Reviews tagging 'Death'

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

12 reviews

gracehunt1's review

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challenging dark 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? No

3.5


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nrogers_1030's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I found some of it to be long-winded. I didn’t feel it was necessary to have back stories on everyone — including the people that discovered the remains. 

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whosfernn's review against another edition

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

3.75

It's been a while since I read a crime novel, and I'm a big fan of them so I thought I'd enjoy this. It was a good book, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it. I couldn't get into it.

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caidyn's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Solid read. It was quite diverse but I kept getting all the characters mixed up. I couldn't keep everyone straight, especially with all the perspectives the book had.

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jayessicaa's review

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75


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racheloddment's review

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challenging dark 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

2.75


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irenemarie's review against another edition

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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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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serendipitysbooks's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

 Real Easy is set in the Lovely Lady, a strip club near Chicago. One night one of the dancers is murdered and another disappears, presumably kidnapped.

I had reservations about this book, fearing the depiction of the dancers and the club was going to be salacious, stereotyped or both. I’m pleased to say that’s not the case at all. The fact that the author used to work in such a club helps explain why - she knows the reality rather than the myth or the image. Among the dancers are a solo mother trying to raise her daughter alone, an intersex woman who loves her partner’s daughter like her own, and a woman who has spent years caring for her disabled mother. Some use drugs; some don’t. Some are straight; some aren’t. Some are young, others older. In other words a variety of ordinary, relatable women. The goings on in the club were depicted in enough detail to feel realistic, but not so much that it felt voyeuristic.

The story is told from multiple point of view - chiefly the dancers and the police officers investigating the case. Some perspectives - Samantha, a dancer who is kidnapped, Holly, one of the detectives, and Georgia who becomes a confidential informant - recur; others we get only once. Despite this I thought the author did a great job of building up realistic, three dimensional characters. Many (police and dancers) were flawed - sexism is prevalent among the male cops - but few were truly unlikeable. While you expect mysteries to be plot driven this book had a good mix of plot and character development, at least for my taste.

There were no unexpected twists in this book which I found rather refreshing. By the last third of the book we knew who the identity of the offender land and who his next intended victim was. The tension, which I enjoyed, was all based on whether or not he would be able to strike again. 

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hbrown00's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5


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niaviolet's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Good mystery with interesting characters. Everyone in the book feels fully-formed, even if you only get their point of view for a couple pages. 

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