Reviews tagging 'Murder'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

141 reviews

rurouni's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Slavery, Stalking, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, and Police brutality

rach_fornow'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? Yes

I really enjoyed this thriller. 
The main character was really likeable although she was really going through it. Like I really wanted things to turn out for her. 
I've seen people say that this book would've worked just as well without the white guy and I agree. Like the only important plot point he matters for is when

for a moment she thought he had played her and was working with his gf to get rid of her

. 
Things I did see coming

the mom dying

Things I didn't see coming

1. the friend being dead. I thought she was just also kidnapped. I am confused about how that happened. Like how was she murdered and left in the crawl hole or just stuck there and died without anything happening to the MC? 
   Also I did not see it coming that the neighbors were the ones that moved the body. I loved that.
   I did not see all that bloodshed coming!

I did like the pacing as well going through the stages: the creepy part, the person falling apart with all the tension rising, and the bloody conclusion. I loved her use of real concepts into thriller form. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, and Torture

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Hate crime, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Classism, Racism, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Torture, Slavery, and Panic attacks/disorders

epiphxnygirl's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Violence, and Drug abuse

hollywobble's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Blood, Mental illness, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Deportation, Grief, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Gaslighting

arthur_ant18's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Murder, Blood, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

david_brent's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Sexual content

kweenreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

When the reality of gentrification is a horror story, it makes a compelling premise for a thriller. Cole weaves together a story that should feel impossibly evil and calculated, but every time the reader is tempted to think so, she points again to history - it happened here, and here, and here. I enjoyed the dual POV, and Cole's use of Theo's narrative helps to highlight the advantages white people - even in abject poverty - have over Black people and other people of color. Sydney's narrative, meanwhile, is the haunting reminder that the abuse of - and gaslighting of - Black women is far from fiction. My only challenge in this was the pacing in the first half - I struggled to stay invested - and some dialogue that felt flat toward the end and lessened the emotional impact. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Kidnapping, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Alcoholism, Addiction, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Classism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

raptorq's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, Classism, Blood, Racism, Kidnapping, Slavery, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicide and Gore

Minor: Drug abuse