Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The Next Girl by Carla Kovach

5 reviews

lifeofchrstnlvly's review

dark mysterious sad tense 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

This book is a straightforward procedural thriller. 

It took me some time to finish it due to a lack of compelling tension. Although the stakes were high with a life on the line, the plot revealed the victim's situation while the protagonist, DI Gina Harte, was still trying to solve the case. As a result, I, the reader, was merely waiting for the protagonist to catch up with what I already knew. The question was not 'what will happen?' but 'when and how will the villain be caught?' This aspect dulled the suspense and made me less inclined to pick up the book. 

However, DI Gina Harte, the protagonist, was a well-developed character. Even though her personal backstory didn't profoundly affect me, I could understand her because her character was thoroughly explored. 

I'm undecided about continuing with the series. I might consider reading the second book in the future, but if it follows the same format, I may not pursue the entire series.

Also, to be honest, Harte was a bit.. dumb for a DI. She actually didn't solve the case in this book. All the pieces just fell into place: she didn't find the victim, someone else did. She didn't take down the perpetrator. Someone else did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal cruelty and Pregnancy

yvo_about_books's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

Finished reading: April 30th 2024

“The combination of thunder and seeing the helpless baby had dug up her memories. Memories she'd rather forget.”

I came across this series when I was browsing my kindle for titles to read to help complete my kindle freebies goal, and since I've been meaning to try Carla Kovach's writing for a while now I decided to give in. The Next Girl is the first book of a detective thriller series, and it starts on a heavy note with a kidnapping case as well as a focus on domestic abuse. It's not a bad read, but somehow there wasn't really anything that made this thriller stand out from other books in the genre either. I think this had a lot to do with the main character Gina, who I was unable to warm up to. She seemed too much like your stereotypical flawed detective with a troubled past, and the rest of the cast wasn't overly developed either. The many references to her past and psychological consequences in the present not only made her seem less competent as a detective, but also started to annoy me considerably. The fact that she was sleeping with her boss didn't really help either to be honest. The plot itself dragged in parts as well, and as a result it took me longer than expected to read The Next Girl . The case itself had a lot of potential and there were moments that were more suspenseful, but as a whole I felt that something was lacking. And while the final part was more engaging, it couldn't fully save this story for me. All in all it wasn't a bad read, but I don't think I will be continuing with this series... I still have too many other detective thriller series I want to start/continue instead.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Stalking, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Rape

melheimpel's review

Too predictable and irrelevant scenes and details that didn't further the plot.  Mentions of nausea or vomiting that bothered me as someone with a phobia 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Vomit

the characters in the book speculated early on where missing woman was and what happened to her so felt like there was no point in continuing to read

_em_lauren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

An easy read that keeps you engrossed in the plot. Very tense and keeps you guessing. The chapters focus on different characters and keeps you in suspense all throughout the story. Would definitely recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Vomit, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Blood, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

jesshart8's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Stalking

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Vomit