Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Sisareni, sarjamurhaaja by Oyinkan Braithwaite

21 reviews

erinkellyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 A tense, quick thriller that will have you frustrated and engaged from page one. I loved that it was told in short vignettes; it kept the pacing up as well as gave you nuggets of information one at a time. I was frustrated by the characters, but it also all made sense. Definitely a must read! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Police brutality, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Adult/minor relationship

juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book a lot! Such a quick read, and the chapters were so very short, but still managed to convey a compelling story. This story is in part a mystery-thriller, but more so is a story about family and relationships.

This story shows just how un breakable the bond between sisters is, and the length they will go to protect each other.

I don’t know how to talk about the characters in a way that won’t make the story off putting, because the reality is that there are no good characters here. Ayoola is a serial killer, after all, and Korede enables her. I think a lot could be said about how their father’s abuse plays into how they came to be like this, and especially why Korede goes to such great lengths to protect Ayoola. I did feel bad for Korede all throughout the book, because I really felt how trapped she is in this toxic relationship; how her bond with her sister might be too strong for her own good. 

Dr. Tade might have been just another sympathetic victim of Ayoola, but in my opinion he was kind of an ass. (Long rant incoming.)

Setting aside the fact that he never appreciated all that Korede did for him, and that he fell for Ayoola just because she’s pretty, he also blamed Korede for anything that Ayoola did. “Ayoola cheated on me because you’re not a good sister”, “Ayoola only seeks other men because you don’t love her enough”, “Ayoola would never hurt anyone! Why do you always villainize her!”, “You’re just jealous of Ayoola because you don’t have a man to love”… Korede told him very clearly that Ayoola would hurt him, she did all she could to warn him and make him break up the engagement (even if Ayoola wasn’t a killer, she knows she didn’t love him and wouldn’t want to marry him). But he just ignored his many years of friendship with Korede to still be with Ayoola, and he got what he got. Did he deserve all that? Probably not, but he had the chance to think and still chose to be horny instead 🫤.

Anyway, despite all that I really enjoyed reading this book, and would definitely recommend it. Especially if you’re in a reading slump.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Police brutality

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, and Medical content

kickitupanotch7's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Drug use

augustinedreams's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Blood, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Police brutality

markwillnevercry's review against another edition

3.5

If I could, I would have read/listened to this book in one sitting. Instead, I took a break around the 60% mark to go to toilet. This was a wonderful book, that read really fast and didn't leave a bad aftertaste, which has not happened to me in a bit. I do not think this is one of those books, that I will be rereading over and over again searching for what I felt about it again, but not every book needs to be like that. Two sisters are getting through their trauma and not everything is realistic and it is okay and it was a great read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Cursing, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Car accident, Murder, and Infidelity

Moderate: Animal death and Drug abuse

traa's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Blood, and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Police brutality, and Sexual content

zazzyb's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

first thoughts ----Holy crap this family is messed up. Her sister is a true psycho. 
I really enjoyed this book, I started it years before, gave up and it lived on my bookshelf for ages.
So dec came and I was nowhere near my yearly target so manic short book reading it was. I will say this book felt very short, I would have liked it to have been longer and more detailed.

Braithwaite really manages to draw you into her world, you want to know who the next victim will be, will Korede ever get her happy ever after. Its full of slight twists and you really do feel for this woman who puts her family first without any thought to her happiness. 

Great read and a really interesting concept, wish it was longer and more in-depth however

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Minor: Police brutality

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Police brutality and Medical content

amberrenfrey's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Classism

Minor: Sexism, Police brutality, and Drug abuse