Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone

6 reviews

tamara_joy's review

dark mysterious sad tense

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

collinsd's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Stalking, Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Blood

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, and Car accident

Is lying a content warning? because by golly this book is filled with lies, people pretending to be other people, lying for no reason and people lying and saying this is a good book. The book is well written and the setting is great but jesus christ there's so many descriptions of fishing and farming and mythology and a fuck ton of characters that quite frankly weren't needed. All I can say is poor Robert, yes you did some questionable things, yes you didn't get along with anyone but that's not a crime. Also fuck Charlie with my whole heart, bro just kept lying and gaslighting and gatekeeping and just being an all around menace and for what, he doesn't deserve peace he deserves to suffer. This was such a slog to read.

I can't believe someone thought hmm you know what's a good idea have this character be reincarnated and have them fuck another character that was their son in another life and then let that son not know that every single person he's grown up around has not only lied to him but let his father die because of his mental illness instead of getting him actual help. Like the whole community hated his father from the start and gaslit and terrorised someone else just for wanting to get answers and justified it by saying they tried to be nice to him like no you didnt you fucking stole his sheep and werent fucking watching your kids

zosiablue's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.25

Ohhh this was lovely. Atmospheric, rainy, Scottish, small islander town, mythology, mystery, murder!, romance with a farmer. There's one scene that's going to stick with me forever, where a character makes a devastating choice and changes their mind too late to reverse it. My biggest fear. Part of the twist at the end you kinda gotta go LA LA LA to pretend it isn't SUPER weird but I was able to la la la successfully. Epic and pretty and heartbreaking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Dementia, Animal death, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Stalking

mtnest's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Child death, Death, and Murder

elizabethgreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Atmospheric modern day gothic, small town secrets, mystery mixed with Norse mythology. 

The book was incredibly atmospheric.  Set in a small island town in Scotland with about 20 residents. It feels chilling, dark, cold, and mysterious. The descriptions of the island, weather, and sea where wonderful and the town feels almost as if it is a character itself.

The characters were multi dimensional and flawed yet you couldn't help but be invested in their lives.  Charlie was the most interesting character and I did like reading for Maggies perspective. The character development through out was lovely and getting to see the characters grow made up for some of the down falls in the book.

The book is told in two time lines one in the early 1990s and one in current day that meet together at the climax. This works well to build suspense.  That being said the pacing of this book was bit too slow to keep the suspense and keep the reader hooked.  The end came almost t0o quickly however I enjoyed the messaging at the end about mental illness and the power of community. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Mental illness, Dementia, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal cruelty, Murder, and Animal death

morethanmylupus's review

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

The Scottish Highlands are my happy place so I'm always predisposed to enjoy any book set in Scotland. This one is set in the Hebridean islands not the highlands but it has all the atmosphere to make for a good thriller. Lots of lies, questions, and things that go bump in the night. There are some mythological elements to this books - or perhaps magical realism elements depending on your beliefs. The mystery was compelling and while I guessed parts of the answers, I certainly didn't guess them all. So it's got dark mysteries, deaths, small town dynamics, atmospheric landscapes, and a sexy Scotsman - all around a winner for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Death of parent