Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

193 reviews

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The horror really drew me in, but I just couldn't get myself to care about the characters or their petty drama. Maybe it was just the narrator's vocal choices. It's fun to juxtapose ghosts from centuries ago with modern characters and technology, but I think it might date itself kind of quickly because of how much it leans into it. 

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darkdyce's review

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

2.0

I see what this book was trying to do, but the execution was just terrible. I like the idea of wrapping insecurities around a horror story, merging the terror of the human condition with the terror of the otherworldly. This story just does not deliver in a satisfying way, ending up shallow and contrived. A great example of good idea; poor execution.

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stephanieluxton's review against another edition

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

2.0

This book is about a group of 20 somethings who go to a spooky haunted house and then spooky things happen.

I picked up this book because it's short and I liked the cover.

A lot of people hate this book. It has a reputation. People complain about the strange choice of words. I knew this going into it but I also wanted to see for myself. After reading it, I definitely see where people are coming from.

The use of big words and strange metephors was weird at times and distracting. It's quite over the top. Even if ti was toned down a but to the point where it was just a poetic way of writing, I don't think it works for this book because the complicated prose doesn't align with the way our characters speak.

Our charcacters are all stereotypes. We have the protagonist (humble final girl type), rich preppy guy, the mean hot girl, the nice guy, and the jokester. This book is short so there isn't time to flesh out these characters. I think the smidge of backstory we get is really interesting and I wish it was explored more.

I didn't like this book because the plot was rushed. Group goes to haunted cursed place. Group faces haunted curse. Group wants to leave. Group figures out pretty quickly how curse works from convenient library. Tensions run high as group fractures and there's drama. Suboptimal solution presents itself. Problem kind of solved. The end.

The plot line is typical and basic but it still could have been good with some effort and character development. I think I am extra mad because the way the events unfold and the problem is solved doesn't even bother me that much. I just feel like it lacked proper emotional impact because it was so rushed.

Do I recommend? Not really. Is it totally unreadable? No. The fact that its short is both a blessing and it's downfall. 

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everamplify's review against another edition

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

4.0


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gourmetsoda's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ghastly and a good time for those who love a quick, Until Dawn series of events. I thought more could have been done with
the subtext regarding the dead bride and the women buried in the walls-- I was surprised when that plotline sort of fell away. The ghosts in this story are only decorations-- the real horror comes from the people. Just like real life.

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rayshell's review

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Really beautiful and sensory writing, particularly the descriptions and metaphors communicating the narrative perspective. Heady, hazy, woozy in the best way. The plot could be been more fleshed out and characters more developed. The juice of this story is in the feelings and reflections it inspires in the reader.

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deckled_edges's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

Giving it half a star because the cover is pretty cool.

This book is the written equivalent of an 84 minute straight to streaming horror movie made by a studio you've never heard of with actors you'll never see in anything else again.

Which could be good! That kind of description is appealing to me! I like B-rated movies with paper thin plots and a cast of unlikable characters that are all going to die in gruesome ways. This book somehow still managed to miss even that mark.

Every single character is insufferable. Each one a rough cut out of their archetype with zero attempt at refining them. They bicker and they're pithy and they all hate each other but for some reason are all together for this event. (Probably because no one else wants to deal with them.) Lin is the worst of the bunch in that his character serves absolutely no purpose. The characterizations and roles they all play somehow get worse once he's introduced? I was kind of hoping he was a ghost that infiltrated the group and that was why none of their interactions, or his constant flip-flopping of characterizations, made any sense. But.. no such luck.

It's not a scary story either. It could be! But it's not. The cover is the scariest part. Any chances there are to establish an atmosphere are completely ruined by some god awful forced simile. Not even a metaphor. A simile. At least one every other page. Generally multiple per page. Long drawn out descriptions that are meant to evoke some sense of unknown, of being unsettled, of the creeping dread, but the author gets so bogged down in trying to find the most esoterically poetic way to describe someone's footsteps that what little hint of dread they managed to eek out of you has just completely dried up. You're bored. You're waiting for something to happen. Even when things are actively happening, you're waiting for something to happen in a way that is at all interesting.

Spoilers for the ending.
And only one of them died? Like okay I guess. You start to see the house affect all of them in various ways and you kind of think they're going to turn on each other, kill each other thinking they're seeing something else. Get possessed. Something. And in a way they do turn on one another but the arguments are so dramatic and over the top and don't at all match the tone of what's actually happening? And then when intense things actually ARE happening, someone has time to make a joke. I did see in quite a few other reviews people point out the fact that Faiz could read the surprise book as though that were some sort of plot hole or bad writing. And there's a lot I don't like about this writing style but I will say it's very clear there was nothing in that book. They just clung on to what he'd been convinced he saw because it was better than doing nothing while Phillip died.


Overall a really disappointing read that had the potential to be a lot more.

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necroplasm's review

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dark tense fast-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

2.0

maybe someday i'll find one of these short horror reads that i actually like! anyways i honestly nearly DNF'd this bc i found the characters and their dynamic to be incredibly obnoxious, but the book was so damn short i figured i'd just finish it anyways. for something that was touted in reviews as ~Sooooo Disturbing~ there were like 2 parts that even had the POTENTIAL to be scary and literally a single kill that was admittedly kinda fucked up but not really Extreme. if this book scared you i'm sorry to say you're a total lightweight 💔

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readingmushrooms's review against another edition

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

4.0


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sarahallwarden's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5


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