Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

361 reviews

mand_al_orian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

zoea08's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

ruby_mae_read's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

queenofvrything's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Disturbing, thought-provoking, and sad. Danya Kukafka shows the complexity of humanity through this non-linear tale, where honestly I didn’t feel much more than sadness by the end. The themes that stuck with me begs the questions: what is evil, are the choices made by some fully their own, and if fault can ever be put on just one person?

I’ll admit, adult Ansel made my skin crawl, but a small part of me couldn’t stop thinking of the poor child in the farmhouse, and how different his life could have been. Was he born a psychopath, or did the brain damage from the doorframe cause it? I enjoyed the insight to how his brain worked, how there was indeed both good and bad in him and that he had a core lack of understanding of who he was. Ansel felt like a boat untethered throughout life, until finding the blue house. 

I do love the focus on the victims, both living and dead, and the refusal to forget them as the story progressed. I also love that there was no one way to feel. Danya made the POV characters flawed and real, without pushing a specific narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death

jsweetwine's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I think that this book was very interesting and I liked the different perspectives that it featured. There were some choice moments, but it wasn't hard to get through. I would just be mindful of any potential triggers. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder

laurinbren's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Abandonment

kim_ng's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can't explain, but I enjoyed reading this book a lot, although I can imagine it is definitely not for everyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty

priceofsalt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, and Racism

porshainielsen's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Okay, wow. This is definitely one for my friends who loved Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. Going into this book, I was expecting to be forced into feeling sympathy for our main character Ansel, who is on death row for murdering multiple women. On the contrary, this novel focuses on the trail of women Ansel has left in his wake. Ansel is constantly searching for meaning, and how in another life, in another dimension, Ansel wouldn't have killed them and the lives those women and himself could have lived. The commentary here is that the choices we make, even small ones, take away choices from others. As we follow Ansel up to his execution, we are shown a glimpse into all these different women's lives, and how men have permanently altered their lives.

The AP Lit goof in me also wonders what the meaning is behind all the female characters who were shown some type of love from Ansel are named after flowers. I also may have rated this even higher if it wasn't for the police-procedural portions dragging on. 

"This is how it always went, wasn't it? All those women who'd come before her, in caves and tents and covered wagons. It was a wonder how she'd never given much thought to the ancient, timeless fact. Motherhood was, by nature, a thing you did alone."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent