Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

49 reviews

toofondofbooks_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Grief, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Stalking

sawshiwen's review

challenging dark tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Murder, Stalking, Animal death, and Physical abuse

jamesdaniel's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

Minor: Stalking

ktdakotareads's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood and Stalking

minella's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug abuse and Alcohol

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-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

4.75

The prose is beautiful.  Kukafka is able to make you see and smell the people, objects, and scenery in the novel. The subject matter is heavy.  The political commentary is not subtle.  I would not have chosen to walk through the last hours of a serial killer’s life before being executed for fun.  But it turns out I would do it for the Book Eaters Podcast.  I was not fond of most of the POV’s, except Saffy’s. She was interesting and compelling. I rooted for her.  It wasn’t just that she was meant to be the justice in the story, but she had character and flaws that made her seem real.  I felt sorry for her, I envied her and wanted desperately for her to find the peace that she wasn’t looking for in the story.   The opening chapters with Lavender’s POV were the hardest to get through.  It was the most detailed and horrific.  There were a few times when I had to walk away from it because it was hard to read.  Some stories are just that way.  But it was necessary to understand Ansel’s roots and to see where the violence began.  That it didn’t start with him.   I like that the book didn’t try to make me feel sorry for Ansel.  The presentation was cold and felt factual.  This is the way things were.  All of the characters had regrets, but none of them could change things. I wouldn’t say that I liked the book or that I would want other people to read it.  I would, however, say that it is well-written. Unique in the sense that we are shielded from some violent scenes and thrust into others.  Protected where we could be and forced to see what was necessary. I am not a murder girlie, in that I don’t listen to true crime podcasts and tv shows.  I prefer to hide in fantasy and the familiarity of tropes.  So perhaps my opinion on this particular novel should be weighted with that in mind.  But, as far as thrillers go, I prefer to be more removed from the violence.  I like it, when it is fleeting and rationalized.  Something I couldn’t get from this book.  Even starting from before Ansel was born and a little after his death, I couldn’t trace the roots to a reason.  I wasn’t meant to.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Stalking, Child abuse, Violence, Animal death, Murder, Death, and Domestic abuse

might_be_may's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

take the content warnings seriously

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Minor: Stalking

amandamiller430's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, and Animal cruelty

c_serpent's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

5.0

Five stars for how this novel emphasizes that the serial killer is not special, unique, or extremely evil. He is just a man, and the true loss is in the lives of the women he killed. Five stars for Izzy, Angela, Lila, Jenny, and Saffy.

Total score: 5/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Gore, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Stalking, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Alcoholism

Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

augustinedreams's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Stalking, Sexual content, and Bullying