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winstonholyfield's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Kay Scarpetta is a forensic pathologist in Richmond Virginia who is investigating a serial killer who targets women late Friday night/early Saturday morning. He ties his victims up before raping and torturing them causing them to strangle themselves due to his trusses.
The novel suffers from being ahead of its time, in 1990 Law and Order was in its first season, CSI was 10 years away and Criminal Minds another 5 years after CSI. The scientific and forensic investigation has become a staple of the genre which makes this early entry stand out less. It’s a good book with a clear critique of institutional sexism and is about as satisfying as a good Law and Order episode. Not the first crime book I would recommend but hardly a bad choice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Rape
tegzy95's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Stalking
Minor: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Homophobia, Medical content, and Racism
hq_reads's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I had high hopes for this series as it’s been recommended to me by so many people but I just could not get past the outdated racist and homophobic narrative. Let me explain:
1. I found it strange that some of the characters were “clearly” black based on how their dialogue was written. But I thought “it was written in the 90s, based in Virginia, maybe the author just didn’t know better/it’s culturally relevant at the time..?” But it didn’t sit well with me. THEN it turns out that the author needed to emphasise that black people speak differently for the purpose of the plot. So she literally built her killer’s motives/actions around a racial stereotype
2. The character has a gay lab assistant and says he doesn’t “fit into the 5 types of gays” so she didn’t suspect his sexuality at first. HAD SHE SUSPECTED IT, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE HIRED HIM…!! Then he’s secretly getting a sample tested in the lab and she assumes he’s testing himself for HIV… because he’s gay…!
3. Main character was hypocritical - always complaining about how her mum expects her to have kids and act like a lady. The literally judges her sister who is a single mother for not making home cooked Italian food for her daughter every night… she literally says her sister shouldn’t be a mother because of this!!
4. Disappointed in who the killer turned out to be. Very anti-climactic
1. I found it strange that some of the characters were “clearly” black based on how their dialogue was written. But I thought “it was written in the 90s, based in Virginia, maybe the author just didn’t know better/it’s culturally relevant at the time..?” But it didn’t sit well with me. THEN
2. The character has a gay lab assistant and says he doesn’t “fit into the 5 types of gays” so she didn’t suspect his sexuality at first. HAD SHE SUSPECTED IT, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE HIRED HIM…!! Then he’s secretly getting a sample tested in the lab and she assumes he’s testing himself for HIV… because he’s gay…!
3. Main character was hypocritical - always complaining about how her mum expects her to have kids and act like a lady. The literally judges her sister who is a single mother for not making home cooked Italian food for her daughter every night… she literally says her sister shouldn’t be a mother because of this!!
4.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Torture, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Transphobia
gabbyreynolds's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence
flowers_and_cows's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This was one of the best murder mystery books that I've read in a long time! The main plot of the book was that of a medical examiner named Kay, and her trying to solves the cases of the victims of a serial killer. When reading about the scenes where and how the victims were found, the details were enough for you to know what happened and how messed up the serial killer is, but not too detailed as to make you not want to read any further. While reading, I liked the red herrings that were thrown in. There were times when I totally though that I figured out who the killer was and who was behind the strange things happening around Kay's office, but I was pleasantly proven wrong. The story will bring up people or things that are strange or suspect, but won't give confirmation or contradict whatever thoughts that you may have.
Additionally, I liked that throughout the story, there is the relationship building between Kay and her niece, Lucy. And neither one of them is perfect and knows that they make mistakes and try the best that they can. Furthermore I like how the message that sometimes the younger generations can teach the older generations new things was included.
Lastly, I liked that throughout the book, Kay wasn't this super human with no real emotion and that nothing would bother her. When things went wrong, or when Kay makes mistakes, she has genuine emotion and feeling that most normal people would have in response to what was going on. This epically shows in the ending of the book.
Additionally, I liked that throughout the story, there is the relationship building between Kay and her niece, Lucy. And neither one of them is perfect and knows that they make mistakes and try the best that they can. Furthermore I like how the message that sometimes the younger generations can teach the older generations new things was included.
Lastly, I liked that throughout the book, Kay wasn't this super human with no real emotion and that nothing would bother her. When things went wrong, or when Kay makes mistakes, she has genuine emotion and feeling that most normal people would have in response to what was going on. This epically shows in the ending of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
cuppacora's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
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