Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Umacı'nın Peşinde by Richard Chizmar

9 reviews

daybreakreads's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

This is what I get for skimming reviews before reading…I was under the impression when I started the audiobook that the narrator is the killer because someone had used “serial killer” and “autobiography” in a review (it’s hard for me to keep names straight when I begin an audiobook, so I kept waiting for the big revelation that never was.)

No. The story is told from a fictionalized version of the author’s childhood, but in a way that feels like a true crime novel. The author is an innocent observer and bystander in his hometown during a summer where a (fictional) serial killer is attacking women in the night.

I must say, confusion aside, I enjoyed this. It has mixed reviews, but the storytelling was so compelling it was difficult to put down. I also appreciated that it wasn’t overly or unnecessarily graphic. The worst it gets is a brief description of some injuries (but as far as the SA stuff goes, it literally just said, “the body had been SA-ed” and nothing more). I was worried that it would be grotesque (I had to DNF “The Chestnut Man” by Soren Sveistrup and Stephen King’s “The Outsiders” for unnecessarily graphic descriptions of corpses) but thankfully that was not the case.

Eventually the killer is caught decades later, and the author includes the “interview” he has with him. Apparently the physical book has staged photos that were included — I think that would’ve added to the experience.

I’m tempted to reread it now that I know where my confusion was, but I rather enjoyed it regardless. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Suicide

adventgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Murder

madrog's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Rape, Murder, Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Death

caffeinated_library's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Death, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent

jadstersuperinvader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked the premise of the book and found it a fun read, but really did not like the main character who is based on the author. I found his perspective of everything to be almost cringe and annoying, I really wish the book was in a third person's perspective and not the main character's. And at times his inner monologue is so incredibly dull and gives major second hand embarrassment. The story itself, if you enjoy true crime, was very enjoyable still. I liked how focused it was on humanizing all of the female victims. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual assault

nickcallebs's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death, Child death, Rape, and Grief

jjreads331's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? Yes

3.0

The metafiction of this story is great, and it is what kept me going. The author clearly read into the genre and managed to create a story that confused at least half of my book group as to whether this was a real memoir or fiction. The issues that I had are with the pacing. There isn't really any denouement and I think the book needed that. One thing I really did love was the loving depictions of Maryland. I wanted to immediately go back to visit. Oh, one last nit:

the pictures included were hilarious and an excellent addition, but like HELL are those girls with their perfect 2020s middle part hair from the 80s. insert *sure jan* meme here.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Violence, Child death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Mental illness, Animal death, and Cancer

griskusse's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I have a lot of mixed feelings because on one hand it was very gripping and I felt compelled to the story and then other times I felt like I was forcing myself to get through some of the parts. I was pleasantly surprised about the narrative being the author himself and I’m curious to read other books told in this way in a fictional sense. It’s not quite a 4 cause I could pretty much predict the killer and I wanted more interviews but I understand why it was written in the way it was.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Stalking

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Violence

odrib's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Death of parent