Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

11 reviews

sofiam19's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

3.0

Really enjoyed the first half but then it felt like a different book altogether. Slightly rushed, the writing of Lila felt hollow, and it just seemed very out there for what happens to Joe. It would’ve been at least a 4 if the author was consistent with the writing in the first half. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: War, Alcoholism, Incest, Death, Pedophilia, and Confinement

lilnormbean's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Murder

gigi43's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, War, Terminal illness, Grief, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Murder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death

singerj49's review

adventurous dark 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? No

4.0

Loveable characters and a quick page turner. The main plot points were predictable, but the stakes were high enough to maintain interest.

Also, a bit ridiculous the police didn’t think to stake outside Joe and Lila’s apartment building after the initial murder attempt.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

mostdefinitelystephanie's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I read this for my library book club. I can't say I loved the book but I liked it good enough. It does read as the first of a series where you'll probably learn more about the characters in the next installment.
The story was interesting though predictable. It kept me engaged and I read this book in a couple days. I mostly listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a good job. 
I didn't really like Joe just showing up at a nursing home thinking, "Oh I can just find an old person there." Did he not ever meet a single other person outside his family back in Austin, MN? The director of nursing and receptionist majorly broke HIPAA laws within 5 minutes of meeting him. I feel like Joe is ultimately a good guy but he's too "macho" for me to say I liked him.
I wanted more character development of Lila.

She very quickly went from uninterested neighbor to coming in the room after he was injured to randomly sleep with him and started a relationship with him. It really seemed to me that the author just wanted to put a sex scene in there.

 
Jeremy's character was very one dimensional as well. I almost feel like he was just used as a prop. I think many on the spectrum would have an issue with his portrayal.
However, I did like Carl. He was probably my favorite character.
Anyway, it's not a book I'll be going out of my way to recommend to others but it was an enjoyable quick read.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

fluture's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

An enjoyable book to be read if you are looking for a light mystery and thriller without plot twists. I love how intense every chapter is, the author knows how to make us feel intrigued to continue reading it in one sit. Each character was described in a way where we were expected to understand why they acted that way now. Although it has predictable plot, it is still worth the read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, Rape, Death, Violence, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexism, Stalking, Xenophobia, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Alcoholism

The ending is very much predictable and satisfying. Looks a lot like average thriller movies.

friends2lovers's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense fast-paced

1.5

I'm trying to read more of my owned books in 2023 and this is one of many audiobooks I've had in my Audible library for years and never listened to.  When I was scrolling through my audible app, the wintery cover caught my eye, and that's pretty much how I came to finally listen to this.  Mysteries and thrillers are not usually my genre, so I'm not sure why I bought this in the first place.  Maybe it was a daily deal?  Anyway, I did like the narrator, Zach Villa.  He kind of sounded like a young Armie Hammer.  The story was decent, but a little predictable.  I didn't connect with any of the characters enough to want to read more of Esken's novels, which are apparently all set in the same Minnesota town.  Overall, it was okay/fine.  Mostly I'm just glad to finally mark this as read and move on to another book.

Series: On his website, Esken says, "My books are not a series, but rather character arcs that revolve around a small community."   

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

Tags: winter, amateur detective, college-age MC

Setting: Minnesota, in late fall and early winter

Protagonist: Joe Talbert 

Point-of-View: 1st person, past tense

Length: 8h 24m, 333 pages, 90k words (novel)

Format: audiobook from Audible

Narrator: Zach Villa

Read Date: 08 Jan 2023

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Ableism, War, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Cancer, Mental illness, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Addiction

debimorton's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

College student, Convicted murderer, autistic brother, terrible mother, neighbor girl. Convict dying of cancer in nursing home. First person narrative. Joe, Lila, Carl, Jeremy

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

book_buddy_rob's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This book was really interesting. I wasn’t expecting it to be a slower read, but that’s what I ended up really enjoying about it because it is a really in depth story about not just a murder investigation but a story about overcoming trauma.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

the_write_to_cry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Cancer