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11corvus11's review against another edition
3.0
This book was heavily reviewed already so I won't reinvent the wheel with a long one. I listened to the audiobook that had multiple narrators which was pretty cool. The story itself was not really my bag and I wish she introduced the spooky stuff earlier as most of it reads like a mediocre crime/mystery novel which wasn't what I was hoping for. Entertaining enough though.
cosmith2015's review against another edition
DNF page 100. Writing wasn’t for me and I was hoping it would be a supernatural story
melissagallant_'s review against another edition
4.0
Lauren Beukes has a stunning gift. Her characters feel so incredibly real. She is to the point and direct, but still imbues heavy emotion and imagery with her descriptions. I can't say enough about how talented this woman is. I will be reading her other books.
The story here is ambitious - there are five different points of view, which was confusing at first, but was handled well and I didn't feel that there was too much jumping around. Interspersed with the characters' viewpoints, glimpses of social media reactions are shown. These are true-to-life and reference actual events that have come up on these various sites.
Issues regarding the internet, privacy, and the dangers of social media are paramount to this story. They are shown in different ways: the exploitation of victims, the perils of catfishing, paying for a lie. The lightning fast dissemination of viral videos that can force a family to change their daughter's name and move to a new city. The lure of a good story or the chance at fame overcoming safety or morality.
The climax of the book I found a bit disappointing.
In all, an impressive and compelling work that I would read again.
The story here is ambitious - there are five different points of view, which was confusing at first, but was handled well and I didn't feel that there was too much jumping around. Interspersed with the characters' viewpoints, glimpses of social media reactions are shown. These are true-to-life and reference actual events that have come up on these various sites.
Issues regarding the internet, privacy, and the dangers of social media are paramount to this story. They are shown in different ways: the exploitation of victims, the perils of catfishing, paying for a lie. The lightning fast dissemination of viral videos that can force a family to change their daughter's name and move to a new city. The lure of a good story or the chance at fame overcoming safety or morality.
The climax of the book I found a bit disappointing.
Spoiler
The addition of the paranormal, hallucinogenic Dream twisting reality weakened the impact of the story in my opinion. I much preferred the delusion.In all, an impressive and compelling work that I would read again.
chaosmavin's review against another edition
3.0
NYT put out a map around Halloween about the best horror stories around the US. I look at the ones from all the States I had lived in and have a few on hold but this one came up first and it is Illinois submission. I thought it sounded intriguing because it was a serial killer who created these art pieces with his victims by merging them with animals...it definitely sounded more intriguing then it was and it wasn't scary at all...it was creepy but also like had this weird subplot about the killer opening a portal to another dimension called the dream which was what caused him to kill people. There was some cool literary devices with embedding social media responses to things happening in the story. I feel like this would have been an awesome X-files episode but if you're looking for a heart racing scary story like the Shining this is definitely not it.
franuary's review against another edition
3.0
Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls) adds a supernatural twist to the police procedural/serial killer genre in this paranormal crime-noir set in Detroit. Told from varying perspectives, including the killer’s point of view, Beukes deftly weaves together a complex narrative toward a conclusion that merges all storylines. Detective Gabi Versado is a divorced mother dealing with increased pressure at work (she’s chasing an exceptionally twisted killer who attaches his human kills to animal remains) and at home (her teenage daughter Layla is trying to entrap criminals of her own online). TK is a former criminal turned helper to the homeless, but he begins to sense something unnatural on the streets where he lives. Jonno, a recent New York City transplant, is desperate for his 15 minutes of fame, and he finds it by chronicling the recent killings on the internet. And there’s the artist, a man whose grip on reality and humanity is tested as he becomes possessed by a compulsion to kill.
I thought that Broken Monsters was beautifully written. Beukes does a fantastic job of telling varied, seemingly unrelated stories and making each one as exciting as the next. In books with this many points of view, I often find that there are at least one or two characters that aren’t fully fleshed out or draw the short end of the narrative, but Beukes was incredibly consistent. I was genuinely invested in each character.
My one gripe with Broken Monsters: it wasn’t clear from the description I read that this was a paranormal mystery. The paranormal elements didn’t appear in full until the end of the book, which, not knowing that supernatural elements were present, was incredibly confusing. There were some hints at the paranormal throughout, but I thought that the author was taking license with certain elements or was relating how madness was experienced by a character. Bascially, I was Scullying the entire book, coming up with logical solutions to explain the crazy (Hallucinogens! Photoshop! Undiagnosed brain tumor!). I wish I’d known that this wasn’t a standard thriller going in; I think that I would have enjoyed it even more that I did.
In many ways, the events of this book take place both in the real world and in the digital world. Sections of the book are told through texts, through online messages, and through a Reddit Q&A. One character live streams events online and covers the killings on his YouTube channel. Internet memes are also referenced frequently. While I wouldn’t say that this book is solely for digital natives, there are certainly parallels drawn between the version of reality we experience online and the version we experience in person, and this part of the story may be lost on readers who can’t tell Tumblr from Twitter. Still, Beukes’ writing and the unique story will captivate all readers interested in paranormal crime, and should convert many who are accustomed to more vanilla thrillers.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Mulholland Books and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
I thought that Broken Monsters was beautifully written. Beukes does a fantastic job of telling varied, seemingly unrelated stories and making each one as exciting as the next. In books with this many points of view, I often find that there are at least one or two characters that aren’t fully fleshed out or draw the short end of the narrative, but Beukes was incredibly consistent. I was genuinely invested in each character.
My one gripe with Broken Monsters: it wasn’t clear from the description I read that this was a paranormal mystery. The paranormal elements didn’t appear in full until the end of the book, which, not knowing that supernatural elements were present, was incredibly confusing. There were some hints at the paranormal throughout, but I thought that the author was taking license with certain elements or was relating how madness was experienced by a character. Bascially, I was Scullying the entire book, coming up with logical solutions to explain the crazy (Hallucinogens! Photoshop! Undiagnosed brain tumor!). I wish I’d known that this wasn’t a standard thriller going in; I think that I would have enjoyed it even more that I did.
In many ways, the events of this book take place both in the real world and in the digital world. Sections of the book are told through texts, through online messages, and through a Reddit Q&A. One character live streams events online and covers the killings on his YouTube channel. Internet memes are also referenced frequently. While I wouldn’t say that this book is solely for digital natives, there are certainly parallels drawn between the version of reality we experience online and the version we experience in person, and this part of the story may be lost on readers who can’t tell Tumblr from Twitter. Still, Beukes’ writing and the unique story will captivate all readers interested in paranormal crime, and should convert many who are accustomed to more vanilla thrillers.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Mulholland Books and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
tazgoda's review against another edition
4.0
a little all over the place, a lot of characters to keep track of, but really interesting concept and story.
srhhelm's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ciciwilkie's review against another edition
4.0
The reviews were so mixed but I would say this pleasantly surprised me. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend though I will say it could be triggering in many ways.
There was a lot of violence from the grisly deaths but also the teen girls dabbling in the dark side of the internet. From pedophiles, sexual assault, to a possessed serial killer this book has a lot going on.
The story slowly builds, which I know some people don't like but I enjoyed getting to know all the character's storylines and seeing them weave together later on. I felt like the characters were realistic, they had flaws and traits you could relate to and the city of Detroit is described so well.
I liked connecting the dots and I enjoyed the writing though it was dark. I listened on audio and at one time the C word was said probably 20 times and I was glad I work at home alone.
I'm not sure I'd put this in the horror genre. It felt more like a detective mystery thriller with a supernatural element. I will definitely be checking out this authors other works.
There was a lot of violence from the grisly deaths but also the teen girls dabbling in the dark side of the internet. From pedophiles, sexual assault, to a possessed serial killer this book has a lot going on.
The story slowly builds, which I know some people don't like but I enjoyed getting to know all the character's storylines and seeing them weave together later on. I felt like the characters were realistic, they had flaws and traits you could relate to and the city of Detroit is described so well.
I liked connecting the dots and I enjoyed the writing though it was dark. I listened on audio and at one time the C word was said probably 20 times and I was glad I work at home alone.
I'm not sure I'd put this in the horror genre. It felt more like a detective mystery thriller with a supernatural element. I will definitely be checking out this authors other works.
thebobsphere's review against another edition
4.0
I generally read one horror/thriller novel a year - mainly because I can't seem to find any I like ( this year it was Night Film) but the blurb of Broken Monsters got me right away - freaks! social media! art! detectives! yes!
One morning when a dead boy is discovered by a detective, it sets off an investigation which takes the squad to a twisted world filled with artists, when the murders become more deranged , the squad become so determned to catch the person that any notion of ethics is thrown away.
Not only that but there are several inter-connected subplots - all which deal with the killer.
Broken monsters contains some very good plot twists - Beukes is great at leading you down a path and then making you discover that it was a false one. Her characters are believable and I like the way that she integrates social media (which is criticised in the novel) into the plot.
The only thing that's stopping me from giving this five stars is because the ending seemed a bit carelessly written but dammit I finished it in a few days. Totally addictive.
One morning when a dead boy is discovered by a detective, it sets off an investigation which takes the squad to a twisted world filled with artists, when the murders become more deranged , the squad become so determned to catch the person that any notion of ethics is thrown away.
Not only that but there are several inter-connected subplots - all which deal with the killer.
Broken monsters contains some very good plot twists - Beukes is great at leading you down a path and then making you discover that it was a false one. Her characters are believable and I like the way that she integrates social media (which is criticised in the novel) into the plot.
The only thing that's stopping me from giving this five stars is because the ending seemed a bit carelessly written but dammit I finished it in a few days. Totally addictive.
natashia8911's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a good serial killer book until you got to the last 60 pages. I was disappointed that a book with no magic suddenly made the whole idea of the book turn into a magical concept. Overall, though, I love her writing and can never put down the books she writes!