Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon

6 reviews

katiejohns's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug abuse, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

eclectic_reads's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

Like most of the reviews here, I'm not entirely sure what to make of this story. It shrouds itself in so much mystery that at one point I just want to be done with it. Unlike the fast pace thrillers that keeps me up all night wondering who the culprit is, Locust Lane is easy to put down and very forgettable. As it tries to build up tension and reach its climax, the various accounts of the actual event became repetitive and drawn out which only exacerbated my mental fatigue. And to make matters worse, the ending fell flat as it left me hanging unresolved feeling both sad and upset all at once. It's vaguely reminiscent of The Great Gatbsy in its theme but this one is no classic. It has great potential and the premise is good but how it was executed left a rather bad after taste; I was more confused than satisfied. I likely will not read from this author again.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, and Drug abuse

mj_james_writes's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Rape, Death, Murder, and Drug abuse

emmas_bookshelf's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was such a good mystery/thriller. It took me a few chapters to get hooked, but once I was I could not put it down - seriously. The adult characters are actually of much more interest than the three teenagers named in the synopsis. I was desperate to figure out who the killer was right up until the end. It reminded me a lot of Defending Jacob which I also liked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Classism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Death, Infidelity, Alcohol, Drug use, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Rape, Self harm, and Violence

amobrien's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Locust Lane is a domestic mystery about privilege and power surrounding the murder of a young woman in an affluent suburb. Throughout, the story touched on social status, parenthood/family drama, racism and more. I enjoyed the use of multiple POVs to show how truth means different things to these different characters. That being said, you definitely need to focus in order to keep track of everything. It seems everyone may be guilty of something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Islamophobia, Classism, Xenophobia, Death, Bullying, and Child death

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Cursing