Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

73 reviews

prrttyodd's review against another edition

mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy

eed8's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

alyssagirardi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Infertility, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Torture, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, and Violence

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

The audiobook narration was really good for this one, so if you're going to read it, I'd recommend going that route. I found the story itself just okay, and though it did entertain me and I wanted to know what happened, nothing was really memorable or remarkable.

The mystery was intriguing, but it didn't really pan out in a way that made sense to me. The main character was bland and her actions were, again, nonsensical. The love interest angle really didn't add anything to the story; it could have been a decent red flag but he was just kinda faded in the background.

I liked the flashbacks to Beth's life, but the twist and ultimate reveal felt like a catfish to me.

I don't like that the answer to the mystery was a ghost; I'm not a fan of ghost stories and I wanted a more realistic/substantial answer. But maybe that was on me for not expecting it to actually be a ghost!

The whole ending felt rushed to me, and then it was just done. I was left with a "That's it?" feeling and still not caring about these characters.

I will say if you enjoy ghost stories, you may like this more than I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

odrib's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Grief, Bullying, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Sexism, and Car accident

bookwrm526's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Murder, and Emotional abuse

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Infertility

doreyghc's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Medical content

markedwithanm's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Child death

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I was absolutely blown away by this novel, and it has climbed the ranks to be one of my favorites so far this year. This story follows Shea, a young woman with her own troubled past who loves all things true crime. When she gets the opportunity to talk to the infamous "Lady Killer", Beth, she takes it and begins to unravel a 30-year-old mystery that no one has been able to solve. 
This was such a well-crafted mystery and I kept not seeing the next twist coming. I loved the realistic paranormal feel to this story, and I loved how many layers to the truth there were. I really enjoyed uncovering Shea's trauma and seeing how far she has come. It was also really satisfying to watch Shea help Beth unravel decades of secrets.   

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Death

Minor: Child death and Child abuse