Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae by Graeme Macrae Burnet

10 reviews

kstericker's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Gore, and Grief

writingcaia's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Wow so I read this whole book thinking it was non-fiction. Fuck me! 
(Totally my bad if I had paid more attention to reviews and blurbs I’d have known it before. Now I’ve to find me another non-fic to read this month.)
And, how the hell am I going to rate this?
It was interesting for sure. Gruesome and historically sound (for a know nothing me), but the characterisation, the setting, the familial and societal relationships does resonate with what I’ve come to assume and identify of the times in isolated, poor communities ruled by Lairds (Lords) and their constables in Scotland. Also, my mixed feelings towards the killer and his actions, wether insane or not, from my part were real too.
Ah, crap. I guess I liked it, if it made me feel so much, and honestly the beginning was kind of hard to get into, but afterwards I was quite eager to see where it would lead, and there was a lot of hope for a certain outcome by the end of it.
The court part in what it diverges from the biography was relevant but I did suspect it. 
There’s so much at play here, age, poverty, ambitions or lack of, insanity, lust, vengeance, intellect, premeditation, we know nothing and have to infer everything with the same degree of distance and the same information as if we were a juror. It’s a hard job and I wouldn’t want it. Actually we do have more information as we have the biography, which does make you get more familiar with the young killer.
Definitely a cool play on the narrative part. It fooled me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Sexual violence

Minor: Incest, Rape, and Suicide

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Medical content, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Dementia, and Rape

a1exander's review

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, Violence, Murder, and Confinement

Moderate: Blood, Suicide, Alcohol, Stalking, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Death of parent, Mental illness, Classism, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, and Incest

all1n's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

I appreciate the use of local language and there's a glossary in the back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence

Moderate: Classism

feebles640's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Gore, Murder, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

Minor: Child abuse

readingisadoingword's review

dark reflective 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

4.0

His Bloody Project centres around the story of Roderick Macrae brutally murdering three of his small crofting community.

From the outset there seems no doubt that Roddy is guilty - he admits to the crimes and provides his own account of events, with some explanation as to why he did what he did.

But will we ever uncover the truth?

This was such a cleverly constructed novel. Presented as an investigation of a real life event, the blurring of fact and fiction is immediately disorientating. The reader is presented with various versions of events - eye witness accounts, Roddy’s statement, the coroner’s reports, the findings of a criminal “expert”, the trial and testimonies of a variety of witnesses and experts.

These accounts vary considerably. What was Roddy’s real motivation for the murders? Who is telling the truth? Who is reliable? Who has their own agenda to fulfil?

I found this quite a “meta” reading experience. You’re aware throughout that your sympathies are being manipulated. If we’d been presented with certain pieces of evidence in a different order would we have formed the same theories? How can you ever know who to believe? How do you define the “truth”?

The portrayal of life in a Highland crofting community was unflinching and much of the harsh reality of the poverty of the Highlanders existence was dealt with here - the crofters’ lack of rights, the subjugation by the laird and factor, the hardship of eking out an existence from the land.

There were also engaging characters - to love and hate! Despite being the assumed culprit Roddy is not necessarily the villain of the piece - at least to begin with….

Anyway I could ramble on for ages about this book. I loved it and despite the historical setting the questions around perception, public opinion and truth are still very relevant today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

alisonannk's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Child death, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism, Rape, and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Grief, Incest, and Sexual harassment

helenlikesbooks's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

andireadsawesomely's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence