Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan

5 reviews

unidentifiedfilipinoobject's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Classism, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Body horror, and Gore

Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Vomit, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, and Alcoholism

asti_64's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Murder, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

Minor: Police brutality and Adult/minor relationship

itzjez's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Kidnapping and Pedophilia

Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse

helliepad's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

The author mentioned that she wrote this book feeling angry at the justice system and corruptness present in all Philippine bureaucratic and civil systems. I can feel it, and I can understand it.

What's worse is that though this book was written in the 90s, edited in 2013, and I've read it in 2022, this could have very well been a contemporary novel still set in my current time, or perhaps even in my grandchildren's time. It is the first time I've seen priests being involved investigators in crime novels instead of just witnesses.

Every single character in this book is dealing with decades of moral muck and personal issues and I don't have any poetic words for it. This is a situation that happens every day and I'm too familiar with the helpless, bleak feeling of the Philippines' extrajudicial system to even be surprised at it.

Very honest portrait.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking

ssconsequat's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Addiction, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction