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Honeymoon with Murder
Honeymoon with Murder
Carolyn G. Hart | 1988 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Annie and Max’s Marriage Gets Off to a Murderous Start
Annie and Max’s wedding turned out beautifully, despite Max’s mother’s attempts to hijack the ceremony. Their plans to leave the next morning on their honeymoon are sidetracked, however, when they get a panicked midnight call from Ingrid, Annie’s employee, friend, and matron of honor. Ingrid is cut off before they can get much out of her, so they race over to Ingrid’s cottage, where they find a dead body in the middle of her living room but no sign of the woman herself. The victim is Jesse Penrick, one of the residents of the cottages that Ingrid manages. With the police looking to Ingrid to arrest her for murder, Annie starts her own investigation to find and clear her friend. Can she do it?

I was very impressed with Max in this book. While he did grumble to himself a bit about the way these days played out, he showed his love for Annie by digging in and helping out. We get the usual assortment of colorful supporting players and suspects strong enough to keep us guessing. The wedding doesn’t really slow down the beginning of the book, and the mystery is strong. It kept me guessing until Annie put everything together at the end. I know the series is known for its mystery author name dropping, but it did get excessive at times. Also excessive was the foul language. Still, I did enjoy this book overall and look forward to Annie and Max’s next case.
  
The Drowning Sea
The Drowning Sea
Sarah Stewart Taylor | 2022 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Maggie’s Still Finding Mysteries
After quitting her job, Maggie D’Arcy is spending her summer in Ireland with her daughter, her boyfriend, Conor, and his son, as they get serious about Maggie and her daughter moving to Ireland. They’ve rented a cottage on a West Cork peninsula, but their vacation hits a snag when the body of a young man who disappeared months ago washes ashore. Even though Maggie isn’t a cop, she can’t help but ask questions. Where has he been for the last few months? Who would want him dead? Can Maggie find the answers even without her badge?

Since I’ve enjoyed the first two books in this series, I was curious to see where the series was going to go in this book. Once again, the writing was atmospheric and made me feel like I was there with Maggie. The characters are well drawn, although I did have a little trouble keeping all the relationships of the villagers straight. Still, I loved getting to spend time with the core cast again. Unfortunately, the pacing of the book was off, lagging at times in the middle and leaving us with a weak climax, although the climax did answer all our questions. The book is written in present tense, and it took my brain a bit to adjust to that. Most of the story is told from Maggie’s first-person point of view, but we do get some chapters from other characters’ points of view to help flesh things out. Fans of the series will be glad they picked up this book.
  
Two Sisters
Two Sisters
Kerry Wilkinson | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
9
8.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Such a great Read
Two Sisters By Kerry Wilkinson is well worth a read.
I would describe this as a psychological mystery but with the added bonus of it dipping its toe into the waters of mental illness and addiction to.
To summarise we have two sisters Megan and Chloe who after the death of their parents in a road accident, journey back to their parents holiday cottage in Whitecliff to stay, supposedly to sort out their affairs and get the cottage in order.
But for Megan, there are different reasons for her return she has received a postcard with the letter Z spelt on it.
years ago the girls older brother Zak went missing at Whitecliff his body never found, Megan the oldest sister is determined to figure out the truth of what has happened to her brother and she will bulldoze down whoever gets in her way.
Now the sisters are an interesting pair, having spent their time at different boarding schools growing up, these two are like chalk and cheese.
We have Chloe the younger of the two nearly seventeen a bit shy, but friendly and open, Chloe doesn't like to rock the waters and I get the impression she's a bit of a people pleaser. She's also a fabulous artist, A vegan and looks like her mother.
Now Megan, by contrast, is the exact polar opposite of her younger sister, she's prickly, bad tempered, goes out of her way to cause strife and shock in people.
there's a lot of deep-seated issues that are girl needs to get a handle on she is addicted to prescription drugs which she acquires through dubious means and as if that's not enough she is also suffering from an eating disorder, which her sister pretends to turn a blind eye too.
So as you can see there is an awful lot going on here.
As the story progresses truths that people want buried come to light, Megan puts herself and sister in extreme danger and some people are so not what they seem in Whitecliff.
Two sisters was definitely a page turner with a flowing easy storyline that sucked you in from the start. I especially appreciated Megan's issues, this added a whole extra layer to the storyline enriching it greatly. Eating disorders are a subject close to my heart, so it was fascinating to kind of get into the mindset of an individual suffering from this type of mental illness. The addiction storyline was also an extremely fascinating issue, we often see drug taking in novels but prescription drug addiction, even know so prevalent, is not explored so frequently in fiction.
But I have to say my favourite aspect of Two Sisters was seeing the two girls connect together after being virtual strangers growing up, now that was really charming indeed.
So, in conclusion, I found this a Fabulous book and I would definitely recommend this to other readers.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of Two Sisters by Kerry Wilkinson. This is my own unbiased opinion of this novel.

Arc Reviewed By BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
  
Christopher Robin (2018)
Christopher Robin (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Winnie the Pooh, the much love bear created by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard, has been brought by Disney in enchantingly live action in Christopher Robin. The story begins in the hundred acre woods where little Christopher Robin is spending his last day having a picnic with his dear friends: Eeyore(Brad Garrett), Owl(Toby Jones), Rabbit(Peter Capaldi), Kanga(Sophie Okonedo) and Roo(Sara Sheen), Piglet(Nick Mohammed) Tigger and Pooh(Both beautifully voiced by Jim Cummings). The voice actor cast was rather surprising, but quite spot on for each character. I was absolutely drawn into Christopher Robin’s world.

We are transported through Christopher Robin’s journey from boarding school as a child, his teenage years through secondary education, to becoming an adult, meeting Evelyn(Hayley Atwell) who becomes his wife, leaving for World War II, returning from war to his wife and young daughter Madeline(Bronte Carmichael). Christopher Robin(Ewan McGregor) is now a grown man, working for Winslow, making luggage for the travelling set. He has been tasked to find ways to reduce waste for efficiency. Times are tough after the war and not many people are spending money on travel, therefore no one is buying luggage for their trips. His boss, Giles Winslow(Mark Gatiss, who seems to enjoy playing this feckless git) expects him to work through the weekend to come up with ideas to meet an overall 20% reduction or else Winslow will cut the workforce.

The plan was to spend his weekend with his family down at the cottage. The order from his boss has once again upended his plans. Christopher Robin is a grown man indeed and he has not smiled or had any fun for the longest time. He has become so serious even his wife was looking for his smile. While he works through the weekend. Evelyn decides that Madelyn needs to play and proceeds with the visit to the cottage.

While we follow Christopher Robin as he walks through life, we also see Winnie the Pooh at the tree to the hundred acre woods waiting every day for Christopher Robin’s return. One day, Pooh wakes to an empty woods where he cannot find any of his friends. He goes through the door in the tree hoping to find Christopher Robin and get help because he fears that his friends have been taken by the Heffalumps and Woozles.

Ewan McGregor plays Christopher Robin as an adult with such sincerity and honesty, that we all believe that Pooh and his friends truly exist in the film. The hundred acre woods magically come alive in the movie, capturing the colors of autumn and the warmth of the sunshine on the meadows. The score includes favorites that are the signature of the characters. It will have you quietly singing the words to the well known tunes.

For those that love Winnie the Pooh as I do and have fond memories of your own childhood or of your children’s, this movie was so enjoyable, heartwarmingly satisfying. Go as an adult, go with the kids (grown and little) its not a summer action film, but it is such a lovely movie by Disney with such a well told tale of old friends.
  
40x40

Hazel (1853 KP) rated Delta in Books

Apr 4, 2019  
Delta
Delta
Jordan Elizabeth Mierek | 2019 | History & Politics, Mystery, Paranormal
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Suitable for anyone who wants to enjoy a short story, Delta is the latest novella by the versatile Jordan Elizabeth. Based on an historical event but with purely fictional characters, the author weaves real life and paranormal/fantasy together to create a gripping tale.

Set in the years leading up to the time a small village was flooded to create Lake Delta in 1917, the short story focuses on the Madison family who believe the plans will never come to fruition. As the years pass, neighbours begin receiving eviction letters but the family remain steadfast in their belief that their land won't be affected.

Meanwhile, the protagonist Lottie is given the task to deliver daily baskets of food to her Aunt Flora, a lady housebound in a cottage in the woods, however, Lottie is forbidden to ever enter the house.

As Lottie grows up with the threat of the flood becoming more of a reality, she begins to question why her parents are so convinced that all will be okay. In the months leading to her 17th birthday, she overhears her parents speaking of magic, but surely magic isn't real? She is soon to discover the painful truth and learn that she is not who she thinks she is.

Delta was quick to read and the ten year storyline sped by. The fast pace makes readers eager to reach the conclusion, a conclusion that is in no way predictable.

Whilst short, Delta is definitely worth reading. It is perfect for those moments when you need something to do but can't commit to reading a longer novel.