Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone

4 reviews

thisandthatwithkaren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

A richly atmospheric thriller set on an isolated Scottish island where nothing is as it seems and shocking twists lie around every corner.

A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth.

Told in two timelines, 1994 and the present, Maggie and Robert piece together the real story of what happened to Andrew MacNeil.

I found it atmospheric, suspenseful and I just had to know the answers and what happens.  I read almost in one sitting. I absolutely loved Maggie's character development throughout the story. I liked all of the shocking points and twists in the story. The ending... I totally did not expect it. 

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries, thrillers or gothic spooky reads. I immediately went out and bought Mirrorland and can’t wait to read it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Mental illness

obstinateheadstrongcurl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

The Blackhouse follows Maggie, a young woman who moves to a small community on an island in the Outer Hebrides. As a child she visited the island after becoming convinced that she was the reincarnation of a resident who she claimed was murdered. She and her mother were understandably not welcome, but she has returned as an adult after the death of her mother to try to find out the truth of what happened. 

I picked this up because I’d enjoyed Johnstone’s previous book Mirrorland and I was intrigued by the premise of this one. It starts off strong, with a fast-paced plot and creepy vibes on the island. It does get a bit bogged down in the middle, and I found myself getting frustrated with the way Johnstone used mental health disorders as plot devices. The pace picks back up in the last third but the ending was a bit too bizarre for me and kind of ruined the whole story. 

Overall not one I’d recommend but I would still give Johnstone’s other works a chance. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Transphobia

collinsd's review

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

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