Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Silence of Bones by June Hur 허주은

11 reviews

hoax_meal's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

easily the best book I read this year. I couldn't put it down. And when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it. An amazing mystery and loveable protagonist. I also learned a lot about Korean history. If you like historical fiction and mystery, you will love this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy and Colonisation

susanpevensie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Classism, Xenophobia, and Death

Minor: Police brutality and Suicide

mnatale100's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Hate crime, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Blood, Alcohol, and Medical content

clone's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Misogyny

aarynn's review

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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

Beautifully written, totally enveloping. Tragic story but wonderfully told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Religious bigotry, Death, Hate crime, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Torture, and Slavery

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide, Infidelity, and Police brutality

kimbekaw's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Torture, Death, Slavery, Police brutality, Blood, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder and Confinement

Minor: Suicide

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

Woah, I loved this much, much more than I thought I would. 
I expected something else from the story than I actually got tbh. It was more character driven and introspective than an actual murder mystery. (which, well, was pretty easy to predict) But it was still so good! I absolutely loved the writing and the atmosphere. Sometimes I needed to take breaks just to imagine the mist and the mountains and trees and rivers and the narrow streets and the Hanoks. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters but was sad because there weren't enough for my taste. I was also furious at them most of the time because they were oblivious or didn't talk to each other when necessary... or both. The second half was surprisingly fast-paced and action packed, and I couldn't put it down until the end. 
I will definitely read the others books by June Hur. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

allisonwonderlandreads's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

This historical mystery opens a window into 1800 Joseon. With a Queen Regent recently in power, a Catholic purge on the horizon, and brutal murders targeting converts and sympathizers, it is a tumultuous moment in time. The story follows Seol, an indentured servant for the police. With her natural inquisitiveness and broad stubborn streak, she's a gifted investigator in the making, although her gender and class prevent her from fully exercising that gift. Seol loyally assists an inspector whom she idolizes as he works on a challenging murder case. However, her easy trust might not survive the secrets coming to light.

I gleaned a lot of historical information that was new to me from this read, so that was greatly appreciated. The setting and the details of social structures were deftly woven throughout the story. That was easily my favorite part of the reading experience. I also appreciated the audiobook format, which allowed me to hear the correct pronunciation of names and terms throughout.

In terms of plot, I was less enthused. The mystery didn't draw me in, lacking in urgency and emotional timbre for most of the duration. Although I didn't anticipate the identity of the murderer, I also wasn't particularly concerned about it. In addition, the personal aspects of Seol's journey didn't catch my interest. While I appreciated the lack of romantic plot, I would have liked other relationships to be more fleshed-out to anchor me to the story. The big reveals on this front were quite predictable, yet the piecing together of Seol's past is fraught and drawn out. Worst of all, the ending seemed rushed in comparison, not leaving room to resolve any emotional fallout.

In the end, I would recommend this as a piece of historical fiction, but it didn't suit my tastes in terms of mystery or general plotting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent

tahsintries's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, and Torture

translove's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Pregnancy