Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson

5 reviews

elizabethscott0's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Body horror, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship

alexisgarcia's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

there was so much i loved about this book but i was pretty disappointed in the ending. for SO much build up it felt really anticlimactic. and for almost 500 pages we should get a sound ending i think. i was just wanting more of a twist or just something to make the story more interesting. i also hated DI Henley. i don’t think she was a good person and she repeatedly makes poor decisions but always makes an excuse to why she’s the victim and to why she continuously gets what she wants. however, i loved the writing style and most of the other characters. it kinda felt like reading a criminal minds episode which was super fun! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Dementia, Cursing, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, and Toxic relationship

ibjilln's review

dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.75

This is an impressive debut, police procedural thriller novel and is definitely a tense read. 

However, the majority of the tense action takes place in the last 10 (short) chapters of the book and is done in a manner that feels rushed and needing to be quickly wrapped up. This is no more evident in the back to back chapters where there is a huge mistake with details. 
<Spoiler> When Kirkpatrick is taken and we finally get the POV scene in chapter 95 of Pine getting ready to torture and dismember Kirkpatrick, we are given the graphic scene of Kirkpatrick having his arm sawed off. "... He couldn't ignore the feeling of the skin on his right arm being gently tugged and the river of vibrations as the saw went back and forth. He couldn't shut out the heavy groaning sound as the saw made its way through bone. Then it stopped... He could see the bone now as his arm hovered in front of his face .. he didn't close his eyes as the blood from the separated arm fell..."
As well as additional reference to his leg then being sawed through. Only to have chapter 96 tell us that "his hands were tired behind his back" and that " Henley...cut the cable ties binding Michael's wrists and feet". 
It just gets worse. In chapter 98 we are told that Kirkpatrick is "being treated for dehydration and shock. He hasn't got any serious injuries." As well as a statement from him that "Pine...was going to come back and was going to start by cutting off his left arm..." Which directly contradicts chapter 95 where his arm is graphically cut off.  </Spoiler> 

Needless to say, this oversight, although perhaps minor to the book as a whole, took me completely out of the story. There was no coming back from that for me, and the rest of the book (4 ch.) wrapped up far too quickly and without a full resolution to completely redeem itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Dementia, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

__olivia__'s review

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

0.5

I've got to say I'm pretty disappointed. Why on Earth was this book so long?  Why was it so hard to follow? How did the stakes feel so low even though some guys are murdering people?

Why is the main character so unlikable? Actually, I have an answer for that one: she repeatedly cheats on her absolute fool of a husband and then says things like, "it was inevitable." Like, why are you getting mad at him for accusing you of cheating when you are cheating on him?? Honestly, all the characters were either flat or unlikable.

I guess a couple pages were "thrilling," but thanks to the massive page count, they end up being *at most* 2% of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

I was not a fan of how this book treated violence against women, however this was a solid piece of crime/serial killer fiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape