Reviews tagging 'Blood'

False Witness by Karin Slaughter

59 reviews

kimveach's review

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

Great hard-hitting thriller.  I stayed up too late to finish this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion

This book is about violent crimes. If you are easily triggered, you probably shouldn't read this.

laynemandros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, and Alcohol

scenic92's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

charlotte_helen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Another fantastic thriller by Karin Slaughter. She never disappoints in creating gripping stories with lots of unexpected twists and hard hitting themes. This book is the type that you never want to put down. I like the writing style how it swaps between Leigh and Callie (the two main characters) in the present and flashbacks. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

mermaidkatie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

Great writing that comes at you like a runaway freight train, likable heroines, but good lord the violence is graphic and horrible and I am going to have a hard time getting the images out of my head. So, be warned. It is really graphic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

thrillakilla's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Another great novel from Karin Slaughter. Lots of trigger warnings for this book as typical for the author: abuse, drug use, death, rape, child abuse, molestation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Sexism

sydapel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.75

I'm incredibly conflicted. I really admire Slaughter's ability to create high intensity thrillers that examine topics like childhood trauma and sexual assault, all within the lens of a strong sister relationship. It's done very well here, but I cannot come to a conclusion about whether I enjoyed it. It's possible I've become too soft fo stories like this,.but the climatic scene was extremely upsetting and at times I struggled to understand with the characters' intentions. However, it was gripping and Slaughter manages to create two really compelling main characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Drug use, and Rape

Moderate: Cursing, Bullying, and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion

becksreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

mpango's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Lots of twists; keeps you on the edge of your seat! Docked a star because the inclusion of COVID felt very stilted to me and didn’t add anything to the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

heavenprotsman's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

I love Karin Slaughter and will ready pretty much anything she publishes. False Witness felt very different from every other book.

This was a DARK crime novel. It covers disturbing and triggering topics and some parts I had to stop and take a second before continuing. Leigh and Calli are trying to move on from their devastating past, until it confronts them head on and they're left to face consequences. 

My main problem with this one was the overkill of COVID-19 details. The mention of masks every other page was so unnecessary and tacky. I know Karin said she wrote this book in this specific time period to show what issues society is facing, especially the MeToo and women's issues, and I appreciate that, but it didn't really work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence