Reviews

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

corfie's review against another edition

dark sad 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

5.0

css13's review against another edition

5.0

The most gripping & thought provoking & holistic take on crime I’ve ever consumed. Danya Kukafka your mind is so genius.

llikeshiscake's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

sagetheginger's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.0

I read this expecting to be moved, because so many people I follow said that it moved them. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same experience and didn't find it particularly memorable. 

It didn't make me feel any new type of way about the death penalty or true crime. I'm against the death penalty because of the risk of sentencing innocent people, and because it is another tool of the justice system to disproportionately punish minorities. I am not against the death penalty because of any kind of sympathy towards men like Ansel Packer, who killed three young women in quick succession, and then killed another woman years later, showing a pattern of behavior that likely would have followed him the rest of his life. 

I didn't feel any type of connection to any of the women, particularly not Saffy whose outright stalking of a suspect she had no physical evidence for and based purely on a hunch is exactly what leads to innocent men being arrested; I don't care that she was right in this instance, her interference without actual proof annoyed me. 

The writing itself was fine, but once again not memorable, which is how I felt about the book as a whole. 

katiekay915's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

kati3_br0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

ashlikes's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

strawberriessam's review against another edition

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

codenameivy's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

humxxn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75