Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

265 reviews

thelibraryofanolive's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Infertility, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Death

dms3899's review

dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Torture, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Death

kvtherine's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked the book I wouldnt give it a full 5 stars because it is a series and I haven't finished the second book and there will be a third coming out. But it definitely makes me want to read the next book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

natalienance's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Domestic abuse

emilylott's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Confinement

Minor: Body shaming and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ghi's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Murder, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, and Grief

brooklynelle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

It’s not  the best written book I’ve ever read, but really great plot twists, and love that the twists come throughout the book not just in the last chapter!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Death and Murder

samantha914's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Torture, and Mental illness

Minor: Infertility, Sexual content, and Child abuse

paperbacksandsnacks's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

This book reminded me why I love thrillers and how incredible they can be when written well. And this was phenomenal. The hype truly is worth it. 

The writing style is addictive, and super atmospheric. Immediately when starting this book it felt tense and eerie and like anything could happen. Parts of this felt predictable and at first I was like “I don’t get the hype, why is everyone acting like this is something new” but thennn the twists began. And I realised the predictability is there to make you feel comfortable, to make the twists even more shocking and unexpected. It’s a book that’s written so cleverly. I truly could not have predicted how this story went, it was just twist after twist. That part 2 twist had me SHOOK. 

My one complaint is some of the comments about body size and image. I think it could potentially be triggering for some people. A woman who is mentioned to be a size 14 which is a very average and normal mid size body, who is being spoken about in certain critical ways I think is very outdated and not necessarily relevant to what the author was building here. For me this didn’t take away from the story or quality of the thriller itself, but it is something to note. 

I understand that Andrew obviously prefers a skinny woman so it was building up to that affair he had with Millie, but I think this could have been referenced without shaming a very common body type. The complimentary focus of a skinnier frame and a critical one of a very normal frame is dated and I think probably a little cruel. To discuss eating habits too is also potentially very triggering.

This whole story was unhinged from start to finish, and full of unexpected turns. I felt icky throughout and so tense, which for me is just the mark of an excellent psych thriller. The pacing was impeccable, the reveals excellently timed. The characters were so well thought out too. Just amazing, amazing writing. And with the way this book ended I anticipate I will be reading the sequel VERY soon. 

I wish all thrillers were this good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual content, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death, and Body shaming

xgabrielle_hx's review

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Blood

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Infertility, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Body shaming, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Rape

Minor: Alcohol and Pregnancy