Reviews tagging 'Murder'

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

244 reviews

hstcrow's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

5.0

Reading this felt like holding my breath for five days. Wtf. Very intense, overwhelming, and jolting in terms of the realistic story & crime, and the alarming clarity of how broken the judicial system is, how tight a chokehold the patriarchy, class, and race have on our society. The ending was so perfect and clever. It’s supposed to reflect reality. This is such an incredible feat of a book. Hell yes.

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summerofsoaps's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25


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ally_alert's review against another edition

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

5.0


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elliv's review

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

3.0


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capt_torrance7's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was very sad and slow to me. I wish it was about half as long. The multiple paragraphs mentioning all the assaults, harassment, etc felt a bit triggering at times, and by the middle of the book, I would skim those parts. I liked it a lot more than The Great Believers. A lot of the stories felt very open ended, like it was up to me to interpret a character’s trauma, motivation, and adjustment. Maybe because the characters themselves weren’t willing to do it? I don’t know, but I wish it had a more satisfying end. Maybe that’s just a me problem. 

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seloesch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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


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acresofclams's review

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dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5


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siobhanward's review

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dark mysterious medium-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

3.0

This was definitely a book that I have read... Honestly, I feel like this book was just very middle of the road. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. It was too long and dragged, but still had some interesting parts. I don't know, it just wasn't for me. I didn't love Bodie - she felt self-absorbed and immature for someone who was supposed to be in her forties. I wish this had been more of a straight thriller that focused on Thalia's murder, rather than being bogged down with Bodie's drama. The school murder mystery has been done better than this, as has the true crime podcast as the centre of a book genre. This just felt kind of mid. 

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edamamebean's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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? N/A

4.0

I feel like it’s important to say from the outset that this is not a murder mystery. It’s a meditation on racism, the justice system, and the constant, almost casual violence that is inflicted upon women. It asked a lot of really important questions and definitely got me thinking. Bodie’s own internal struggle reminded me of a time in my own life when I had to reexamine my high school memories after my favorite teacher was outed as a predator. Something I especially liked about this book was its ability to make clear that what happened to Thalia is not exceptional. In fact, it happens all the time. Worth the read. Although it is very heavy, the subject is handled with care and nuance. 

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miafromorchardstreet's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative 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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A really good literary thriller. Kept me on my toes through to the final act.

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