Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

89 reviews

hillbilly_heroine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

It’s a fun page-turner but relies on some weird old chestnuts to move the plot forward, e.g. that visually impaired people have super-human hearing. The big reveal was oddly disappointing. That said, the characters are well-written and I was invested in what happened to them. I’d read more by this author, particularly if she ventures outside the mystery genre. Not bad at all. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Death

Minor: Confinement, Gaslighting, and Alcoholism

toriwatson's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

 

The premise of the book was interesting, I really liked the beginning.  It kind of felt anticlimactic/like it didn’t deliver though? Like the answers were given but not in a satisfying way… The switch in narration sort of gave away one of the reveals (not all of it, but if you were paying attention it was fairly easy to spot). Also I wish Bee & Travis' abilities were more explored! It was a quick read though and nice to read on this rainy day!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Suicide

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

yomireads's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

A compelling read with vivid descriptions and rich characters. I do wish it hadn't presented itself as supernatural when it read more as a mystery thriller, but I still liked it from start to finish.

I personally found it disappointing for such an intriguing psychic ability to be introduced and then nearly entirely ignored for the entirety of the book. Pairing this sense of supernatural ability with the implied sickness of the forest and the inclusion of limes from the haunting children's book really gave a sense that there would be at least a hint of magic involved, and it felt less like a red herring twist, and more like a failure to meet expectations. I appreciate that subverting the reader's expectation provided more impact to the twist, and so still enjoyed the read, even if it felt a bit like a promise broken.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Gaslighting

Minor: Violence and Child death

wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Murder, Alcohol, and Death

erinmjustice's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, and Death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Suicide

anarchist_al's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

A pretty disorienting read—we begin with a narrator whose storyline is simply abandoned for basically the rest of the book. It eventually makes sense, but was kind of a head scratcher for the majority of the book. I really liked the setting of Pastoral, with beautiful descriptions of trees and forest and darkness. I was really intrigued by Travis’s ability to read after images of an object’s history, and was disappointed that it wasn’t explored or explained more. It was very very light magical realism. Also,

the idea of a charismatic cult leader works really well, and that he could lead a community to believe existential falsehoods is totally realistic. However, the whole thing being hypnosis was kind of a stretch. If it had been another bit of magical realism special ability thing, I would have liked it more and it would have mirrored Travis/Theo’s ability.

Overall, cool concept and setting, cool mystery, interesting characters—an entertaining listen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Torture

kylieqrada's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The mood lately is weird shit and I am livingggggg.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Suicide

bookwhisperer's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, and Death

Minor: Confinement and Drug use

shantastic_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.25

Well constructed beautifully eerie atmosphere - I could clearly visualize Pastoral in all its lush greenery and creepy stillness. The multiple POVs were effective in building tension, revealing different pieces of information and letting the reader put it together, bit by bit. The plot takes some predictable and unrealistic turns, and I think Travis' special ability described at the outset of the book is an unnecessary trope that doesn't ultimately add much.  That said, I enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Pregnancy, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Medical trauma, Suicide, and Gun violence