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nusta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Graphic: Violence and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content and Homophobia
lily_peach's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual content, Police brutality, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny
Moderate: Vomit, Gun violence, Suicide, and Self harm
Minor: Stalking
caroline_norrish's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Car accident, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Panic attacks/disorders
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
3.25
My biggest problem with this book is how grotesquely, glorifyingly detailed both the violence and the sex (both consensual and rape) are.
My second biggest problem is the reason I picked this out of the mysteries on offer: it's set in Exeter, around the time I was a student there. My problem is that it doesn't feel like Exeter, at all. The occasional street name is real but the school where the story starts isn't real, the museum where a majority of the action takes place doesn't exist and the campuses aren't described as they really are or, more to point, were when the book is set. The 'then' part of Abi's story takes place during my own first or second year at the uni (going by the publication date) and the main campus was a building site during those two years. Also, there's no way anyone outside of her own tutor group, let alone her course, would recognise her as the university is too big. Nor do I believe that she would recognise the dean, unless she went out of her way to look him up on the website. Plus, the book describes Pinhoe as being a village outside Exeter, when it has been fully encapsulated by the city since the 1960s.
All in all, the setting is complete fantasy, so why not set your book in a city with a made-up name like Christie used to do?
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Torture
desdemonarose's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry
Adding more detailed content warnings as spoiler, though the book does open with a pedophile (justifies himself with only photos and no touching) being murdered. There is no graphic description of sexual abuse, but there are torture scenes that I'm sure some would find disturbing. More in spoilers: