Search
Search results
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated Swift Run in Books
May 23, 2021 (Updated May 23, 2021)
Running Down Gigi’s Ex
With Charlie out recovering from their last case, running Swift Investigations has fallen to her partner, Gigi. And Gigi is very reluctant to take on their new client when the last person she wants to see walks through the door – Heather-Anne, the woman that Gigi’s ex-husband Les ran away with over a year ago. Now Heather-Anne is back in town and wants to hire Swift Investigations to track down Les, who she also claims is back in Colorado Springs. Can Gigi and Charlie find him?
Sadly, this appears to be the final book in this series. Fortunately, it is another fabulous book. Once again, we are treated to a great mystery with plenty of twists and turns. And we get lots of laughs from the situations that Charlie and Gigi find themselves in. Since this is more Gigi’s story than Charlie’s, she takes over first-person narration duties, but Charlie still gets plenty of time in the spotlight thanks to chapters from her third-person point of view. We also get some good character growth, especially for Gigi, something she has needed. While a couple of threads aren’t wrapped up, I was satisfied with how the series ended. If you are looking for a light mystery, check out these books.
Sadly, this appears to be the final book in this series. Fortunately, it is another fabulous book. Once again, we are treated to a great mystery with plenty of twists and turns. And we get lots of laughs from the situations that Charlie and Gigi find themselves in. Since this is more Gigi’s story than Charlie’s, she takes over first-person narration duties, but Charlie still gets plenty of time in the spotlight thanks to chapters from her third-person point of view. We also get some good character growth, especially for Gigi, something she has needed. While a couple of threads aren’t wrapped up, I was satisfied with how the series ended. If you are looking for a light mystery, check out these books.
Pete Wareham recommended Run, Run, Run by The Velvet Underground in Music (curated)
Stuart Braithwaite recommended Scenes from the Second Storey by The God Machine in Music (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated Bear Bottom in Books
May 25, 2021 (Updated May 25, 2021)
Missing Necklace and Bison
Teddy Fitzroy is in Yellowstone with his parents and the McCrackens to evaluate a ranch that J.J. McCracken is thinking about buying. The ranch is just outside of the national park, and the Fitzroys are also using the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The ranch raises bison, and they’ve had a couple go missing, so Teddy is asked to try to figure out what has happened to them. Before he can even start on that, the house where everyone is staying is broken into by a Grizzley bear. In the aftermath, Mrs. McCracken’s expensive necklace disappears. Can Teddy solve both mysteries?
Part of the fun of the FunJungle series is the setting and the recurring characters. I’ll admit I missed them. However, this book does have a core cast of regulars, and I enjoyed spending time with them. Both mysteries are intriguing and kept the pace steady. Watching Teddy work is always fascinating, and we got some wonderful action scenes along the way. While the series always tackles some environmental issues, I felt like this book lectured a bit more than the series usually does. It doesn’t help that one thing intended to be funny didn’t come across that way to me; instead, if felt like more lectures. I still did enjoy this book overall. It’s just not quite up to Stuart Gibbs’s usual high standards.
Part of the fun of the FunJungle series is the setting and the recurring characters. I’ll admit I missed them. However, this book does have a core cast of regulars, and I enjoyed spending time with them. Both mysteries are intriguing and kept the pace steady. Watching Teddy work is always fascinating, and we got some wonderful action scenes along the way. While the series always tackles some environmental issues, I felt like this book lectured a bit more than the series usually does. It doesn’t help that one thing intended to be funny didn’t come across that way to me; instead, if felt like more lectures. I still did enjoy this book overall. It’s just not quite up to Stuart Gibbs’s usual high standards.
Amy Norman (1048 KP) rated Oxygen (2021) in Movies
Jun 1, 2021
There are few films that focus on a single character trapped by outside circumstances, not of their making. The few I can think of are all good in their own right, but I'm not sure they were as captivating as Oxygen, I hope this film is forever added to the top of those lists discussing such films.
I figured out a couple of things early on (that's just the way my brain works unfortunately 🤷🏼♀️) but it in no way lessened my enjoyment of the film. I was genuinely intrigued as to how the whole thing would play out, and there were some big surprises still.
Mélanie Laurent is fantastic, some of the scenes could have been really overplayed and dramatic, but I think she was perfect; to carry a whole film being the only actor on screen is nothing short of phenomenonal, her performance had me gripped to the final shots.
The film almost runs in real time, so if you are looking for something fast paced with lots of action or drama, then maybe move along, but if you are looking for something with the feel of a thriller that has its twists and turns, where you figure things out equally as the character does then this is more for you.
Would highly recommend as a must watch whatever you are into!
I figured out a couple of things early on (that's just the way my brain works unfortunately 🤷🏼♀️) but it in no way lessened my enjoyment of the film. I was genuinely intrigued as to how the whole thing would play out, and there were some big surprises still.
Mélanie Laurent is fantastic, some of the scenes could have been really overplayed and dramatic, but I think she was perfect; to carry a whole film being the only actor on screen is nothing short of phenomenonal, her performance had me gripped to the final shots.
The film almost runs in real time, so if you are looking for something fast paced with lots of action or drama, then maybe move along, but if you are looking for something with the feel of a thriller that has its twists and turns, where you figure things out equally as the character does then this is more for you.
Would highly recommend as a must watch whatever you are into!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated For Batter or Worse in Books
May 10, 2021
A Baker’s Dozen of Delight
Mel and Joe’s wedding day is fast approaching. For their reception, they’ve picked the resort where Oz has landed the job of head pastry chef. However, things are not going well for Oz there as the head chef is proving to be an egomaniac. One day, Mel and Angie witness a very public fight between Oz and the head chef. Then, a couple of days later, Mel and Joe find Oz bending over the dead body of the chef. Mel doesn’t need anything else on her to do list, but can she figure out who the killer is before she walks down the aisle?
If you were worried that Oz was leaving the series after the events of the previous book, this proves that he will still very much be part of the series. He gets some interesting character growth, in fact. The rest of the gang is all present, and I enjoyed laughing at their antics as they worked to solve the case. The mystery is filled with plenty of suspects and red herrings, and I only began to figure things out right before Mel put it all together. I loved the final chapter. If the book makes you hungry, you’ll be happy with the four recipes at the end. Once again, fans will devour this book and be ready for Mel’s next adventure.
If you were worried that Oz was leaving the series after the events of the previous book, this proves that he will still very much be part of the series. He gets some interesting character growth, in fact. The rest of the gang is all present, and I enjoyed laughing at their antics as they worked to solve the case. The mystery is filled with plenty of suspects and red herrings, and I only began to figure things out right before Mel put it all together. I loved the final chapter. If the book makes you hungry, you’ll be happy with the four recipes at the end. Once again, fans will devour this book and be ready for Mel’s next adventure.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Road Trip (2000) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Deplorable, only a few meager steps above the likes of shit hall-of-famer 𝘋𝘦𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘸: 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘰. Bargain bin 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘪𝘦 meets injudicious 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘖𝘧𝘧 mixed with elements that we'd later see Phillips use to his benefit in better films like 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 and 𝘋𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 - but are 0% amusing here. I challenge you to find a more stagnant road trip movie than this, why even cast Tom Green at the peak of his fame (who, along with DJ Qualls, are the only perfect performances) if you're only going to have him do a couple outrageous things? Like yeah don't overdo it but come on you can do better than this. I mean hell even similarly awful 30 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴 did at least fifty times more with Fred Ward. Also worth noting how much this films hates women. The entire plot of this movie hinges on the Meyer (who is worse than terrible in this) character rightfully being in danger of his girlfriend finding out he undisguisedly cheated on her but we're supposed to not want that to happen because him and his noxious jackass friends are funny... but they aren't? Some of the ugliest aesthetics and soundtrack offerings of the crime of good taste that was the late 90s/early 2000s style. I'm usually a Todd defender but this is just wretched. 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘦.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Inglourious Basterds (2009) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
At the risk of sounding cliché, this was rigorously badass. Has a couple holes but honestly this is still as tightly constructed as this story could possibly be. Just as personal preference I would have liked some more Basterd Nazi killing but there isn't a single wasted line of dialogue in all its still magnetically elongated digressions. Speaking of which, it's been nearly six years to the day that I first saw this film and I still remember so many little, seemingly insignificant lines of dialogue (for instance, how much Landa loves milk and pastries). Saying every performance is an idiosyncratic knockout would be redundant, it's Tarantino after all but it needs underlining here as well: Pitt's wondrously imitatable drawl, Waltz's schoolboy-esque glee in fucking with people, the way Laurent reacts as if she'd just imbibed a pound of broken glass after her nerve-wracking conversation with Landa, so on and so forth. The last half hour ranks among some of the finest Tarantino you'll ever see - the blistering retaliation(s) in the theater, the numerous sharp story surprises that hit like a pot of boiling water to the face, the unfiltered confrontational nature which some find to be a - er - controversial choice today? (Fuck you if you're one of them, by the way). Imagine seeing this and still thinking 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘜𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦... 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 is better.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated Open for Murder in Books
Nov 27, 2020
Opening Weekend Features Murder
Zo Jones is thrilled to have her best friend Beth Everett back in her life. The two were inseparable every summer when Beth would visit her aunt in Spirit Canyon, South Dakota. Beth has inherited the lodge her aunt owned, and, after renovating, she is ready to reopen just in time for summer tourists. However, the first night the lodge is opened, one of the guests is murdered. The victim was a local competitor, and the police begin to look at Beth as their prime suspect. Zo doesn’t believe her friend would do something like this, but can she find the proof?
Zo owns a souvenir shop, and between that and the setting, I had to give this series a try. I loved the setting. The book took a couple of chapters before it introduced us to the victim and suspects, but it picked up from there. I did find some of the motives weak early on, but they got stronger the further into the book we got. Likewise, it takes a bit for the characters to be developed. There is still room for the main characters to grow as the series progresses. We get a recipe for a delicious sounding S’more brownie at the end of the book. If you are open to a new series, this is one to check out.
Zo owns a souvenir shop, and between that and the setting, I had to give this series a try. I loved the setting. The book took a couple of chapters before it introduced us to the victim and suspects, but it picked up from there. I did find some of the motives weak early on, but they got stronger the further into the book we got. Likewise, it takes a bit for the characters to be developed. There is still room for the main characters to grow as the series progresses. We get a recipe for a delicious sounding S’more brownie at the end of the book. If you are open to a new series, this is one to check out.
Kate (493 KP) rated Left For Dead (Morecambe Bay Trilogy #1) in Books
Oct 19, 2020
This was the first book in Morecambe Bay trilogy. It took me a few chapters to get into.
As the book when back from present date to the past it was easy to get the full story. Also as some chapters were written from Charlotte's perspective and some were from Will's you got to see each character and how they were feeling and how they thought. The story flowed really well. I did guess most of what happened that evening but it was good to see it all explained in full.
Throughout the book Charlotte did change and it a good way. She was slightly annoying to begin with but then she did grow on me.
The end of the book tied everything together and I thought this was from the end but there were a couple of chapters at the end of the book which were from the new book. They really intrigued me. Some mystery trilogy's have some of the same characters but it will be a different story but the second book seemed to continue the story. I enjoyed this book so much that ended up buying the second book in the trilogy straight away. Normally I would wait and go onto another book but this one I had to read the second one.
As the book when back from present date to the past it was easy to get the full story. Also as some chapters were written from Charlotte's perspective and some were from Will's you got to see each character and how they were feeling and how they thought. The story flowed really well. I did guess most of what happened that evening but it was good to see it all explained in full.
Throughout the book Charlotte did change and it a good way. She was slightly annoying to begin with but then she did grow on me.
The end of the book tied everything together and I thought this was from the end but there were a couple of chapters at the end of the book which were from the new book. They really intrigued me. Some mystery trilogy's have some of the same characters but it will be a different story but the second book seemed to continue the story. I enjoyed this book so much that ended up buying the second book in the trilogy straight away. Normally I would wait and go onto another book but this one I had to read the second one.