Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

91 reviews

blewballoon's review against another edition

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

3.5

I was intrigued and a little intimidated by the premise of this book, but the intimidation wasn't needed. The author does a good job of dropping the reader into the story and having the POV character figure things out along the way. This book feels like a mystery-thriller, and leans more one way or the other depending on which body the main character is inhabiting and how that host's mind works. I did sometimes get annoyed by the

footman popping up to be a malicious murderous nuisance in scenes where there was already danger and tension, so he felt like overkill.

The descriptions of people are mostly grotesque and include mentions of being fleshy, wrinkled, or gaunt. If it's a maid, they are almost universally described like "[hair color] spilling out of her cap" on introduction. Minor complaint aside,  the descriptions across the book in general are very immersive and quickly get you a mental picture of the scene. I was very absorbed in trying to put the pieces of the mystery together, but didn't solve it for myself before the reveal.

I don't love when a murderer's motivation is basically just that they're a psychopath, that feels lame. There was so much to the mystery that there should have been enough for a more compelling motivation.

I also don't know how I feel about the explanations offered for the premise

I remember feeling a little taken out of the story when the plague doctors spoke to each other. I never got a good sense of what time period this was. It seemed like an afterlife thing, like maybe they were in purgatory, but then it sounded like this was the normal prison system for living people??

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fatphobia

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse

dorin_d's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

initially slow to start but after 3/4 if the way through i found that i could not put it down! a murder mystery with a time loop at its centre made reading it sometimes confusing, but still enjoyable. i do wonder if the book may have too many plot twists, especially when

we find out this loop is happening inside a prison as punishment for inmates, like a black mirror episode,

as i found this introduced more questions than answers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

obsessivebooklover's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Child death, Murder, Suicide, Fatphobia, and Drug abuse

metanav's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

was slightly slow to grab me but i enjoyed it up until the twist which while i see it beforehand, was a bit underwhelming 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Suicide

Minor: Rape, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Death, Classism, Child death, Blood, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Torture and Confinement

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.75

It’s a groundhog’s day Clue mystery. Everyday the main character wakes up as a different guest at a country party trying to solve a murder. Every different guest has the MC’s soul, but their own personalities and wants. The plot twists are crazy. Such a good mystery with a lot about morality and character development. 

Murder Mystery, Slightly Fantastical, Lots of Violence/Murders

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Child death, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Torture

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

bookhoarder2022's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

Decent mystery & interesting premise, but the way the narrator speaks with such disgust about his hosts was a huge turn-off

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Stalking, Addiction, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infidelity, Drug abuse, and Grief

starlitpage's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide, Alcohol, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Torture, Sexual violence, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Medical content, Bullying, and Rape

rensach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse

ciwanski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

I honestly really enjoyed this read. The mystery was masterfully put together, I’m honestly not sure how Turton kept track of it all. 
This was the perfect moody read to start autumn off with; rainy days, dark forests, decrepit manors, 1920s aesthetic, I was immediately immersed into the grungy feel of this book. 
I will admit that I’m a little let down by the ending. I’m not sure what I’m let down by, but I feel a sense of wanting more. Again, the mystery aspect was wonderful, but it’s the world building around it that I think I’m a bit put out by. Questions about how the in-book “real world” functions that are never really answered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Alcohol, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Torture