Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

15 reviews

melle_reads's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

As the narrative is first-person and is shared between the main cast of characters, the characters themselves will heavily affect whether you will like this book. I found that their flaws and conflicts with each other were all rather surface-level rather than developed and realistic, which turned me off to liking them or finding them very compelling. There wasn’t any substantial groundwork laid for the final “twist” at the very end either, so to me it felt like a disappointing cop-out more than a proper shock. The twists and turns that led to the climax and third act were exciting though, and did keep me reading. It was only $2 for Kindle so all in all it was worth my time! 3.75 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Child abuse

Moderate: Torture, Blood, Cancer, Pregnancy, and Chronic illness

Minor: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

The main female character and her husband’s marital struggles are central to the book from start to finish. The main conflict is their difficulty with conceiving, and then after

they have their miracle baby,

the wife

experiences post-partum depression and difficulty

madelinequinne's review

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Suicide, Cancer, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Alcohol, Infertility, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

saraavowlerr's review

dark mysterious sad 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

1.0

Never again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Death, Blood, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

sandysmith'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A dark and twisty thriller, which I enjoyed even though the subject matter was distasteful, the murder of children. Mia and Finn buy a derelict house with secrets and find suitcases in the attic of murdered children.  Debbie and Dave are Finns parents, and they have strained relationships with Mia. Mia has a child who she tries to protect whilst suffering from post natal depression. Full of twists and turns,it's very dark, told from multiple points of view, and different timelines, which could have been confusing but wasn't for me.  None of the characters are likeable, but that does not stop the compulsion to keep reading, and usually, I can't get on with a book with characters I can't  relate to/like, but somehow in this book it's not important. In summary, and easy we'll written read. It's a  twisty, dark, sinister thriller and a compelling read. Great stuff

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Child death, and Kidnapping

thisismybooknook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

John Marrs does it again. I adore his writing and buy (and read) each book without even reading the back. It definitely lends to more surprises because I have no idea of what I'm walking into...but I love it. 
 This book is full of characters to hate, and just when you start to like someone, their true colors show. I predicted two of the big things that happen in the book, but there were so many things that kept me hooked and turning pages all day. I sat down with this book while eating breakfast and I finished it the same day while having my late night snack. Mind blown, like every time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Suicide, Murder, and Death of parent