Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths

2 reviews

laura_keoski's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the previous DI Harbinder Kaur books, and I’m excited that we get to see her story carry on now that she has relocated to London. I also think “Bleeding Heart Yard” works well as a standalone novel if you haven’t read the first two novels in the series.

This novel reminded me of all the things I enjoy about British procedurals: A not-quite-cozy murder mystery centered around a group of people whose lives are deeply interwoven, dark & dry humor, and familiar tropes that can lull you into believing you know the characters better than you do. 

The plot felt a little slow in the second half, and several of the minor characters were underdeveloped.

The ending didn’t necessarily surprise me, but the motives for all of the murders, especially the original murder 21 years prior, felt forced and hard to believe, especially because the murderer’s backstory as an obsessively jealous partner wasn’t laid out.

Still, I enjoyed it, and hope that we got more in the DI Harbinder series!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Murder

There are discussions of PTSD, dissociation, and the exploration of recovered memories as plot points in the story,

which includes survivors of sexual assault and other traumatic events questioning their own memories of events, and having the reliability of their memories questioned by others. These survivors ultimately are not presented as criminals or perpetrators of violence.

lyonmir16's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Terminal illness

Minor: Sexual harassment, Cancer, Sexism, Infidelity, Drug use, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting