Scan barcode
A review by avasreads_
To Kill a Man by Sam Bourne
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
to kill a man, sam bourne
CW; SEXUAL ASSAULT, RAPE
⭐⭐
2/5
my reaction to this book is pretty much summed up in the last slide. this one was a speed read, mostly because i wanted to just get through this novel so i can go onto others. i just want to preface this by saying that thriller is not my genre of choice, but the blurb sounded interesting so i gave it a shot. i kind of wish i didn't. that being said, i do like the look of 'to kill a president', so i am willing to give him another shot.
'to kill a man' follows Natasha Winthrop, a lawyer and potential future presidential candidate, who is sexually assaulted in her own home and defends herself, leaving her attacker dead. she installs the help of Maggie Costello, a 'fixer' in an attempt to save her candidacy and reputation, thus uncovering the truth as to what happened that night.
my main qualms with this book do not lie with how it is written. sam bourne can write, and i felt that this was well paced. the characters were interesting and at moments i thought they were cool. the issues that i have with it regard the subject matter and how it was dealt with. the first half had me intrigued, and then it swiftly depleted in credibility in the second half.
sexual assault is a difficult subject matter to deal with, but the random snippets of sexual assaults happening every other chapter seemed overboard. i understand that they meant to represent the pretty universal experience of sexual violence at the hands of powerful men, but they seemed to be unnecessary detail, and detracted attention from Natasha and her story of sexual violence. i did not want to read about an underage girl in Moscow being sexually assaulted when i was reading it for the fallout around the protagonist being sexually assaulted. it (tenuously) connected at the end, which seemed rushed, but then the plot twists seemed to be in the wrong places, far-fetched and jumbled the plot. they took me to places i did not want to go. it detracted from the story of a survivor of attempted rape.
maybe i just had high hopes, or thrillers aren't my genre, but this had massive potential and fell flat.
(instagram; @avareads)
CW; SEXUAL ASSAULT, RAPE
⭐⭐
2/5
my reaction to this book is pretty much summed up in the last slide. this one was a speed read, mostly because i wanted to just get through this novel so i can go onto others. i just want to preface this by saying that thriller is not my genre of choice, but the blurb sounded interesting so i gave it a shot. i kind of wish i didn't. that being said, i do like the look of 'to kill a president', so i am willing to give him another shot.
'to kill a man' follows Natasha Winthrop, a lawyer and potential future presidential candidate, who is sexually assaulted in her own home and defends herself, leaving her attacker dead. she installs the help of Maggie Costello, a 'fixer' in an attempt to save her candidacy and reputation, thus uncovering the truth as to what happened that night.
my main qualms with this book do not lie with how it is written. sam bourne can write, and i felt that this was well paced. the characters were interesting and at moments i thought they were cool. the issues that i have with it regard the subject matter and how it was dealt with. the first half had me intrigued, and then it swiftly depleted in credibility in the second half.
sexual assault is a difficult subject matter to deal with, but the random snippets of sexual assaults happening every other chapter seemed overboard. i understand that they meant to represent the pretty universal experience of sexual violence at the hands of powerful men, but they seemed to be unnecessary detail, and detracted attention from Natasha and her story of sexual violence. i did not want to read about an underage girl in Moscow being sexually assaulted when i was reading it for the fallout around the protagonist being sexually assaulted. it (tenuously) connected at the end, which seemed rushed, but then the plot twists seemed to be in the wrong places, far-fetched and jumbled the plot. they took me to places i did not want to go. it detracted from the story of a survivor of attempted rape.
maybe i just had high hopes, or thrillers aren't my genre, but this had massive potential and fell flat.
(instagram; @avareads)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Alcohol