Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

138 reviews

growintogardens's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Too much pregnancy, not enough mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Violence, Stalking, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicide

bex4dayz's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide

lindsaytimmerman92's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Predictable and a bit vapid but enjoyable nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Murder

Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Drug use

leannanecdote's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Blood, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Classism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Eating disorder

ameliaflint's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

This was meh for me. I feel like April’s character had much more opportunity but it wasn’t explored, as well as Hannah’s guilt. Emotional reaction to events was glossed over for theatrics. Which some people love, and it is a thriller, but I didn’t like it. It was entertaining and easy/fun to read, though. I love Ruth Ware, but this one wasn’t a hit for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Toxic friendship

kaylamarieestes's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Really fun murder mystery with many red herrings and surprising reveals. 

The police investigation was very lacking lol

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

bulbasaurcowboy's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Definitely full of twists and turns. A really good whodunit thriller that has a great medium pace throughout. Full of complex characters who come from different class backgrounds to meet at Oxford. The main character is a newcomer to the area and through her roommate blends into this new group full of historh and secrets that lead to tragic consequences. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Drug use, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

 

Review:

I am not someone who typically enjoys mysteries and thrillers, but I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone more often. I picked up The It Girl by Ruth Ware for a transatlantic flight, thinking it would pass the time.

 

Although I’ve seen some people complain about the slow pace of this book, I appreciate the fact that this book takes its time to develop its characters and their backstories. The depth of its characters saves the book from being irredeemably unoriginal (a wealthy and sexy popular college student at Oxford is murdered! I haven’t heard that one before /s). The protagonist, Hannah, is not exactly the most dynamic main character on the planet, but Ware writes her trauma in a believable and sympathetic way. I especially like that Ware gives Hannah a good reason for revisiting the murder several years later—there’s nothing I hate more than main characters who play detective for the fun of it.

 

In short, I found myself enjoying the story for the first 80% or so. It is more grounded in reality than other thrillers I’ve read and is decently well-written. However, I know from experience that thrillers rarely impress me with their endings. Usually, thriller and mystery endings ruin the stories for me; why do thriller and mystery authors feel so desperate to add so many twists and turns to their story at the expense of narrative cohesion? Unfortunately, The It Girl is no exception. The ending and its twists are stupid, unbelievable, and ridiculous. I can think of a handful of alternative endings that would have made more sense than this one. 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like The It Girl if . . . 

·      You like thrillers that take time to build up their characters

·      You don’t mind “slow-paced” thrillers

·      You like dark academia settings and vibes

 

You might not like The It Girl if . . .

·      You want a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time

·      You don’t like bland protaganists

·       You dislike the twisty/turny nature of thriller endings

 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, and Eating disorder

cake_cats_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

seashellsforshelley's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

It’s just really slow and the story is not really compelling until the main climax. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Pregnancy

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual harassment