Search
Search results
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Smothered in Books
Feb 24, 2021
This Sequel Was a Little Too Whipped
Alene Baron is finding herself irritated by Stanley Huff, who owns the gym next door to Arlene’s café. Not only is he an inconsiderate neighbor, but Alene questions some of the things he sells. Alene is shocked when she finds him dead one morning. When the police begin to look at one of Arlene’s employees as a suspect, she can’t help but try to learn what really happened. Can she uncover the truth?
This was definitely a mixed book for me. Most of my issues were things that could have been smoothed over with a strong edit – a few dropped plot threads, the dreaded timeline issues, and a few conversations that were summarized for us instead of including us in them. On the other hand, there were things I enjoyed. We have a large cast of characters. Since it had been a while since book one, I had to remember who every was again (the cast of characters at the beginning helped), but once I did that, I appreciate the growth in the characters we saw here. The heart of the mystery was good, and I especially appreciated how Alene figured it out, which lead to an entertaining climax. Alene’s café features vegan recipes, so the recipes we get at the end are vegan as well. If you enjoyed the first, you’ll want to pick this up and see what happens to the characters next.
This was definitely a mixed book for me. Most of my issues were things that could have been smoothed over with a strong edit – a few dropped plot threads, the dreaded timeline issues, and a few conversations that were summarized for us instead of including us in them. On the other hand, there were things I enjoyed. We have a large cast of characters. Since it had been a while since book one, I had to remember who every was again (the cast of characters at the beginning helped), but once I did that, I appreciate the growth in the characters we saw here. The heart of the mystery was good, and I especially appreciated how Alene figured it out, which lead to an entertaining climax. Alene’s café features vegan recipes, so the recipes we get at the end are vegan as well. If you enjoyed the first, you’ll want to pick this up and see what happens to the characters next.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated The Rocky Road to Ruin in Books
Jul 28, 2021
Murder Served Ice Cold
Riley Rhodes has returned home to Penniman, Connecticut, for the funeral of her best friend’s mother. After the service, she sees that Caroline and her brother, Mike, are fighting over what to do with the property that the two of them were left, including Udderly Delicious, the ice cream shop where Riley worked as a teen. The next morning, Riley finds Mike dead. Knowing that Caroline will be a prime suspect, Riley tries to figure out what happened. Can she do it?
Riley has a fun background for an amateur sleuth – CIA librarian. And yet this is definitely still a cozy, and the warmth pulled me in right away. This book has a bit of a bittersweet vibe. We get the wonderful characters and setting we love in a cozy, but the beginning is appropriately somber. It really works well. The pacing was a little uneven in the middle, but the book had a strong beginning and ending that make up for it. I had a hard time putting the book down the closer I got to the climax. There is more than enough talk to ice cream to make you drool, and two recipes inspired by the more creative contributions are in the back of the book. Now’s the time to enjoy this debut. Me? I’ll be having a second helping of ice cream while I wait for the sequel.
Riley has a fun background for an amateur sleuth – CIA librarian. And yet this is definitely still a cozy, and the warmth pulled me in right away. This book has a bit of a bittersweet vibe. We get the wonderful characters and setting we love in a cozy, but the beginning is appropriately somber. It really works well. The pacing was a little uneven in the middle, but the book had a strong beginning and ending that make up for it. I had a hard time putting the book down the closer I got to the climax. There is more than enough talk to ice cream to make you drool, and two recipes inspired by the more creative contributions are in the back of the book. Now’s the time to enjoy this debut. Me? I’ll be having a second helping of ice cream while I wait for the sequel.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Murder Most Sweet in Books
Sep 11, 2020
Sweet and Light, but Could be Stronger
After surviving breast cancer five years ago, Teddie St. John starting writing culinary cozies, combining her love and baking and mysteries. She’s moderately successful, and looking forward to meeting the highly successful Tavish Bentley when he comes to her small Wisconsin town for a book signing. However, the event ends early when Teddie finds Tavish’s fiancée dead in the ally next to the bookstore. The murder weapon was one of Teddie’s scarfs. Teddie needs to clear her name, but can she do it?
Since I love both culinary and booked themed cozies, I was looking forward to digging into this debut. Unfortunately, I found the mystery to be weak. It started well, but it wasn’t strong enough overall. On the other hand, Teddie does lead a cast of fun characters that I enjoyed meeting. I did find Teddie’s mother a bit much, but hopefully that relationship will grow as the series goes on. The suspects are just as strong and memorable as the main characters. As a man, I was a bit uncomfortable with some of the talk about Teddie’s breast cancer, but I am sure most people who pick up the book will be fine with that. If the book leaves you craving some Wisconsin sweets, you’ll be thrilled to find the six recipes at the back of the book. Hopefully, the mysteries will grow as the series progresses.
Since I love both culinary and booked themed cozies, I was looking forward to digging into this debut. Unfortunately, I found the mystery to be weak. It started well, but it wasn’t strong enough overall. On the other hand, Teddie does lead a cast of fun characters that I enjoyed meeting. I did find Teddie’s mother a bit much, but hopefully that relationship will grow as the series goes on. The suspects are just as strong and memorable as the main characters. As a man, I was a bit uncomfortable with some of the talk about Teddie’s breast cancer, but I am sure most people who pick up the book will be fine with that. If the book leaves you craving some Wisconsin sweets, you’ll be thrilled to find the six recipes at the back of the book. Hopefully, the mysteries will grow as the series progresses.
I Know You Know
7.0
Rate It
Book
From New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan comes this original, chilling and twisty...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Till Death Do Us Port in Books
Mar 9, 2023
This Wasn’t in the Wedding Plan
Parker Valentine is thrilled for her cousin, Emma, who is about to marry the man of her dreams. And Parker is hoping that providing the wine for the reception will help grow her winery. However, the day is facing more than the usual rockiness. Then things take a turn when the wedding planner turns up dead, and Parker teams up with an unlikely ally to figure out who did it.
I’d forgotten just how wonderful this series is before I picked up this book, but I was reminded very quickly. The characters are strong. I love seeing how Parker and the rest of the regulars have grown, and the new characters were just as good. Between drama and the mystery, there’s plenty to keep us turning pages, and it leads to a great climax. The way the author weaves in tidbits about grapes and wine to shed light on the story helps build on the theme. There are some funny moments as well, which really added to my enjoyment. The book is written in present tense, which is different, but I find it well worth the extra effort it takes my brain to adjust in the first couple of chapters. We get three recipes at the end, combined with suggested wine pairings. Fans will enjoy this book, and if you haven’t started this series yet, fix that today.
I’d forgotten just how wonderful this series is before I picked up this book, but I was reminded very quickly. The characters are strong. I love seeing how Parker and the rest of the regulars have grown, and the new characters were just as good. Between drama and the mystery, there’s plenty to keep us turning pages, and it leads to a great climax. The way the author weaves in tidbits about grapes and wine to shed light on the story helps build on the theme. There are some funny moments as well, which really added to my enjoyment. The book is written in present tense, which is different, but I find it well worth the extra effort it takes my brain to adjust in the first couple of chapters. We get three recipes at the end, combined with suggested wine pairings. Fans will enjoy this book, and if you haven’t started this series yet, fix that today.
Halloween Hoedowns Can be Deadly
10.0
Rate It
Book
Spooky decorations. Murderous intentions. It’s not a party until someone ends up dead. Bluebonnet...
Three Shots to the Wind
10.0
Rate It
Book
The third installment in Sherry Harris’s Agatha Award-nominated series finds former Chicago...
Death Checked Out
6.5
Rate It
Book
When in doubt, go to the library...and solve the murder mystery! Greta Plank, library director in...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated the Nintendo Switch version of Secret Neighbor in Video Games
Sep 4, 2021
The Concept (1 more)
Playing as the Neighbor
Balancing, the Neighbor is too OP (1 more)
Playing as a kid isn't very fun
Fun And Intriguing Concept But Suffers From Balancing Issues
Secret Neighbor is a multiplayer Social/Horror game developed by Hologryph and published by tinyBuild Games. It is a spin-off of the Hello Neighbor franchise/series and is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC. Secret Neighbor was initially released in October 2019 and just recently on August 26th 2021 for Nintendo Switch. The game supports up to 6 players who must work as a group to unlock the basement. Just one catch, one of you is the Neighbor in disguise.
I have to say first off that this kind of game is not something that I would normally play. I think my favorite games to play are FPS's, RPG's and probably fighting or adventure games. That being said, I'm also an OG gamer who have been playing games for over 30 years since Super Mario Bros. on the NES. So I've played all kinds of different kind of games and have definitely found some that were more fun than I thought they would be. This was not one of them. The game has an easy enough concept that I didn't understand at first but after reading about the game it's based off of, it makes sense. The game Hello Neighbor is kind of like a kid's version of the movie Disturbia. Your Shia LeBeouf and need to get into your Neighbor's basement after witnessing something suspicious and disturbing.
However in this game Secret Neighbor, your not on your own. You have a group of neighborhood kids, your friends, who are there to help get into the basement too. Your job is to work together to sneak around the house and collect the keys that unlock the basement door. You can use perks and abilities unique to each class of characters. For example the detective starts with a photo of a key location, while the bagger has an extra item slot. There are six different characters altogether and you can cooperate by teaming up and staying together or splitting up and exploring alone. What could go wrong right? Well that's where the secret in Secret Neighbor comes to play. One of you is a traitor, the Neighbor in disguise. As the neighbor your job is to stop the intruders by capturing them all. You can transform in and out of your disguise and also setup traps. There are a couple of different game modes as well as a level editor for you to create your own maze and invite friends to play.
So I went into this game with low expectations. Like I said, I'm not that big a fan of this genre or style type of game but I've heard good things about similar games like Dead by Daylight and Among Us which share some characteristics with this game, so I said why not. So going into the game right away I realized there was a learning curve. As I was trying to learn the controls and figure out what was what, I was immediately scooped up by the Neighbor and game over. This game can be really frustrating for new players in that way. Kind of reminded me of some games that are Battle Royale, like Apex because once you are captured by the Neighbor, it's game over. You can stay and watch the game and see if any of the kids make it or if the Neighbor captures everybody and win, or you can choose to leave the game without penalty. I chose to start a new game because I was determined to do better.
The controls are actually really simple, so it's not real confusing or hard to learn. You have two slots for items, and start off with the flashlight. It's like your best friend because of how dark the lighting is in the game. You can pick up items along the way, random things you can throw like boxes, milk cartons, potted plants, etc... You can also pick up more important items like key cards and keys. The key cards get you into restricted rooms and the keys unlock the basement which is where you need to go to win the game. I think this game is really unbalanced. On way play through a player didn't even try being sneaky and just transformed into the Neighbor and captured us all. There wasn't even anything we could do about it. Then on another play through I was actually with some competent or experienced players who were finding keys right away. The problem this game faces, is the same every cooperative game faces, which is nobody works together. The Neighbor has the edge every time. I played a game where there were some really good players who knew how to throw items really good and would rescue each other and the other players from the Neighbor but he still won and captured everyone.
The concept was interesting and sounded cool. To me it seemed something like Among Us, where you got to figure out who the Neighbor is because it's secretly one of the group and they will use that to capture everyone in secret without revealing their identity. As far as playability however, that isn't usually how it goes down and I feel the game suffers from balance issues making it not as fun as it could be. When you're the Neighbor it can be extremely fun but as the kids not so much. The graphics were good and I liked the character designs and the enviroments. It had it's own weird charm kind of like the movie Coraline. A little bit creepy and strange but not bad. There are some bad animations that happen here and there and things that don't go as smooth as they should. For example, sometimes you can close a door and someone will walk right through it. I also sat and watched as someone playing as the Neighbor couldn't capture someone hiding in a wardrobe because they kept closing the door or they kept closing the door on accident trying to capture the kid. It happened for like 3 minutes and eventually the Neighbor moved on. I also didn't like the speed movement as you walked around, I think you could push in on the control stick to run but it didn't seem that much faster or last for that long.
The sound was great. I particularly liked the little guitar riff when waiting for a game to load up. The sound effects for actions in the game were adequate and the voice overs fit the characters but nothing that really stood out. The game definitely has its moments and can be pretty fun at times. I really enjoyed playing as the Neighbor. To sneak around as a kid and then transform into the Neighbor when you're alone in a room and capture them, then transform back and rejoin the group is thrilling. But lack of team work and communication makes most playthrough as a kid very frustrating. Playing as the detective lets you find keys easier, playing as the bagger helps you hold an extra item, but nothing really helped to escape the clutches of the Neighbor. I think one of the characters the Brave class is supposed to make escape easier but when I played as her it didn't really help. Maybe if the game had a story mode I would be more invested in it but since it was just multiplayer it got pretty repetitive and not as fun rather quickly. I would say that this game isn't for everybody but if it sounds like something similar to a game you've liked playing before, then I can see you picking it up and playing for a couple of hours here and there. As such I would say it has a moderate replay value. I give this game a 6/10.
I have to say first off that this kind of game is not something that I would normally play. I think my favorite games to play are FPS's, RPG's and probably fighting or adventure games. That being said, I'm also an OG gamer who have been playing games for over 30 years since Super Mario Bros. on the NES. So I've played all kinds of different kind of games and have definitely found some that were more fun than I thought they would be. This was not one of them. The game has an easy enough concept that I didn't understand at first but after reading about the game it's based off of, it makes sense. The game Hello Neighbor is kind of like a kid's version of the movie Disturbia. Your Shia LeBeouf and need to get into your Neighbor's basement after witnessing something suspicious and disturbing.
However in this game Secret Neighbor, your not on your own. You have a group of neighborhood kids, your friends, who are there to help get into the basement too. Your job is to work together to sneak around the house and collect the keys that unlock the basement door. You can use perks and abilities unique to each class of characters. For example the detective starts with a photo of a key location, while the bagger has an extra item slot. There are six different characters altogether and you can cooperate by teaming up and staying together or splitting up and exploring alone. What could go wrong right? Well that's where the secret in Secret Neighbor comes to play. One of you is a traitor, the Neighbor in disguise. As the neighbor your job is to stop the intruders by capturing them all. You can transform in and out of your disguise and also setup traps. There are a couple of different game modes as well as a level editor for you to create your own maze and invite friends to play.
So I went into this game with low expectations. Like I said, I'm not that big a fan of this genre or style type of game but I've heard good things about similar games like Dead by Daylight and Among Us which share some characteristics with this game, so I said why not. So going into the game right away I realized there was a learning curve. As I was trying to learn the controls and figure out what was what, I was immediately scooped up by the Neighbor and game over. This game can be really frustrating for new players in that way. Kind of reminded me of some games that are Battle Royale, like Apex because once you are captured by the Neighbor, it's game over. You can stay and watch the game and see if any of the kids make it or if the Neighbor captures everybody and win, or you can choose to leave the game without penalty. I chose to start a new game because I was determined to do better.
The controls are actually really simple, so it's not real confusing or hard to learn. You have two slots for items, and start off with the flashlight. It's like your best friend because of how dark the lighting is in the game. You can pick up items along the way, random things you can throw like boxes, milk cartons, potted plants, etc... You can also pick up more important items like key cards and keys. The key cards get you into restricted rooms and the keys unlock the basement which is where you need to go to win the game. I think this game is really unbalanced. On way play through a player didn't even try being sneaky and just transformed into the Neighbor and captured us all. There wasn't even anything we could do about it. Then on another play through I was actually with some competent or experienced players who were finding keys right away. The problem this game faces, is the same every cooperative game faces, which is nobody works together. The Neighbor has the edge every time. I played a game where there were some really good players who knew how to throw items really good and would rescue each other and the other players from the Neighbor but he still won and captured everyone.
The concept was interesting and sounded cool. To me it seemed something like Among Us, where you got to figure out who the Neighbor is because it's secretly one of the group and they will use that to capture everyone in secret without revealing their identity. As far as playability however, that isn't usually how it goes down and I feel the game suffers from balance issues making it not as fun as it could be. When you're the Neighbor it can be extremely fun but as the kids not so much. The graphics were good and I liked the character designs and the enviroments. It had it's own weird charm kind of like the movie Coraline. A little bit creepy and strange but not bad. There are some bad animations that happen here and there and things that don't go as smooth as they should. For example, sometimes you can close a door and someone will walk right through it. I also sat and watched as someone playing as the Neighbor couldn't capture someone hiding in a wardrobe because they kept closing the door or they kept closing the door on accident trying to capture the kid. It happened for like 3 minutes and eventually the Neighbor moved on. I also didn't like the speed movement as you walked around, I think you could push in on the control stick to run but it didn't seem that much faster or last for that long.
The sound was great. I particularly liked the little guitar riff when waiting for a game to load up. The sound effects for actions in the game were adequate and the voice overs fit the characters but nothing that really stood out. The game definitely has its moments and can be pretty fun at times. I really enjoyed playing as the Neighbor. To sneak around as a kid and then transform into the Neighbor when you're alone in a room and capture them, then transform back and rejoin the group is thrilling. But lack of team work and communication makes most playthrough as a kid very frustrating. Playing as the detective lets you find keys easier, playing as the bagger helps you hold an extra item, but nothing really helped to escape the clutches of the Neighbor. I think one of the characters the Brave class is supposed to make escape easier but when I played as her it didn't really help. Maybe if the game had a story mode I would be more invested in it but since it was just multiplayer it got pretty repetitive and not as fun rather quickly. I would say that this game isn't for everybody but if it sounds like something similar to a game you've liked playing before, then I can see you picking it up and playing for a couple of hours here and there. As such I would say it has a moderate replay value. I give this game a 6/10.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee, #1) in Books
Nov 22, 2023
Interesting Debut
Anthropology professor Bergen McKee is going to spend the summer on the Navajo Reservation working on his book on witches in the Navajo culture. That means reconnecting with his college friend Joe Leaphorn, who is a Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant. Leaphorn is trying to track down a young man who is hiding on the reservation, and he uses taking McKee around to try to learn the man’s location. Then the young man turns up dead miles from here Leaphorn thought he was. Meanwhile, McKee finds danger he never imagined while conducting his research. Is everything connected?
I’d been interested in starting this series for a while, and I’m glad I finally did. It took a bit to get fully immersed in the book, especially since it didn’t unfold like I thought it would. McKee is more of the main character and the better developed of the two, although I did like Leaphorn and want to learn more about him. The plot also seemed a little disjointed at first, although it came into focus before too much time had passed. Once I did get invested, I was truly hooked with plenty of suspense to keep me interested. I enjoyed learning a bit more about Navajo culture. While definitely a cross between a police procedural and a thriller, it still doesn’t have much of the content I would associate with the genres. The book came out in 1970, so keep that in mind when you go to start it. I’m glad I finally started the series, and I’m looking forward to getting to know Leaphorn better as the series goes along.
I’d been interested in starting this series for a while, and I’m glad I finally did. It took a bit to get fully immersed in the book, especially since it didn’t unfold like I thought it would. McKee is more of the main character and the better developed of the two, although I did like Leaphorn and want to learn more about him. The plot also seemed a little disjointed at first, although it came into focus before too much time had passed. Once I did get invested, I was truly hooked with plenty of suspense to keep me interested. I enjoyed learning a bit more about Navajo culture. While definitely a cross between a police procedural and a thriller, it still doesn’t have much of the content I would associate with the genres. The book came out in 1970, so keep that in mind when you go to start it. I’m glad I finally started the series, and I’m looking forward to getting to know Leaphorn better as the series goes along.