Reviews with content warning for Violence - Killing Me

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

aliciavalenski's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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lizacorn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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jocelynbold's review

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adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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lcg527's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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artstitute's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I tore through this book in one sitting. Absolutely loved it. Just the right mix of tense and funny.

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carmnsndiego's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This was a really good and very entertaining! It had some vibes of other thrillers I’ve read in the last few years, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

The characters are a little rough and sarcastic but their personalities work well together.

I’m not sure if they will make a second book with these characters but if they did that could be fun!

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leandrathetbrzero's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

A Comedic Thriller set in Las Vegas 🤑

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the gifted e-ARC in exchange for this honest review!

↓ Similar Reading Experiences ↓

The Thing in the Snow by Sean Adams
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
How To Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

Amber is absolutely livid, and more than a little embarrassed, when she realizes she has been abducted by a serial killer. One with a strange obsession with PokemonGO at that. Things only get weirder from there when she is saved by a masked woman who wields a cattle prod. Next thing Amber knows, she’s in Las Vegas reliving a past she swore she’d leave behind, willing her eyebrows to grow back ASAP, and running from yet another serial killer…

LOVE NOTES
I had no idea what I was in for with a book described as a “laugh-out-loud thriller,” but I have to admit that Amber as a main character was quite the dose of entertainment. Her inner thoughts and dialogue made me laugh aloud multiple times even as she found herself in deeper, dangerous waters. I loved seeing the lesbian representation, the unique lively setting of Las Vegas and the feminist commentary on the history of serial killings in the US. I can definitely recommend this book for the elements above, especially the humor.

LOW NOTES (vague as to avoid spoilers)
I would say that this reads more as a quasi-cozy mystery than a thriller. What would make it quasi is the fact that cozies don’t tend to go into serial-killer territory. We are told so many times that we need to fear the man hunting Amber, but we only see glimpses of him from afar by side characters, so I never felt that Amber was in real danger until the end. And, even then, their face-to-face encounter didn’t scream scary genius killer to me. Instead, I was more frustrated with Amber’s gullibility when, in reality, the evidence to make her question herself and those she was working with was very weak.

With that said, would I follow Amber on another insane adventure involving serial killers? 1000% yes.

SPOILER SECTION

I didn't mention this above but the timeline slowed significantly when Grace brought Amber to her home, and it seemed like a less than natural lull in the action even though we gained a significant amount of background information from that stint in LA. Grace keeps repeating how smart Gunner is, and how they would all be dead if he wanted it that way, and I just grew tired of it. I was also actually really annoyed when he attempted to trick Amber into thinking that Grace was the actual threat. There wasn't enough suspicion or evidence to really suggest that, so the fact that Amber truly waivered during this scene seemed hard to believe. I found Jessie's death to be pointless as well, especially since Marcella's recklessness was to blame. It felt like the author was forcing a reason for Amber and Marcella to end their romantic situation.

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katiemack's review

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The first chapter of this book is a funny but terrifying way to hook the reader--Amber has just been kidnapped from her university's apartment complex and is now in the lair of a serial killer. Spoiler alert: she survives thanks to the help of Ski Mask, aka the sardonic Grace, who then leads her on a wild ride through Las Vegas to catch a killer. The subject matter is dark but buoyed by Amber's snark and the side characters she meets along the way. I wish more of Amber's past and cons had been explored, but I also appreciate the cuts to make this a shorter, tighter book.

This is a fun read if you have even a passing interest in true crime podcasts. (I'll end with an aside: there's a red herring moment later in the book that made me genuinely doubt our narrator and the information she'd learned, which is impressive.)

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