Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

21 reviews

essie101's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

ladykatka's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

3.0

This is the first time I felt "meh" about Joe Hill. I have loved everything I have read to date by him except this didn't wow me. It wasn't that scary, tense, or edge of your seat. Only a few parts were interesting but over it was just meh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

unboxedjack's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

bababookmatt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a character driven book. The protagonist, Judas Coyne, is an aging, pessimistic, misogynistic rock star. Not a character that typically elicits sympathy for me. However, behind the plot we do see growth, and by the end he calls the women he dates by their name, and not just the American state he met them in. Without loving him, he felt real, and earned my respect. The relationship dynamics are excellent. The horror component was a little ho-hum; a ghost haunting. Judas and his entourage are being haunted by a ghost and Hill doesn’t waste time convincing the reader it’s a haunting as opposed to mental illness, natural phenomena, etc. I appreciated this. It’s established and not something that needs doubting or suspicion. There’s a snuff film that Judas owns that is very unsettling, and while it’s mentioned a few times, I struggle with finding how it fits in to the larger story. This didn’t bother me, but I found it to be a loose end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

jaedia's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

unmistakablyphoenix's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Suicide

jackalest's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

wulnerable's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape and Suicidal thoughts

goblinghost_39's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense slow-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

2.75

The "man writing women" vibes were strong in this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Murder