Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

5 reviews

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This was a book that was recommended to me by someone at my local library. It's something like a political, police procedural, bequest-mystery, sci-fi? But unfortunately I don't think it does those things very well. The book rates ok, and seems to have been received well, but I can see why publishers weren't keen to take it the first couple of times she submitted it for publication.

I felt like the dialogue was middling to bad. There was a lot of exposition to the ignorant characters in the room that could have been done better. Perhaps I'm a stylistic snob, but the one line about Americans being a dichotomy of tech leaders whose people are also anti-academic, really rang throughout the entire book. An expert commenting that they found something interesting is invariably followed by the room asking for a translation for those who don't have a degree.

A major theme that is wallowed in, is tech being used for military purposes. This is specifically applied to genetics research (a loaded topic in Christian America), while deftly dodging the point that most of USAs technological advances have been made due to military funding. The idea that genetically heritable illnesses could be treated with gene therapy is not a new one to me, nor is the idea that similar techniques could be used for eugenics. 

Poverty and addiction also seem to be a stereotype in this. It's all a bit of a lumbering shambles. If someone tells you their alias is Wilma, isn't anyone over the age of 30 going to guess their real name is Betty? This book feels like it's trying to be smart, but isn't very. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Confinement, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Classism, Gun violence, Dementia, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Islamophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

badmom's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

3.25

Abrams’s writing style is engaging - I was immediately drawn into the story of this young law clerk struggling to make her way in D.C. while maintaining her integrity. She and the other characters are plausibly outlined if a bit cardboard & stereotypical for the Legal Thriller genre. The plot quickly generates too many complicated threads to follow easily though; I appreciate that the author consulted experts in the areas she covered but they  still felt a bit too convoluted (and the resolutions too easily made) to thoroughly enjoy in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Dementia, Medical content, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, Murder, and Emotional abuse

mnatale100's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Addiction, Kidnapping, Medical content, Drug use, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Islamophobia, Genocide, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Cursing, and Classism

becksusername's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Islamophobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Genocide, Violence, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Stalking

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The story was engaging, and the premise is very interesting. However, the writing seemed stilted. The language didn’t flow easily. She used some obscure words that threw me off kilter (or my vocabulary sucks).

I would definitely read more of Stacey Abrams’ thrillers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Dementia, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Outing, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Stalking, Car accident, and Vomit