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lunabri's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
the first short-story "Don't look now" was very intriguing and atmospheric and kept me glued to the pages until the end.
Unfortunately all the other stories in this collection bored me to death and even annoyed me at times
Unfortunately all the other stories in this collection bored me to death and even annoyed me at times
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Grief, Homophobia, and Child death
chrisljm's review
mysterious
slow-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
2.0
I don’t typically enjoy short stories, so I went into this collection mostly just expecting/wanting some gothic horror elements for the Halloween season.
While I didn’t love the first three stories (“Don’t Look Now”, “Not After Midnight”, and “A Border-Like Case”), they were at the least intriguing. However, I find myself giving this two-stars due to how little I enjoyed the last two stories. I could not care less when reading “The Way of the Cross”, which just felt like nonsense and seemed out of place compared to the first three. “The Breakthrough” was better than “The Way of the Cross” but still lackluster and disappointing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Death, Murder, Cancer, Infidelity, Incest, Colonisation, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
xdarkthunderx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really did not like this collection. My overwhelming feeling is that du Maurier is just not the right author for short stories, and she seems to lack the ability to wrap them up. They seem hastily concluded, especially Don't Look Now, which had so much potential but almost seemed to be stopped short. I want to still read her novel, Rebecca, so hopefully her writing works better in long-form content.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexism
Minor: Transphobia, Child death, and Alcohol
redheadorganist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
While some were better than others, this is an excellent collection of du Maurier's short stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Confinement
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