I couldn't connect with this as much as I'd wanted to. 

I think partly it was the journalistic style - she definitely had commentary on the political narrative of Dutertes. But I felt her writing lacked as much emotional perspective and she let the facts speak for themselves. Obviously, the horrific violence was moving, but I would have liked more of her own reaction to it. 

Also, it was really interesting how she showed how ordinary people were taken in by Dutertes and then went back to their reflections of how they realised they'd been wrong. But I would have liked more of what it felt like for ordinary people to be living with the violence and the fear this created. We heard this from the victims and their families, but I think wider community voices would have helped me feel more involved.

Finally, I think it would have been good to have heard about any police who were against the extrajudicial killings, rather than solely those absorbed in corruption. Again this would have enabled me to have more empathy. Human rights workers were talked about, but more personal voices would have balanced the narrative about those who were as bullish as Dutertes.

This book had strength but it would have taken me deeper if it had been a bit more 360° . Her reporting is clever and her use of irony completely chilling in revealing how easily someone so much of a thug could gain power and corrupt a country so much. 

The grammar explanations were interesting but grated slightly.

Overall informative, but I couldn't quite find the emotional layers I wanted to. Definitely a brave piece of writing though!