A review by arealpup
The Troop by Nick Cutter

adventurous dark 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? No

4.0

I feel like this book could easily have been a 5 star book if the cast didn't feel quite so... desolate? When I say the main focus of the book was the plot, I mean that. It's a good, well rounded plot with a fantastic beginning, middle, and end, but I didnt quite feel for the characters the same way I would most books. I felt as though I barely knew the characters, and often mixed the crew up, however maybe it was purposefully done by the author to save you from feeling so much remorse and discomfort that came from the more graphic scenes. It wasn't until the last few chapters that I felt I started to really know two of them, but I felt the development and introductions could have been a lot more apparent. Still, this book certainly kept me on my toes, and wanting to know how things would be resolved. The graphic story telling was fantastic, and Im very happy with how it ends. I enjoy the more realistic approach to such a disgusting story, almost painting a very plausible reality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Eating disorder and Vomit

There's a very graphic scene of a kitten death that is toward the middle end of the book. It's a chapter that only really describes more of a characters upbringing and personality. If this is something that is triggering or hard to read, I'd recommend skipping to the chapter ahead.