Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison

9 reviews

dblue236'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Trigger warnings: Violence, drug and alcohol use, hazing, discussions of suicide and infidelity, brief mentions of pregnancy and abortion, a scene of mild homophobia.

It took me a little while to get into this book, mainly because I intially didn't like the main character very much. But as the story unfolded and I learned more about what was going on, I found it easier to follow the intersecting storylines and I gained an appreciation for a couple of the characters that I really didn't expect. There were certain aspects of the plot that I figured out before they were revealed, but plenty of others that remained a mystery until the end. I loved the setting and the author creates a very clear picture of the school and the town it's located in. This felt very much like the teen-led murder mysteries I enjoyed when I was in high school, and while it could be a bit on the graphic side from time to time, it was a really fun thriller as a whole. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Drug use, Bullying, Drug abuse, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, Suicide, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Infidelity, and Incest

thealmightymeg'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

koplomps's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Bullying

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Child abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Murder

Minor: Abortion, Classism, Stalking, Blood, Suicide, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

halli927's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I wasn’t sure if I would like this, it didn’t start out as well written as I would have liked. But I couldn’t stop reading it and I was totally shocked by the ending. Usually I can guess in a mystery thriller like this, but I didn’t … not even the very end. I will definitely check out more books by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Suicide, Death of parent, and Death

andreabrown's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death

Minor: Addiction

shereadsmysteries's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Child abuse, Addiction, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Blood, and Bullying

Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Abandonment, Classism, and Homophobia

jessg_24's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

OH MY GOODNESS I DID NOT EXPECT THAT ENDING. This book was insane and so fun to read! I especially enjoyed reading about be author's inspiration for the story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Infidelity

katyannreads's review

mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

ellejo3's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

2.5

It was an okay thriller. I liked the all-girls boarding school setting, complicated backgrounds, and the secret societies aspect. However, the overall mystery was obvious and I didn't particularly care for some of the other POVs that weren't Ash. Also, the homophobic scenes were so tired and disappointing. I don't buy that a girl not being straight is shocking in a modern setting at a school with 200 girls, especially considering that the majority of them are from DC, a city where 8.6% of the population identifies as LGBTQ+, a higher percentage than any U.S. state. Knowing more about which state the senator was from and what her family's beliefs were could've helped a little in this regard, at least with why she wanted to stay closeted. However, I still don't buy the girls at school being homophobic. Also, the bury-your-gays trope here was gratuitous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Homophobia

bury your gays, hazing