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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Gathering Dark in Books
Dec 29, 2020
This is a book I have had on my "to-be-read" pile since August 2020 and given I had a few days off work over the festive season, I decided to try and catch up a bit ... one down and loads more to go!
I have read and enjoyed a couple of Candice Fox's books before so was looking forward to reading this new story set in America and although I wasn't blown away, I did enjoy the ride.
Set in Los Angeles, the story centres around two main characters and from whose perspective the book is written - Blair and Jessica. Blair, as the blurb says, is restarting her life after being released from prison for murdering her neighbour. Jessica is a Police Officer who put her there and who has just inherited a very expensive and exclusive property.
The blurb makes the plot sound simple however, it is far from it. Throw in Blair's ex cell-mate's daughter going missing, a gang leader, very disgruntled colleagues of Jessica, the legend of missing millions and then a gopher and what you have is a very complex story which is a bit OTT and unbelievable in parts with one too many coincidences but it keeps you hooked as you just need to find out how all these threads fit together and they do very satisfyingly and at a good pace. I did find there were one or two chapters that just seemed to be thrown in for the sake of it rather than them adding to the story and it was a bit wordy in parts but overall, it kept my interest.
The ending leaves the door open for other stories to follow and I for one would like to see where Blair and Jessica go in both their personal lives and their potential partnership.
Thank you to Random House UK / Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
I have read and enjoyed a couple of Candice Fox's books before so was looking forward to reading this new story set in America and although I wasn't blown away, I did enjoy the ride.
Set in Los Angeles, the story centres around two main characters and from whose perspective the book is written - Blair and Jessica. Blair, as the blurb says, is restarting her life after being released from prison for murdering her neighbour. Jessica is a Police Officer who put her there and who has just inherited a very expensive and exclusive property.
The blurb makes the plot sound simple however, it is far from it. Throw in Blair's ex cell-mate's daughter going missing, a gang leader, very disgruntled colleagues of Jessica, the legend of missing millions and then a gopher and what you have is a very complex story which is a bit OTT and unbelievable in parts with one too many coincidences but it keeps you hooked as you just need to find out how all these threads fit together and they do very satisfyingly and at a good pace. I did find there were one or two chapters that just seemed to be thrown in for the sake of it rather than them adding to the story and it was a bit wordy in parts but overall, it kept my interest.
The ending leaves the door open for other stories to follow and I for one would like to see where Blair and Jessica go in both their personal lives and their potential partnership.
Thank you to Random House UK / Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Night School (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I find Hart and Haddish to be two peas in a pod when it comes to their comedy style. The only difference is that I can watch a whole Kevin Hart film without getting bored of it. So having them both in a film together was a little worrying. But I really didn't need to worry. They work really well together.
What I will say is that I wasn't convinced until around the mid-way point when they change up the learning side of things. The first bit was a little short on the really entertaining comedy and I was getting restless, but the rest had everyone laughing out loud. I will say that there's one bit that really made me feel awful... I honestly was seconds away from throwing up... you'll see it coming and you will probably be hollering "nooo" like most of us in the screen did.
The support cast is great and everyone plays a brilliant little piece in the film. Mary Lynn Rajskub made me chuckle a lot, it's a very different character to what most of us would be used to seeing her doing.
There are some movie occurences that you can see happening and you can take comfort in that you know they're coming. This film teases one right under your nose for most of it's run and the rips it away from you. It is both nice and infuriating that they don't take that turn.
It's definitely a fun film, but it's a fairly average one. If it hadn't been for the awkward comedy in the first section of the film then I think this could have been one that went on my go to cheer up film list.
What should you do?
It's worth streaming and seeing at least once. It won't tax your brain and it'll be a good diversion for a couple of hours.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I think I'd really need to have some of that holy chicken.
What I will say is that I wasn't convinced until around the mid-way point when they change up the learning side of things. The first bit was a little short on the really entertaining comedy and I was getting restless, but the rest had everyone laughing out loud. I will say that there's one bit that really made me feel awful... I honestly was seconds away from throwing up... you'll see it coming and you will probably be hollering "nooo" like most of us in the screen did.
The support cast is great and everyone plays a brilliant little piece in the film. Mary Lynn Rajskub made me chuckle a lot, it's a very different character to what most of us would be used to seeing her doing.
There are some movie occurences that you can see happening and you can take comfort in that you know they're coming. This film teases one right under your nose for most of it's run and the rips it away from you. It is both nice and infuriating that they don't take that turn.
It's definitely a fun film, but it's a fairly average one. If it hadn't been for the awkward comedy in the first section of the film then I think this could have been one that went on my go to cheer up film list.
What should you do?
It's worth streaming and seeing at least once. It won't tax your brain and it'll be a good diversion for a couple of hours.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I think I'd really need to have some of that holy chicken.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Terrifier (2017) in Movies
Sep 9, 2019
When two women see a creepy clown in a pizza place they soon find themselves fighting for their livers in an abandoned building.
Terrifier could easily be mistaken for an 80’s or 90’s slasher movie as Art the Clown (never actually named in the film) cut’s, stabs, shoots and strangles his way through the rest of the cast using a variety of different weapons. Art the Clown seems to stand out in a genre that could almost be called over saturated, he speaks less than either Mike Myers or Jason Voorhees but carries out his kills with a comedic joy that almost matches Freddy Kruger, acting out his pleasure through mime which seems to intensify the silence he exudes.
The film seems to have a homemade feel about it, that’s not saying that it seems cheap but that the cast seem to get along well and that it could almost be something that was shot for fun by a group of friends in the same way the ‘Evil Dead’ or the original ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was. This is helped by a small cast and limited locations.
Being a slasher there is, of course; blood, violence, screaming and a bit of nudity but no sex, in fact the reason one character gets involved it to avoid being in the room with a couple who are getting amorous. Art dispatched his victims in a number of ways, most of which have been done before, after all there are only so many ways to stab or shoot someone, however, Art brings a joyfulness to his actions and, although I have already compared him to Freddy Kruger, Art seems to really see a funny side to what he is doing unlike Freddy who just enjoys the kill.
I have seen that there is a sequel slated for 2020 and given the being/end of Terrifier I think that is could be very interesting.
Terrifier could easily be mistaken for an 80’s or 90’s slasher movie as Art the Clown (never actually named in the film) cut’s, stabs, shoots and strangles his way through the rest of the cast using a variety of different weapons. Art the Clown seems to stand out in a genre that could almost be called over saturated, he speaks less than either Mike Myers or Jason Voorhees but carries out his kills with a comedic joy that almost matches Freddy Kruger, acting out his pleasure through mime which seems to intensify the silence he exudes.
The film seems to have a homemade feel about it, that’s not saying that it seems cheap but that the cast seem to get along well and that it could almost be something that was shot for fun by a group of friends in the same way the ‘Evil Dead’ or the original ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was. This is helped by a small cast and limited locations.
Being a slasher there is, of course; blood, violence, screaming and a bit of nudity but no sex, in fact the reason one character gets involved it to avoid being in the room with a couple who are getting amorous. Art dispatched his victims in a number of ways, most of which have been done before, after all there are only so many ways to stab or shoot someone, however, Art brings a joyfulness to his actions and, although I have already compared him to Freddy Kruger, Art seems to really see a funny side to what he is doing unlike Freddy who just enjoys the kill.
I have seen that there is a sequel slated for 2020 and given the being/end of Terrifier I think that is could be very interesting.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2318 KP) rated A Legacy of Murder in Books
Oct 9, 2019
Kate Finds a Christmastime Murder
Kate Hamilton has traveled to the small village of Long Barston in England. Her daughter, Christine, is spending her semester break working at Finchley Hall as one of several college aged interns who work on the premises, and Kate can visit Christine and her new friend Tom Mallory, a policeman she met in Scotland and is falling for, before heading back home to Ohio to spend Christmas with her mother. On her first day, Kate is taking a tour of Finchley Hall. The guide is talking about the murders that have taken place on the estate when a scream interrupts her. Kate and several others run to find one of the interns dead. The police are quick to label it murder. With Tom on the case, it is cutting into the time Kate thought they would have together. But she can’t help but worry. Is Christine in danger since she is an intern?
I’ve just teased the first couple of chapters, so things obviously get off to a fast start. However, the pace is uneven, especially early on in the story. I know part of that is me since Kate loves England much more than I do, and her wonder at spending time there didn’t translate to me. However, there is a good mystery here, with some decent twists and surprises. The climax is page turning and perfect logical. The characters are absolutely wonderful. We have a rather large cast, but I never had any issue keeping everyone and their relationship to the events unfolding around Kate straight. While the book is set in December, there is so much going on we don’t get lots of scenes directly related to Christmas, although I certainly enjoyed the references to the season we did see. This book isn’t quite as strong as the first one, but I’m glad I read it. This is a series that anyone who loves the British Isles needs to pick up today.
I’ve just teased the first couple of chapters, so things obviously get off to a fast start. However, the pace is uneven, especially early on in the story. I know part of that is me since Kate loves England much more than I do, and her wonder at spending time there didn’t translate to me. However, there is a good mystery here, with some decent twists and surprises. The climax is page turning and perfect logical. The characters are absolutely wonderful. We have a rather large cast, but I never had any issue keeping everyone and their relationship to the events unfolding around Kate straight. While the book is set in December, there is so much going on we don’t get lots of scenes directly related to Christmas, although I certainly enjoyed the references to the season we did see. This book isn’t quite as strong as the first one, but I’m glad I read it. This is a series that anyone who loves the British Isles needs to pick up today.
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Blackcoat's Daughter (February) (2015) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019
Characters – Joan is a lost girl that is trying to return home from a hospital which brings along a couple that want to help her to make up for the fact they lost their daughter, Kat is the emotionless quiet girl at the school who hasn’t heard from her parents before winter break and must stay there with Rose. Rose is the other girl that got left at the home, I feel she is older and expected to be the one to look after Kat.
Performance – The three girls Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton are all good through the film, they each create their own personality for their characters which does make us care what they are up to however confusing it all gets.
Story – The story here is very confusing, we follow two seemingly different story arcs about girls that find themselves becoming possessed by an evil spirit, we don’t get to focus on either of them enough and they don’t seem to meet up at any point to explain why we need to watch two different stories unfold. I do feel this does end up coming off attempting to be too smart for its own good leaving us with nothing important happening.
Horror – This tries to play into the psycological horror but ends up falling slightly short because it ends up being confusing.
Settings – The settings don’t help here either because we follow the two stories one is on the road while the other is around the middle of the home the girls are staying.
Special Effects – The effects are good without being overused and mostly used for gore effects.
Scene of the Movie – Stop here, because it is shocking.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It was just too confusing.
Tagline – She Returns.
Final Thoughts – This film is just too confusing really, it makes everything hard to follow which didn’t make it enjoyable to follow.
Overall: Too Confusing.
Rating
Performance – The three girls Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton are all good through the film, they each create their own personality for their characters which does make us care what they are up to however confusing it all gets.
Story – The story here is very confusing, we follow two seemingly different story arcs about girls that find themselves becoming possessed by an evil spirit, we don’t get to focus on either of them enough and they don’t seem to meet up at any point to explain why we need to watch two different stories unfold. I do feel this does end up coming off attempting to be too smart for its own good leaving us with nothing important happening.
Horror – This tries to play into the psycological horror but ends up falling slightly short because it ends up being confusing.
Settings – The settings don’t help here either because we follow the two stories one is on the road while the other is around the middle of the home the girls are staying.
Special Effects – The effects are good without being overused and mostly used for gore effects.
Scene of the Movie – Stop here, because it is shocking.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It was just too confusing.
Tagline – She Returns.
Final Thoughts – This film is just too confusing really, it makes everything hard to follow which didn’t make it enjoyable to follow.
Overall: Too Confusing.
Rating
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2318 KP) rated Haunted House Murder in Books
Aug 30, 2019
Cozy Halloween Hauntings
This collection of three novellas focuses on Halloween. The book opens with the title story featuring Leslie Meier’s protagonist Lucy Stone. A couple has moved into the old abandoned house in town, but they are rebuffing efforts from Lucy and others to welcome them to town. Then strange things start happening and rumors start flying. What is happening? Up next is “Death by Haunted House” by Lee Hollis which takes up back to 2009 and shows us what life was like for Hayley Powell while she was married. When the house next door, which is rumored to be haunted, gets a new family, Hayley’s husband Danny is certain that they are up to something. The discovery of a dead body in the nearby woods just confirms his theory – at least to himself. Is he right? Finally comes “Hallowed Out” from Barbara Ross. The local Haunted House tour is gearing up for Halloween, trying to bring some more people to town in the fall. However, when a reenactment of a crime leaves an actor dead, Julia Snowden must figure out what happened.
As you might expect in a collection of stories by various authors, some are stronger than others. Personally, I found the opening story to be the weakest – I think it might have worked as a short story, but even as a novella is was too long. The middle story was better, with some fun scenes and a good twist to the mystery. I adore Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake mysteries, so it was the reason I picked up the book. It also means I found the third story to be the best, with some good twists and a very fun sub-plot. While each story has plenty of fall atmosphere, these stories aren’t that spooky – they are by cozy mystery authors after all. Still, fans of these authors will enjoy picking up the book.
As you might expect in a collection of stories by various authors, some are stronger than others. Personally, I found the opening story to be the weakest – I think it might have worked as a short story, but even as a novella is was too long. The middle story was better, with some fun scenes and a good twist to the mystery. I adore Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake mysteries, so it was the reason I picked up the book. It also means I found the third story to be the best, with some good twists and a very fun sub-plot. While each story has plenty of fall atmosphere, these stories aren’t that spooky – they are by cozy mystery authors after all. Still, fans of these authors will enjoy picking up the book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2318 KP) rated Murder in Chinatown in Books
Aug 18, 2019
Missing Girl Leads to Murder
After a recent close call, midwife Sarah Brandt has vowed to stay away from solving crimes and getting involved in anything dangerous. However, she is in Chinatown with the Lee family since Cora Lee is about to give birth and gets a front row to the family drama unfolding. Cora’s niece, Angel, is upset that her father has arranged a marriage for her to an older man and runs away. The family is frantic to find her because the city is no place for a fifteen-year-old to be alone. While the family does find her, she turns up dead a few days later. Sarah manages to get NYPD Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy involved in the case because she fears other police won’t care to fully investigate given who the victim was. But can Malloy figure it out? Will Sarah get involved despite her promise to stay away from murder?
Once again, we are expertly transported back to 1890’s New York City. Along with our normal glimpses of life during the time period, we get to see a bit of how the Chinese were treated during the time; unfortunately, it isn’t pretty. However, the book never stops to preach at us, instead working this in during the mystery. The case itself is strong with plenty of twists to keep us entertained until the end. I thought I had a few things figured out, but I discovered I was wrong when I reached the logical ending. Sarah, in her efforts to stay out of the case, isn’t quite as involved as Frank, but she still has plenty to contribute. Both are great lead characters, and I enjoyed spending time with the regular supporting players as well as meeting the new characters introduced here. We get some advancement on a couple of on-going storylines, and it looks like one of them will be the main focus of the next in the series. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where that leads.
Once again, we are expertly transported back to 1890’s New York City. Along with our normal glimpses of life during the time period, we get to see a bit of how the Chinese were treated during the time; unfortunately, it isn’t pretty. However, the book never stops to preach at us, instead working this in during the mystery. The case itself is strong with plenty of twists to keep us entertained until the end. I thought I had a few things figured out, but I discovered I was wrong when I reached the logical ending. Sarah, in her efforts to stay out of the case, isn’t quite as involved as Frank, but she still has plenty to contribute. Both are great lead characters, and I enjoyed spending time with the regular supporting players as well as meeting the new characters introduced here. We get some advancement on a couple of on-going storylines, and it looks like one of them will be the main focus of the next in the series. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where that leads.
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