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saphfyre42's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rhiviewed's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
pyxis_'s review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mstall_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Ava Bonney is a precocious, bright and talented fourteen year old. She goes to school, completes her homework and carries out her chores like every other kid in her small British town. However, Ava has a secret -- she loves collecting dead animals and studying them as they decay under the cover of night.
On one such nighttime excursion, Ava stumbles upon an interesting specimen. Upon a closer look she realizes this is not just another crow or fox, it is the body of missing boy Micky Grant. This discovery leads Ava down a twisty path of anonymous calls to the police, secret investigations, and confronting what makes us human.
At first I found this book to be a little hard to get sucked in to, which by all accounts should not have been the case because it has everything I loved! I think the biggest factor was that the language used is quite British and therefore the author utilized common British slang and colloquialisms that I simply didn't know. It took me a minute to understand what the hell a "gint" and "nonce" were, for example. Once I was able to clear that language barrier, the book moved swiftly and by the last few chapters I was doing everything I could to not rush it through.
I've read some complaints that people disliked figuring out who the killer was early on in the book, but I didn't mind it. In fact I think that was the point of the story! Instead of being in the dark with the other characters, we the readers had the distinct advantage of knowing who it was and therefore could palpably feel the tension rise as the characters failed to figure out what we already knew. I enjoyed this angle tremendously!
Be warned: there is violence and abuse against children, some descriptions of blood and gore and obviously descriptions of the death of animals.
On one such nighttime excursion, Ava stumbles upon an interesting specimen. Upon a closer look she realizes this is not just another crow or fox, it is the body of missing boy Micky Grant. This discovery leads Ava down a twisty path of anonymous calls to the police, secret investigations, and confronting what makes us human.
At first I found this book to be a little hard to get sucked in to, which by all accounts should not have been the case because it has everything I loved! I think the biggest factor was that the language used is quite British and therefore the author utilized common British slang and colloquialisms that I simply didn't know. It took me a minute to understand what the hell a "gint" and "nonce" were, for example. Once I was able to clear that language barrier, the book moved swiftly and by the last few chapters I was doing everything I could to not rush it through.
I've read some complaints that people disliked figuring out who the killer was early on in the book, but I didn't mind it. In fact I think that was the point of the story! Instead of being in the dark with the other characters, we the readers had the distinct advantage of knowing who it was and therefore could palpably feel the tension rise as the characters failed to figure out what we already knew. I enjoyed this angle tremendously!
Be warned: there is violence and abuse against children, some descriptions of blood and gore and obviously descriptions of the death of animals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
kayliecelery's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
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
4.0
charsiew21's review
4.0
Interesting, non-traditional protagonist, but I still prefer mysteries where the murderer isn't readily apparent, as opposed to mysteries like this one where the plot is about how the murderer is uncovered
lindetiel's review against another edition
4.0
final rating rounded up for encouraging debut.
It was a very gripping story, and I really enjoyed it. One chapter somewhere towards 65% of the book was a bit of a let down, as it laid out the big mystery very clearly.
I am definitely seeing a lot of promise in the author and looking forward to her future work.
It was a very gripping story, and I really enjoyed it. One chapter somewhere towards 65% of the book was a bit of a let down, as it laid out the big mystery very clearly.
I am definitely seeing a lot of promise in the author and looking forward to her future work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death
trusselltales's review
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
charlottefaye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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