Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

30 reviews

blewballoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.0

I wanted to like this more. I found that there would be times I would get yanked out of the story by the feeling of "oh yeah, this is a translation" where things just didn't quite flow right. I also found the characters to be too flat for me. The main character isn't actually very likable, although she is at least better than the villain who is awful and has motivations that don't even make much sense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Sexual assault

Minor: Bullying

atamano's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Kidnapping, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Vomit and Cancer

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Violence

bookshelf_al's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping

samsearle's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

alliereadsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Gore, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Sexual assault

megj23's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

This was a fun and interesting read from what I normally pick up. What I particularly liked about The Old Woman with the Knife was the particular focus on ageism and sexism, specifically the treatment of aging women, in South Korean society. It was a refreshing change of pace to have an older woman (sixty-five years old) as the protagonist… who also happens to be an assassin. It’s not what you would expect in a book that’s marketed as a thriller, but it was one I welcomed and I thought a lot about the themes.

I will say there were a few things left to be desired in this book. Interestingly, this book could have either benefited from being shorter or longer, depending on how the author wanted to take it. There were a few different plot points that were presented that caught my attention (particularly Hornclaw’s past and her relationship with Ryu), but they were never explored in-depth. As a result, I felt some of this could have been removed altogether to avoid derailing the plot, or Gu could have developed them a bit more. I don’t think it would have made the story unwieldy either and, in fact, would have made Hornclaw’s character all the more interesting and complex.

To end on a positive note, though, I thought the translation was well done. Kim really captured the essence of Hornclaw’s tone and personality in this book, which gets you more invested in the protagonist.

This is worth picking up, just for the uncommon premise. It also isn’t as gimmicky as it sounds.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping

readingtomydogs's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

The Old Woman with the Knife follows Hornclaw, a senior citizen assassin, coming to terms with her aging. The story takes place in the present-day and also flashes back to Hornclaw came to be in this odd business of being a "disease control specialist." The writing felt like a sarcastic noir novel, providing an inner monologue of Hornclaw as she encounters other assassins and tries to relate to everyday people. This was different than my usual reads, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it while listening along on audio. If you are a fan of thrillers with an introspective side, The Old Woman with the Knife is for you!  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Rape

hardcoverhearts's review against another edition

dark 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Stalking, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Violence, and Gore