Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

19 reviews

lucybmn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Sigh. I was so disappointed with the ending of Turton's first novel, but his wild ideas and fast-paced writing made me want to give him another try.

But he seems to want to write the same thing again and again. Too many characters to keep track of and a thousand useless hints dropped, all leading to an unceremonious Big Reveal that had nothing to do with any of the mystery preceding it. Again, I say: SIGH.

I liked some of these characters a bit more and the mystery made *slightly* more sense, so it gets a slightly higher rating than Evelyn Hardcastle.

And you know, I still would read his next book. I generally like his writing style and I'd like to see if he can deliver me a mystery that actually pays off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Sexual violence and Torture

mrslsmith's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Rape, Colonisation, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Torture, and Gore

katelarson's review

slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Torture, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

shinsoukoku's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Minor: Excrement, Child abuse, Vomit, Child death, War, Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

set in the medieval era, there is a brief scene of sara having to fulfill her "obligations" with her abusive husband and multiple threats of assault leading up to a character suggesting they, the men, use the women of the ship as they wish, willing or not.

dani_saur30's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

emlo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book would have been a 5 for me except I got a bit bored in the middle. I liked the characters, especially the strong females. I would have liked to find out more about Sammy as I think he was the least well developed. I felt like most of the loose ends were tied up by the end. Will definitely read more by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Animal death

Minor: Torture

emmjay's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

I just love Stuart Turton’s writing. No one else can craft a mystery like this. The ending did leave me wanting more and felt a bit abrupt. A sequel or short story following it would be terrific. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Torture, Animal death, Death, and Murder

breezer's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Excrement

Minor: Genocide

erinjulia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Excrement, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Torture