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Jo Nesbo recommended The Killer Inside Me in Books (curated)
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) created a video about American Vandal in TV
Oct 13, 2017 (Updated Oct 14, 2017)
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) created a video about Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. in TV
Dec 10, 2017
Tracy Letts recommended The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) in Movies (curated)
Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated The Highwaymen (2019) in Movies
Apr 16, 2019
Excellent
This was an awesome telling of a piece of American history. The acting and cinematography were beautifully done. Costner and Harrelson worked great together in this tale of the men who finally took down Bonnie and Clyde after their crime spree in the early 1930s. The story moved at an excellent pace leading up to the climactic finish of the criminal duo. I highly recommend this crime drama to anyone who really enjoys a good tale of criminal justice in action. Worth a watch!
Rache (174 KP) rated Small Town Murder in Podcasts
Jun 18, 2018
Hysterically funny (3 more)
Informative
Great research
Empathic toward victims/victims' families
Crime and Comedy
Two American comedians who examine the horrendous things that sometimes happen when people in small towns snap and commit murder. A hilariously funny show, which is respectful to the victims and their families, while laughing at murderers, incompetent law enforcement, and small town behaviour.
True crime and comedy can go together, and laughter and black humour are a good coping mechanism when dealing with horrific circumstances, and these two walk the tightrope between irreverence and insensitivity very well.
True crime and comedy can go together, and laughter and black humour are a good coping mechanism when dealing with horrific circumstances, and these two walk the tightrope between irreverence and insensitivity very well.
Jonathan Kellerman recommended Potboiler in Books (curated)
Christine Allard (22 KP) rated My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark in Podcasts
Jan 26, 2018
Hysterical, and a little eerie.
Two true friends with a passion for true crime take an oftentimes hysterical, but also sad and somber look at murder cases over the centuries. It's a great, quick, lightweight fix for folks who enjoyed Dirty John, Wrongful Conviction, and This American Life. It's light on the editing, and high on the community connection. They also poke at things that are creepy and while not all the murders have resolution, there's always something interesting and nothing that'll give you nightmares.
Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood in Books
Jun 14, 2018
As a white, middle class American, most of my education about colonialism and the resulting systemic and institutionalized racism and poverty have come from my own efforts to broaden my understanding. The more I learn, the more I am appalled not only by the realities themselves but also by the huge missing gap in my American education.
Trevor Noah's Born a Crime provides incredible insight into apartheid in South Africa as well as it's lasting effect, even after it "ended." I was already a bit of a fan of Noah's humor and political commentary, and his memoir is not a disappointment. He tackles big issues with a sense of humor that does not in any way minimize those issues.
Trevor Noah's Born a Crime provides incredible insight into apartheid in South Africa as well as it's lasting effect, even after it "ended." I was already a bit of a fan of Noah's humor and political commentary, and his memoir is not a disappointment. He tackles big issues with a sense of humor that does not in any way minimize those issues.
Mayhawke (97 KP) rated Elevator Pitch in Books
Jun 28, 2019
A nice return to U.S. crime fiction
Crime fiction is my thing. It's what I read most of, most of the time.
Over a decade ago I stopped reading crime fiction from the U.S. because I found what seemed to be a an unpleasant dwelling on the suffering of victims; a voyeurism which I found uncomfortable, and highly unpleasant. It was as though American crime writers were incapable of exploring the darkness of humanity, or giving clarity to events without relishing the pain and terror that must have been experienced by those on the receiving end of them.
Of course this was never true of all U.S. crime fiction, but I couldn't be asked to keep searching for the other kind. It was easier to just stay away from it all.
So, this is the first American crime novel I have read in nearly fifteen years.
What a joy it was. Barclay sets out a gripping thriller, an excellently plotted story which will educate you just a bit more than is comfortable on the ease of hacking lift controls in the technical age, whilst carefully leading you up and down the garden path a couple of times. The reading style is comfortable, the exposition is well paced. Eventually you arrive at a satisfying, and prompt conclusion. Barclay avoids the temptation to draw out the end like a cheerleader pulling gum, something that only works in Golden Era crime, and I always feel is out of place in otherwise fast-paced books of a more recent age.
Against this the characters have a slightly superficial feel, as though they have only been given the complexity they need for the book, and the denouement was not a huge surprise, though it was batted back and forth between two potential subjects nicely. But these really are minor complaints I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be going back and reading some more of Linwood's books on the basis of this one.
Over a decade ago I stopped reading crime fiction from the U.S. because I found what seemed to be a an unpleasant dwelling on the suffering of victims; a voyeurism which I found uncomfortable, and highly unpleasant. It was as though American crime writers were incapable of exploring the darkness of humanity, or giving clarity to events without relishing the pain and terror that must have been experienced by those on the receiving end of them.
Of course this was never true of all U.S. crime fiction, but I couldn't be asked to keep searching for the other kind. It was easier to just stay away from it all.
So, this is the first American crime novel I have read in nearly fifteen years.
What a joy it was. Barclay sets out a gripping thriller, an excellently plotted story which will educate you just a bit more than is comfortable on the ease of hacking lift controls in the technical age, whilst carefully leading you up and down the garden path a couple of times. The reading style is comfortable, the exposition is well paced. Eventually you arrive at a satisfying, and prompt conclusion. Barclay avoids the temptation to draw out the end like a cheerleader pulling gum, something that only works in Golden Era crime, and I always feel is out of place in otherwise fast-paced books of a more recent age.
Against this the characters have a slightly superficial feel, as though they have only been given the complexity they need for the book, and the denouement was not a huge surprise, though it was batted back and forth between two potential subjects nicely. But these really are minor complaints I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be going back and reading some more of Linwood's books on the basis of this one.