Reviews with content warning for Murder - Toutes les nuances de la nuit

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Toutes les nuances de la nuit by Chris Whitaker

298 reviews

betsyf's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

SO good. Long but super short chapters and truly a page turner. There was a lot of action in the beginning and I wondered how it was going to stay interesting throughout the book. While it did feel like some unnecessary detail at points, it all tied together in the end and it was SO GOOD. It was an absolute page turner.

Content Warnings

cathyross's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

beth_sandyeggo's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

For such a tragic plot and story, this book was such a great read. Character development was fantastic, even the secondary characters. The story developed naturally, never felt slow or rushed, even though it took decades.

Content Warnings

bella_sl's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book is a page turner, and I was pretty rapt to the book. However, I don’t think I enjoyed it that much? I barely remember what happened in the middle of this book. And by the end I more just wanted to finish the book than find out what happened. Also, at the end the author just kept on leaving out the big reveals, which felt like a lazy way to write a cliff hanger… if the character we are reading about finds something out … tell the reader too? Instead the author would just jump to another group of characters and leave the reader confused. The language was too flowery/descriptive and I just wasn’t a fan. But if you are just looking for an easy page turner/mystery then this may be a good one.

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headinthepages's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Content Warnings

ksilvio's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark funny hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

aussiegirlinuk's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book broke me — in the best possible way. Haunting, unforgettable, and achingly beautiful. I first heard about it last year and immediately placed a library hold (position 256!); when it finally came in, I couldn’t wait to dive in.

A mystery. A thriller. A love story. Whitaker somehow weaves all three into something utterly unique. Set in 1970s Missouri, it follows Patch — a one-eyed boy abducted one summer — and Saint, the fierce girl determined to bring him home. In his darkest moments, Patch finds hope in the voice of a girl named Grace. But when he escapes… she’s gone. Or maybe she never existed.

Spanning decades, this is a story about love and loss, justice and redemption, and the long shadows that tragedy casts — on people, families, and entire towns.

It reminded me of Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead in how it explores poverty, legacy, and the quiet devastation of systemic failure — but at its core, this is a book about hope. And obsession. And how far we’ll go for the people we love.

Impeccably crafted. Deeply emotional. Entirely shattering.

Read it. Let it stay with you.

Content Warnings

wellreadsyd's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a haunting, deeply emotional character study with mystery, suspense, and some jaw-dropping twists. The story spans decades, giving it this almost historical fiction feel, but I was completely wrapped in from the first page. It’s such a unique and heartbreaking look at how kidnapped victims move through life after surviving something so traumatic. The characters are incredibly flawed, but in the most believable way. I still found myself rooting for them every step of the way. I felt just about every emotion reading this. My only complaint was some parts were long winded and dragged on, but the short chapters helped.

Content Warnings