Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

21 reviews

jessthemess8112's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? No

2.75

I really enjoyed this book, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic. The author spent this whole book building and building to this big whodunit mystery, and the big reveal left a lot to be desired and a lot of unanswered questions.  Whatever happened to Mr. Nirvana, and why was he even mentioned except to throw you off? Did anything happen to Arpeggio and the other cop for leaving a major detail out of a report? Did Chris get any compensation for the fact that his brother was wrongly accused for 15 years? And of course, how did Steadman convince straight and narrow religious freaked family Katie to even get involved in the first place?  I rounded up to 3 stars because I enjoyed the mystery, but the unanswered questions kind of ruined it for me.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

sgrifgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Death

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Stalking and Suicide

dodgeremerson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

Not the worst book, but it was very predictable. I called the killer from their introduction, as well as the other deaths that we discover early on. Kind of disappointing.

Also...

I am really frustrated that the promising young brown kid was killed off. He is the only death outside of the murders, and the only death "on the page." Why is the only POC mentioned the only death? Granted, it was clear he was going to die from the moment Finlay introducedhis mother with that "take care of my boy" line. But it is still irritating.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Blood, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Grief, and Violence

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Abortion, Bullying, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Addiction, and Police brutality

eevee_saur137's review against another edition

mysterious 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

This isn't a bad mystery, but it's a little overwritten in the sections where we see what characters are thinking. It is not subtle in the writing, and it can be hamfisted with its jokes and references. Clues can be buried, come out of left field, or just happen off-page (offscreen?) and after the reveals start flooding in, I wished the story would slow down. I wanted to know more about how the characters processed everything.

I don't mind the ending but I don't believe in the final couple, they had no chemistry or even opportunity to connect. And the fact that the only POC character ended up dead just disappoints me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Alcohol

It is a spoiler but

The reveal of the killer is also the revelation of multiple abusive, adult/minor relationships. Different minors, same adult.

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Wow, wow, wow. The ENDING!!!

The Night Shift is probably up there in being one of my favorite thrills. I didn’t see the ending coming at all. I did get one of the plot twists. I liked that two of the three characters had flaws that they were processing through while the whole story was playing out.

The ending was the Epilogue was the sweetest thing 💕 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Stalking, Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Abortion, Bullying, Classism, and Eating disorder

tristinrose's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Suicide

laurenslittlelibrary_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I wasn’t completely blown away by this mystery/suspense. I feel like the villain could’ve been explored in more depth and that some of the side characters felt unnecessary to the story (like Rusty’s whole arrest). I did enjoy the multiple POV’s and the flashback chapter towards the end. I would’ve enjoyed a little more of the story from Jessie’s POV, but I liked how some of her side was portrayed between Ella and Sarah.  

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

booksofautumn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

bre88's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Bullying, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide

wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Suicide, Gaslighting, Self harm, Blood, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Mental illness