Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

28 reviews

jamballdonut's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

So far of the 3 books I've read by Paula Hawkins, I've only enjoyed 1 of them, and it was not this book.  I mean, it was an okay book, but jumping between the characters got confusing and I just didn't find myself liking any of them (Not that liking a character is a prerequisite to enjoy a book, but it obviously helps).

I don't have much to say other than when the killer was eventually revealed, although I didn't suspect it would be them, I just didn't care.

Both Carla and Miriam were just.. not enjoyable in the slightest.  Carla was boring and bland, and seemed massively underdeveloped, while Miriam just seemed like the nosy neighbour who can't keep her nose out of anyone's business

(Also, constantly mentioning how horrifically ugly she was, while only really focusing on her having an unattractive face, bad teeth, and being fat made me feel very.. not great about all of that.  Was there actually something wrong with her? Or was she just not conventionally attractive? She was short and fat, so that makes her some hideous beast? Mmm, no thank you.)

In comparison, although Laura grated on me, especially in the beginning, she became the main character that I truly enjoyed, mostly because she seemed authentic in a way that none of the other main characters did.  Carla's husband, ex-husband, current boy toy, whatever you want to describe him as was equally as bland, boring, and vapid.  Nobody cares about your "Main Character Syndrome", sir.

I think if she'd kept the same cast of characters, but had it from the focus of only one or two characters, it would have been much more enjoyable.  But, the switching between the main 4-5 characters, and focusing so much on previous deaths just got distracting and made the story feel bogged down to the point that the actual recent murder didn't even seem like the main plot point.

Altogether, after thoroughly enjoying Girl on the Train and thoroughly disliking this and Into the Water, I really can't see myself picking up another book by Paula Hawkins.  I want to love her, I really do, but she just makes it so hard to do so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Medical content, Child death, Car accident, Alcoholism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Abandonment and Incest

larade's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, Rape, Ableism, and Grief

odrib's review

dark mysterious sad fast-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Alcoholism, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Child death, Addiction, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical content, Infidelity, and Car accident

calchick's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

A young man is found murdered and three women who are suspects are connected to him and eventually to each other. Their paths intertwine as the police try to figure out what happened. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Car accident

leahvanert's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

 I had high hopes for this after loving the Girl on the Train, but this was sooooo boring. The first ¾, nearly nothing happens. The concept is interesting but I wouldn’t call the execution thrilling by any means. It was okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident

sleeson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

My first Paula Hawkins book. I liked it. The narrator was great! Swearing. Not for teens. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Cursing, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Car accident, Alcohol, Violence, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

wy_woman's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Blood, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Gore, and Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Infertility, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Medical content

shiran_fa's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Animal death, Alcoholism, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Grief, Infidelity, and Medical content

jextown's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 stars may be generous, but I was  pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this book. I’ve never actually heard of Paula Hawkins and I really only put this on cause it was on my shelf for some reason and I’d just finished a book I loved so much that I needed something easier I didn’t care about so much as a break. I wouldn’t say I’m an avid reader of crime drama and I’m not one to be dissuaded  by predictability. But the cast of characters and themes throughout this book I found compelling. I particularly enjoyed the commentary on storytelling and the crime/mystery genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Murder, Alcoholism, Violence, Car accident, Confinement, and Medical trauma

nicoles_reading_corner'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, Infertility, and Kidnapping