Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Hea tüdruku mõrvaraamat

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Hea tüdruku mõrvaraamat by Holly Jackson

2239 reviews

babyleo's review against another edition

4.0

emotional mysterious sad 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: No

A longer version of his review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2Vu

I have been eyeing off this book for years and I finally started reading it and I’m so glad. It is captivating and draws you in fairly quickly and never quite lets go. Who can resist the allure of a possible mistake in a closed case and a town so ready to condemn an apparent murder? The further you go the more doubt is cast. There are hints and clues that don’t connect, the misdirection and hidden secrets from people in town and a cast of characters to keep you guessing.

As with a lot of things in a small town, secrets are unearthed and things that have been kept hidden come to the surface, affecting more than just one person’s life. It never felt sensationalised, but the knock on effect is clear. Pip’s innocent investigation for a school project never leads her astray from her capabilities, but at the same time her own personality latches on and her consumption of the case and the need for answers brings danger.

Pip is a great character. Her passion and dedication grows from an interest for a school project to something of an obsession as she uncovers more and more secrets and unanswered questions. Her focus and her determination to get to the bottom of this crime is something I think you can achieve with her approach to her investigation, especially as so many people think there has already been a culprit named.

Each character felt real too, which is important when creating a community. No one felt one dimensional even the red herrings all had full lives and stories, making them as likely as the next to be suspects. The realness of characters is important too if readers are meant to believe they could hide things, deceive, or have more depth than it first appears. Jackson does this well as everyone Pip interviews, helps, or is hindered by bring their own lives to the page and it is definitely a strength of the book.

I know the book is filled with great formatting around transcripts, emails and Pip’s notes, but I loved the audio version of this so much. It was a mix between an audiobook and a radio drama. The phone conversations sound like phone conversations, the recordings Pip references sound like conversations on tape recordings being played back, and the different voices bring in another great element.

It isn’t entirely like a radio drama, there is regular narration as well which help break up Pip’s research and the outside story. It was a clever way to lay out how she was conducting her research and piecing it all together, plus those listening to the book don’t miss out on the creative storytelling Jackson has designed.

This is one you should read in order, not only because the second book spoils practically everything from book one fairly soon, but there is something wonderful about seeing Pip’s growth and her determination as she investigates.

Content Warnings

kelsiehrene's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

sophie_mitchem's review against another edition

4.75

Content Warnings

alkami's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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: No

This should have been a 5 star book,

but the author made the dog die

. There was no need for this, it didn't influence the plot in any way, it didn't make the main character act differently, at all. It was complete shock value and i condemn it.

Content Warnings

raevenly's review against another edition

2.75

medium-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

Pacing fell apart at the end, I hit a point where I just stopped caring

Content Warnings

crum_93's review against another edition

2.25

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Full disclosure: I should have read the CWs. That said, I guess I am just not the target audience for this story. I get why it is popular and I mostly hated it while I was listening but was invested enough to need to know the ending.

Content Warnings

addssubract's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

tig_'s review against another edition

3.5

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

With my rating system being:

0 Disliked it enough to DNF

1 Disliked it but finished it

2 Liked it but wouldn’t read it again

3 Liked it, would read again, but don’t like it enough to buy a physical copy

4 Liked it and will casually seek out a physical copy to have in my library

5 LOVED IT and must immediately seek out a special edition and/or bind one

I’m giving this a 3.5. I think the intended audience is a group younger and/or less experienced with murder mysteries than I, so I found it relatively tame and missing some of the bite that I love from murder mysteries. But it’s good for what it is, and enjoyable, though the resolution felt messy to me as opposed to clever. Even so, looking forward to recommending this to my teen niece.

Content Warnings