Search

Search only in certain items:

Barbecue Can Be Deadly
Barbecue Can Be Deadly
Ryan Rivers | 2023 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Brisket and Deadly Tension
Sho Tanaka’s sister Jenny is entering a local barbecue competition, and Sho and Levi Blue are going along to show their support. Sho immediately notices all the tension between the other professional contestants. But he isn’t prepared when he and Levi stumble over a dead body. With the evidence pointing to Jenny, Sho is quick to jump into the investigation. Who is cooking up more than barbecue?

Quite often when I start a mystery, it’s easy to see who the victim will be. That wasn’t the case here, which is something I loved. I did feel the pacing was off in the first half, but I still enjoyed the book and was satisfied when we reached the end. I love these characters. They are strong with great relationships. While the book deals with some serious topics, like early onset dementia and prescription drug addiction, it is a comedic mystery, and I laughed quite a few times. The competing tones are balanced perfectly, making for a richer reading experience. It’s going to be a long wait for me until the next in the series comes out. If you haven’t started this series yet, fix that today.
  
Between a Roquefort and Hard Place
Between a Roquefort and Hard Place
Linda Reilly | 2026 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Shocking Murder at a Mansion
It’s been ten months since Carly and Ari got married, and they are happily settling into married life. At her restaurant, she and her employees are working on a grilled cheese competition. But Carly drops everything when she is invited to Peppermint Mansion, the biggest and most mysterious house in the area, to cook a grilled cheese for the elderly owner. The mansion is undergoing renovations, and Ari is handling the electrical. But while Carly is there, the general contractor dies. The police quickly determine it wasn’t an accident and start looking at Ari as their prime suspect. Can Carly clear her husband?

I was happy to see another entry in this fun series. The mystery gets started quickly and kept me engaged with some good suspects and twists on the way to the logical conclusion. We did get to see the supporting characters again, although they blended a bit into each other. Carly and her husband still shone. We also get three more delicious sounding grilled cheese recipes. Fans of the series will be glad they picked this one up.
  
    Red Bull TV

    Red Bull TV

    Sports and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Welcome to the world of Red Bull TV, giving you front row access to live events, the very best in...

    Blaze of Strike

    Blaze of Strike

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Blaze of Strike brings you the fairest FPS multiplayer experience on mobile phone for free! Relieve...

Sing (2016)
Sing (2016)
2016 | Animation, Comedy, Musical
The team that brought us “Despicable Me” and “Minions”‘- Illumination Entertainment, brings us the animated musical “SING”.

Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey), has achieved his childhood dream of owning a theater. Business have become bleak, the once grand Moon Theater is in disrepair. With the bank ready to repo the property, in a stroke of desperation, Buster comes up with the idea that a singing competition would be the solution. Aided by his trusty assistant, Miss Crawley, Buster begins the audition to find the next big star.

The audition brings out all creatures great and small; from Meena, the shy elephant with the gift of song (voiced by the exceptionally talented Tori Kelly) to Mike, the mouse (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) a crooner who is out for himself. The rag-tag bunch includes Rosita (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), the stay at home mom who feels like she has lost who she was, paired with Gunther (voiced by Nick Kroll) the dancer with the greatest self image ever. Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton) the dedicated son who does not want to go into the family business with his dad, who instead wants to sing. Rounding out the performers is Ash (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) the timid girl that breaks out into an angst-y rocker that just wants to play her music.

The story is cute and charming with some laugh-snort moments. We are given glimpses into the lives of each performer, providing us with the background on what motivates each to be in the competition. We also get some history of Buddy, how he came to own the theater, his best friend Eddie (voiced by John C. Reilly) and Eddie’s Grandmother (Older Nana – voiced by Jennifer Saunders, Younger Nana – voiced by Jennifer Hudson). The last third is the best part of the film. We finally see each performance where we were only given little glimpses prior. There are some surprising performances. I had no idea that Taron Egerton, who plays Johnny, the silverback(The Kingsmen, Eddie the Eagle) sings so beautifully. The highlight for me is when Tori Kelly (Meena) sings the Stevie Wonder tune “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing.” Her rendition lives on still as my earworm.

I was pleasantly surprised by the film, I definitely did not expect it to be quite as enjoyable. It’s not “Despicable Me” or” Minions”, it is a fun family movie that is worth watching that has laughs for the adults as well.