Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

73 reviews

lasamviela's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

cammaleahh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Gore

heavensdark's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping and Murder

readwithloz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

ginamc's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Kidnapping and Murder

annamorgan27's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

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

namielle's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Mattie lives with William, an abusive man that calls himself her husband, up on a mountain in an abandoned cabin. William ensures that Mattie never leaves their home or has contact with any outsiders. One day, Mattie and William find signs that a mysterious creature has arrived. Three young college students, CP, Griffin, and Jen have come up to investigate reports of a monster up on the mountain, and William is not happy about their presence. Mattie must make a decision on whether she stays with her abuser or if she will help the newcomers avoid the monsters on the mountain.

Near the Bone was successful in filling me with absolute dread, but some of the characters were not fleshed out as well as they could have been. 

I think that I spent the whole book being as scared of William as Mattie was. The monster, whatever it was, was also somewhat frightening, but it was nothing compared to William. I was just rooting for him to die the entire time.

And I was so happy when he finally did!!

In contrast, I really felt for Mattie the entire book and wishing for her eventual escape was what had me turning page after page.

The college kids felt very flat compared to William and Mattie. None of them had much of a personality, and they kind of felt like they were ripped from a subpar horror movie. I just couldn’t really get myself to care about them outside of whether they would be able to help Mattie escape.

I also found myself being very annoyed by the mentions of Heather. There was zero payoff to this!! We never find out what happens to her or if she’s just something Mattie made up or anything. What was the point in having Mattie spend so much time thinking about her? This annoyed me much more than how boring the college kids were.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Rape

oopsadaisy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

vivireads99's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

I loved the first half of the book. It was a very uncomfortable and tough read but it gave the book a sense of direction. I found the second half of the book gave a stall to the momentum it had built up. The ending left me wanting more. There were a lot of questions left abandoned in the end. I also found the way the creature moved and acted to be very cartoonish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

chemicalpink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy