felt really jarring and broke the immersion for me. Overall, would have been a 4/5 if not for this.
izzyf03's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
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? No
5.0