Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

9 reviews

emilywemily6's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a solid whodunit with an interesting premise involving two timelines. I enjoyed seeing the journal entries being relevant in the present day timeline and found both timelines engaging. However, there were too many characters to keep track of, which made the ending/conclusion felt a bit rushed since the characters weren’t flushed out as well as I would have liked. And while I enjoyed the protagonist, some parts of their behavior and dialogue were stilted and obviously intended to just move the plot along- like how Annie called her best friend to talk about evidence and draw conclusions. I would really like to read another book by this author and with these characters.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Toxic friendship, Death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

agathajanemaud1908's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I found the first few chapters a bit clunky, but then I got wrapped up in the mystery and finished this book in three days. A bit more tension in the climax and more details and background about the main character would have made this book even better. I also found some developments/theories of the mystery hard to follow.
Looks like this is book one of a series, so I’m looking forward to more mysteries involving Great Aunt Frances’ files! There’s a lot of potential for a great series involving the village of Castle Knoll.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Drug use, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Murder, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Infertility, and Vomit

Minor: Abandonment

chelbelle122's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Bullying, Death, and Violence

goldenlake's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Dementia, Infertility, Vomit, Grief, and Infidelity

m_a_j's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy

tamara_joy's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Murder, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Classism, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Alcohol, Drug use, and Infertility

purplepenning's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

Really wanted to love it, but my interest kept wandering, which made it difficult to keep a large cast of characters in two different timelines straight. Great premise, but maybe a tighter edit would've been more to my tastes. I was unexpectedly bored and annoyed by the 1960s bright young things timeline — teen drama often affects me that way. And the present-day story managed to be both packed with clues and yet lacking a sense of urgency to drive it. I did enjoy that it felt like a fair, classical mystery, though — I had half of it figured out before the reveal.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, Pregnancy, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death of parent, Infertility, and Sexual content

needles, including

attempted forced injection

mreads's review against another edition

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

3.75

Thank you to Netgalley, and Dutton Publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Truly, I was expecting to enjoy myself but opted to stay completely in the dark when it came to anything beyond a brief glance at the title and cover, both of which are fantastic.  The character work was fun, and more classic whodunnit mystery was a great change of pace among most of the murder mysteries currently at the forefront of publishing.

The good: 
Truly for a small town murder mystery it was incredibly engaging. Every time I ended my reading session I found myself still lingering on what the solution could be. The cast of characters, while in some instances fitting some predetermined roles, were much really what kept me coming back. It wasn't so much the answer to the mysteries but how Annie and Frances each saw them.  Hearing from Frances as a teenager was something I wanted more of the entire way through. It was compelling, particularly in contrast to a whodunnit that felt like more of a backdrop than what kept me coming back.

The eh:
The casual display of a relationship between an adult and a minor, regardless of the time period a narrative is set in, is enough to make me cautious. While it was (eventually) called into question by a parent the entire scenario was just weird, for lack of a better word. It's definitely something that I would take a moment to give a heads up to a friend while recommending.  My vetmed career may be showing but

it felt entirely sloppy to not look into just how tightly regulated controlled substances are in the field. While I am an American based reader I hardly imagine that it's so different in the UK. The lack of care by the owner of the practice alone had me stopping in my tracks to put down the book in a total "why would you ever" moment.

These sort of small details really brought the experience down for me, in the end. 

The bad:
As I mentioned at the top the title was the impulse for picking up the title, and had I not been approved I had every intention of finding a copy after the release. There was however, a disconnect in the tone of the title and the actual text. The title had be ready for a thriller that was at it's core a satire, or a comedy. It was a twinge of disappointment that carried throughout the novel that I had hoped would fade but never truly did. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Car accident and Outing