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A Spy Came Home (Mac Ambrose, #1)
A Spy Came Home (Mac Ambrose, #1)
H.N. Wake | 2014
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mac Ambrose is a CIA officer. She has recently revealed this information to her closest friends after being in the agency for 20 years. She shares this information in an attempt to bring down a corrupt organization and its effect on the gun laws in America. Using the skills she has learning in the Agency, and the connections of her friends, she sets out on a mission to bring down those involved. She only has a few short weeks to accomplish her goal.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through this book. The first few chapters involve a lot of legalese that did not draw me into the story. Talking about the different gun laws and how and when they went into effect. Finally, after that small rut, it was smooth sailing and I had to keep going. So if you find yourself in the same scenario, I encourage you to keep going. It definitely gets better from there.

I totally enjoyed this book. It made the wheels in my head churn with the possibility of the corruption in our government. This book explores what goes on behind closed door of lobbyists and other who are in a position to change the laws in this country.

This book takes you on a journey through the world as we learn more about Mac as a CIA officer and her personal life. We travel through time as well which helps to learn why she is so determined to pull off this mission no matter the consequences. The last few pages will leave you on the edge of your seat to find out what is going to happen. I can't wait to see what is next for Mac Ambrose.

<b>Also by H.N.Wake: [b:Ghosts in Macau|25398065|Ghosts in Macau (A Mac Ambrose Short Story)|H.N. Wake|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429618876s/25398065.jpg|45150620]</b>;

**I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review.**
  
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Not That I Could Tell
Not That I Could Tell
Jessica Strawser | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Six women from the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio decide to get together for a few glasses of wine and some conversation on a Sunday night. This is the first time they have all been gathered together like this. Surprised that their baby monitors are able to reach to Clara's backyard, they enjoy the childless night. The next morning, one of them is missing. Is foul play a part of the disappearance or did Kristin simply walk away from her life? Admittedly, even though they have been neighbors for a while, no one really knew each other all that well. Will the police be able to find Kristin? Did her husband have something to do with it?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm not sure why, but I had a hard time connecting with this book. While I was intrigued by the story, I didn't find myself drawn to find out what was going to happen next. It took me 10 days to read this book which is very rare for me.

What would you do if you woke up from a girls night out to find out one of the girls and her twins had disappeared in the middle of the night? Gone without a trace. Most of the women felt guilty because they couldn't remember what had happened the night before and if Kristin had said something that would help to locate her now. Everyone looks to Clara who lived right next door and who's son was in class with Kristin's twins, but she knows as much as the others, which is not much at all. How well to we really know our neighbors? We're on the outside looking in, but do we really know what goes on behind closed doors? Kristin's husband, Paul, the local OB/GYN seems like the kind of guy everyone would like, but what secrets of his own is he hiding. Did he do something to make his family disappear? After almost a month, the police have all but given up the search, but incidents in the neighborhood, cause them them to question whether they should or not.
  
7500 (2019)
7500 (2019)
2019 | Drama, Thriller
Greetings & Salutations Everyone!

On behalf of myself and my fellows at ‘Skewed & Reviewed’ I want to say I hope all of you and those nearest and dearest to you continue to be healthy and safe during these uncertain times.

We’ve made it to another summer and with that comes a multitude of new films for the summer of 2020 only they’ll assemble in the queues on your digital devices rather than the movie theaters. Trust me. That’s a good thing right about now. We’re going to take a turn off the beaten path this time. Instead of a comedy or an action film, we’re going to start things off with a thriller. With all the unpleasantness going about it seems like an odd move perhaps? Not really. A well-made thriller film will create such intensity that you’ll completely forget about everything else at least for the film’s running time anyways. Judging from my own experience, today’s movie for you consideration will accomplish just that.

 

The aviation transponder code indicating that a hijack is in progress. Essentially the worst case scenario for any flight crew and accompanying passengers. The basis for today’s film. ‘7500’ is a 2019 an Austrian/German/American dramatic thriller from Amazon Studios and the directorial debut of German filmmaker Patrick Vollrath. Written by Vollrath and Senad Halilbasic and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (in his first film since 2016), Omid Memar, Aylin Tezel, Carlo Kitzlinger, Aurélie Thépaut, Murathan Muslu, and Paul Wollin.
Evening. Berlin Tegal Airport. Passengers and crew board a passenger plane bound for Paris. A routine flight (from what I’ve personally been told by retired U.S. Air Force personnel and friends in France, an amazing experience for any traveler). While the passengers begin to board he plane, Co-pilot Tobias Ellis (Levitt) and his girlfriend Gökce (Tezel) one of the flight attendants trying to decide on which school they can send their child too. Captain Michael Lutzmann (Kitzlinger) makes his way into the cockpit while making jokes regarding the plane. Everyday life. Flight check complete, the plane proceeds to take off and for the first few moments a routine trip. That quickly changes when a group of men including a young man named Vedat, attempt to break into the plane’s flight deck and take control of plane. After a brief but violent struggle, Tobias and Captain Lutzman despite both being wounded, overpower one of the hijackers and force the cockpit door closed. Over the course of the next few moments, the situation will go from bad to worse as the fate of the passengers, the crew, and even the hijackers will be left in Tobias’s hands as he attempts to get the plane to safety while injured and thwart the plans of Vedat and his associates. One thing is clear. No matter what happens, no matter how much he might want to, he cannot under any circumstances open the door to the flight deck.

Right off the bat. 4 out of 5 stars. The film was brilliant. My eyes were glued to the computer monitor for the 92 minute runtime of the movie. Part of which was due to the fact that the film was based entirely upon the idea of something that could very well possibly happen and unfortunately has happened before. There is a focus on conviction for both sides. How far is an individual prepared to go? What are they willing to do to prevent the other from overpowering them regardless if your intentions are just or malevolent? What is one willing to sacrifice in order to carry out an objective or safeguard the lives of a group? Joseph Gordon-Levitt might have been out of the game for a while but he certainly hasn’t lost his edge and the cast and crew of the film he decided to team-up with for this outing did not disappoint either.

I wouldn’t recommend this one for the kids due to the dark nature of the story and the violence involved at points in the film. It does touch upon certain stereotypes which perhaps should be talked about among those who see the movie. The film takes place almost exclusively on the flight deck of the plane which reminded me of Joel Schumacher’s 2003 film ‘Phone Booth’ starring Colin Farrell or Mukunda Michael Dewil’s 2013 film Vehicle 19 starring the late Paul Walker. The focus of the confined space only adds to the intensity and so very few directors have managed to pull off films like these three. Definitely add this film to your queue and pick a Friday or Saturday late night to view it. I personally believe the ‘Master of Suspense’ Alfred Hitchcock himself would have.
  
Here we are into the third entry into the Bewitching Mystery series. So what's Maggie into this time? The murder of an Amish ladies' man, one who's married and has young kids, at that. She also has struggles with her love life and is overcoming her fear of the "unknown" and becoming more adept at using her gift.

<u><b>May contain minor spoilers of previous books.</b></u>

A few times throughout this short book (246 pages), I felt like throwing in the towel. After reading the first book, I really felt this was a series for me. One that I connected with and would be able to read book after book. Sadly it has not panned out this way. Mostly because of the main character, Maggie O'Neill, who I really liked in the first book. While there's nothing inherently wrong with her, I cannot relate to her and I don't like her too much either. She's rather a dull fish. Also, some of her thoughts feel forced, especially the "humorous" kind, which might be a big part of why I'm not liking her anymore. Well, whatever it is exactly, she's just not quite working for me. Though now that she's using her gift more, this may liven her up in the future, I don't know. The other thing is her presumptions, or rather the one presumption about the "relationship" between Marcus and Liss she's had since the first book. Where she ever got that idea in her head, I haven't a clue, but at least it was resolved by the end of this book. On the up side, she wasn't as dumb as in the previous book, [b:A Charmed Death|512386|A Charmed Death (A Bewitching Mystery, #2)|Madelyn Alt|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175403627s/512386.jpg|1182867]. All the other characters in the series I like and feel really add to the series, with maybe the exception of Tom, who is very closed-minded and basically just irritates me as a modern woman. I suppose a character who is that way is needed, and he is making some strides in opening his mind to new and frightening (to him) things, but I don't get Maggie's attraction to him; it just has not come across in the three books I've read. As for Maggie's other love interest, Marcus, while he's definitely way (way, way, way, way, <u>way</u>) more interesting than Tom, and I'm going to flip this, but I totally don't understand Marcus's interest in Maggie. I cannot think of anything that would intrigue him about her. I honestly can't, other than she's nice. A nice, boring, girl-next-door-type. Well, I guess that's something. So, the mystery.... Surprisingly, it seemed very minimal in this installment and the baddie very easy to figure out since there wasn't many, or any, other suspects. Still, it was tied up pretty neatly and made some sort of sense.

At the beginning of every book there is enough of a recap of characters and what's been going on so each book in the series can easily be read by itself, and not necessarily in order. While that is nice for a new reader or one who has gone a long time inbetween books, it makes for a repetitive nature if read too closely together, so I think it'll be a while before I pick up the next entry.