Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs

7 reviews

emalderwood's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

I've read later books from Reichs and it was interesting to see how much her writing has developed since this first Temperance Brennan novel. I found the prose sometimes a little clunky and over stated, but all in all it kept steady suspense throughout and kept me reading. Brennan's idioisms and thoughts were distinctly her, making her a compelling and believable voice as the main character. I also loved the detail of her work as a science geek but could definitely see it being a bit too expositiony for some. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Stalking, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

artmajorese's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Very graphic and violent towards women. As crazed and full of exclamation marks as the TV series it spawned. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Stalking, Torture, and Violence

jennfs10's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Murder, Torture, Animal death, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Gore, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

Was curious about this series bc it came up in a recommendation list of cozy mystery series but it’s firmly in the thriller/crime genre. My expectations weren’t prepared so I was taken aback by the graphic depictions of violence. I understand that she’s a forensic anthropologist but to me, it implied she mostly investigated cold cases which she did but in this story, she also investigated ongoing violent murders. My 3.5 star rating is mostly for the at times clunky, technical descriptions of procedural tasks in the lab. Granted this book was published in 1997 so perhaps this type of procedural description was considered new and so allowing the author leeway would lend the character some legitimacy as a forensic anthropologist but I ended up skimming a lot of those passages and by doing so found did not detract from the story. I did check out the next book from the library but I’m continuing the series with caution. Hopefully the procedural tasks will be slimmed down a bit. I’m also still deciding if I like Tempe’s character. She has flaws for sure and they get her into trouble but I’m willing to keep reading to see how or if she changes

mystic_mk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Religious bigotry

reade's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Death, Body horror, Blood, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Rape

kaylin_means's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

 Not my typical cup of tea, but it was recommended by a friend for a lover of police procedurals like Law & Order. Also, I was looking to watch the show but wanted to read the book first as I often do. Turns out the book and the TV show share a main character's name and profession but that's pretty much where the similarities end. It was pretty grisly and overly descriptive of heinous crimes for my taste, but I will say I generally enjoyed the storyline and it kept my attention until the end. 3.25 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

maegensaysstuff's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Torture

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Death

Minor: Infidelity