Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Bat by Jo Nesbø

11 reviews

h3ykatrina's review

challenging dark tense slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Car accident, and Alcoholism

amyteurhour's review

2.0

Content warning: rape, murder, substance abuse (alcohol, heroin), infidelity

The writing style reminded me a bit of Stephen King. The romance arc of this story felt a bit insta-lovey to me. I might casually check out some of the other books in the series, but I'm in no rush. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Infidelity, Murder, Drug use, and Alcoholism

e11en's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.5

Readable, but it was all a bit ick. The Australian characters were farcical and all of the lengthy exposition on Australian politics and history felt very forced and preachy. I did not like the ending or the ‘big reveal’. There are also a few scenes where someone kicks a dog and it’s treated like just a funny act(?!) but honestly that made me more uncomfortable than the gruesome murder scenes. And although I’m sure the book is actually quite progressive considering it was published in 1997, there are a lot of ways in which it hasn’t aged well. Lots of casual fatphobia, for instance. There is also a lot of homophobia and racism although I’m sure it’s all largely representative of this time in history. And the use of some offensive terms that are considerably outdated. 
I’ve really enjoyed Nesbo’s writing in the past. I’m open to trying another Harry Hole in time, but this one was *not it*. Give it a miss.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Racism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Rape, Police brutality, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Car accident, Addiction, Murder, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, and Colonisation

sosua_z's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

ekmook's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I don’t even know where to begin with how deeply offensive and problematic this entire book was…even for 1997.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Grief, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Self harm, and Xenophobia

emmajh91's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use

xteax's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Car accident, Addiction, and Alcohol

nieva098's review

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Death, Genocide, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Grief, Colonisation, and Drug use

oddreads_nicolestins's review

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I truly enjoyed this one! I don't know why I was expecting the story to be based more in Norway- BUT I was pleasantly surprised that the book was based in Australia. What really made this book 5-stars for me, was all the details and nuance about the Aboriginal characters. Nordic reads can definitely fall flat by lacking diverse characters (for example, having very similar characters skew either good or bad could turn a story into a pile of sameness after 300 pages, depending on what you're into of course). By adding the views of more than one Aboriginal person, as well as having them represent different tribes and having different upbringings/lifestyles, I was able to really get a feel for them as people and so (without naming names) I was actually shocked/saddened when the plot twists occurred.

There were also other characters that Nesbø gave life to that might've been abbreviated or omitted completely by another author. For this I appreciate him and think if you appreciate character-driven crime reads, then his books are for you! There's also plenty plot to go around! Excited to start book 2 for #nordicnovember

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcoholism

Moderate: Trafficking and Death

Minor: Suicide and Colonisation

caitlinbythebook's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fast paced read with some mystery and twists.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use