Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

37 reviews

vanessa_black_03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

This book will make you think and think. It should be read by everybody who has ever thought about the person behind the unmistakable cloud of death by a killer. 
Shows us how circumstances lend to our making but justifying anything you do with it and not acknoledging a problem within you is all that makes the difference

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child abuse, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood and Stalking

Minor: Car accident

savreads28's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Death, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Rape, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

juliesleseecke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual content, Misogyny, Gore, Animal cruelty, Death, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

lapuce1006's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Stalking, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death, Abandonment, Grief, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

Minor: Cancer and Suicide

lyshbish's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is not your typical crime novel. There aren't any shocking twists or big breakthroughs. It's just sort of... sad. Oh, the tangled webs we weave... only some webs are more tangled than others. Every character in this book has suffered at the hands of another, and caused suffering for another in turn. Obviously, some crimes are worse than others (like... murder, lol) but I couldn't help but wonder if A didn't happen would B have happened, and so on.  I think anyone who liked "Disappearing Earth" will really enjoy this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, and Pregnancy

Minor: Blood, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent, Addiction, Drug use, and Suicide

agnela's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Medical content, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, and Grief

samantha_06x's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Rape, Death, Pregnancy, and Murder

Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism

sunshine_sophia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

It has taken some time to compile my thoughts on this book, and I am not entirely sure if I will be able to articulate them well enough in this review.

This book made me very emotional. It was a rollercoaster of emotion. From anger to sadness to heartbreak, and grief, this book touches on many emotions. As an emotional girlie myself, I felt them all to a large degree.

I am not an advocate for the death penalty. My thoughts are: if we as a society believe murder and homicide are bad, why do we punish someone who committed those crimes with the same fate as their victims? It has always felt backward and inhumane to me. I felt torn between wanting Ansel to die via lethal injection or staying in prison for the rest of his life. I was especially sympathetic when

Saffy confronted him after he killed Jenny. When she asked him why he took the trinkets from the girls he killed, and he responded, "to keep me safe" my heart SHATTERED. That what is mother told him with the locket she had given him as a boy.

I am not trying to glorify serial killers by feeling sympathy towards him in this moment, I am simply reflecting on the trauma that he experienced as a child, and how he carried that with him through his entire life.

It was also interesting seeing the juxtaposition of Saffy and Ansel - they both had traumatic childhoods, grew up in the foster system, and lived in the same foster home for some time. While Saffy still carried her trauma with her, she was able to mobilize and become a functioning member of society as a member of law enforcement.

This was a heartbreaking, raw, and brilliant story of trauma, and showcases the flaws within the criminal justice system.

As someone who got psychology and criminology degrees in college, I am fascinated by the why. Why do people do what they do? Why do people commit crimes? Why do people kill? This book taught me that there may not always be a why, sometimes things just are because of a plethora of decisions, biology, and countless other factors. There is no cut-and-dry reason why people do what they do. There are countless possibilities and reasons for everything. 

Overall, while this book made me emotional, it was a brilliant dive into the way we view serial killers, the families impacted, the criminal justice system, law enforcement, and so much more. This book made me think and reconsider, which as a Gemini, I always appreciate. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Gore and Blood

ember_is_gay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was amazing, one of the best books I have read this year. I cannot wait to reread it. 

I really liked the focus on the women from throughout his life. I think they are so often forgotten; even when they have been the direct victims of the crime. They easily slip away into just another women who was killed by a man while a lot of serial killers became infamous and who we see movies made about and who people obsess over and fall in love with. But then there are the women we don't even think about who have been impacted by these men. And to see and hear from them (even fictional) was so amazing and so insightful. 

I also found the chapters about Ansel so well written and pieced together. They were such a good look into his brain and the way he thought about things. He was not just reduced to being a serial killer and I think it was a nice touch for exploring the complexity of humans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Violence, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

laurataylor's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Blood, Death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Body horror