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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2470 KP) rated Encyclopedia Brown Carries On in Books

Jul 17, 2018

Ten More Cases with the World’s Smartest Ten-Year-Old

This book features ten more chances to match wits with Encyclopedia Brown. Up first, he’s trying to figure out how to move a giant mousetrap that a would be criminal left outside town hall when no one would buy it from him. The rest of the stories find Encyclopedia and his partner Sally helping his friends and neighbors. They encounter Bugs Meany a few times when Bugs tries to rig a drawing and again when he tries to set Sally and Encyclopedia up with the police. They also help a friend keep his business giving for golf balls to himself and save the Left-Handers Club from sabotage.

These stories really are short, averaging about five pages each, with the piece of information that Encyclopedia used to stop the crime from taking place on another page at the end. I never could solve these as a kid, but I managed to do pretty well as an adult rereading this book. And no, it’s not because I remembered what had happened. The stories are a bit dated but that shouldn’t be too big an issue for today’s kids. The characters are also thin because there really isn’t time for character development, but again, kids won’t care. I certainly didn’t as a kid.

Kudos

MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated The Silent Patient in Books

Jan 22, 2019

The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides | 2019 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

8.3

(39 Ratings)

Book Rating

Alicia Berenson is an artist who shoots her husband five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Theo Faber is the criminal psychotherapist who wants to fix her.

The backstory helps to fill in details about both characters, of course, but at one point early on I found myself wondering if I really needed that much background info about Theo. I'm just going to tell you that yes, you do need that info. Nothing in this book is done by accident. The secondary characters are very much secondary characters, in that they seem to be far less interesting than either Alicia or Theo. They do what they're designed to do and further the plot, not much more. Until.

And I really can't give you much more than that. This is a book that depends upon the reader being fooled by the twist - and what a twist it is! I appreciate a good twist, assuming I didn't see it coming, and in this case I definitely did not.

This is a hell of a debut novel, and I truly hope to read more from this author. The movie rights have already been optioned by Plan B Productions / AnnaPurna Pictures, and I cannot wait to see how this story translates to the big screen.

Thanks to Celadon Books for the ARE!

Kudos

JT (287 KP) rated The Highwaymen (2019) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

The Highwaymen (2019)

2019 | Crime, Drama, Mystery

7.0

(23 Ratings)

Movie Rating

The legend of Bonnie and Clyde is cemented in criminal folklore. The murderous couple were idolised by the public for their robin hood style capers. They left a trail of destruction during their crime spree that was eventually ended in a spectacular ambush.

That ambush was orchestrated by former Texas Rangers Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner) and Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson), who were coaxed out of retirement by Texas Governor Miriam ‘Ma’ Ferguson (Kathy Bates) as the only ones capable of taking down the two outlaws.

The onscreen chemistry between Costner and Harrelson is great and the grumpy old men regail each other with tales of the past and how things have changed – not always for the better. It is this chemistry which holds the film together.

Their road trip takes them through quiet and sometimes picturesque Southern American landscapes and towns, as they retrace the bloodshed that Bonnie and Clyde leave behind. Bonnie (Emily Brobst) and Clyde (Edward Bossert) are seen but never heard and only glimpsed now and again, this subtle approach leaves the light to shine firmly on the long arm of the law.

The project itself was earmarked for a Paul Newman and Robert Redford pairing, something that I would have love to have seen given their previous work. As it was it fell to the hands of Costner and Harrelson who both do an admirable job.