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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2589 KP) rated Record Store Reckoning in Books

Mar 9, 2023 (Updated Mar 9, 2023)  
Record Store Reckoning
Record Store Reckoning
J. C. Kenney | 2022 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder of a Mentor
Darcy Gaughan has just returned home from a wonderful vacation. On her first day back at work, she makes a horrible discovery, the body of her boss and mentor in his office. The evidence seems to point to suicide, or at least that’s what the police think. Darcy doesn’t buy it for a minute and starts to investigate to learn the truth. Can she figure out what really happened? Or are the police right?

I couldn’t resist a music store set cozy, and this one introduced us to some great characters. I liked Darcy and the rest of the staff, and the suspects were strong as well. I appreciated the fact that they still had motives even though the victim was generally a well-loved person. I did feel the pacing was off, including a small data dump early on, but it did build to a strong climax. I also found a lot of typos in the physical copy I bought soon after it came out. The book is still very readable, but they were annoying. Things build to a logical and fun climax. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Darcy next.
  
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Lee (2222 KP) rated A Discovery of Witches - Season 1 in TV

Nov 8, 2018 (Updated Nov 8, 2018)  
A Discovery of Witches - Season 1
A Discovery of Witches - Season 1
2018 | Fantasy
6
7.1 (29 Ratings)
TV Season Rating Watch
Bit of a slow burn, some good potential though.
A Discovery of Witches is based on the first book of the 'All Souls Trilogy', by Deborah Harkness. We're in a world where witches, vampires and demons all live among us, carrying out normal human jobs and duties. Obviously these creatures are all aware of each other, and it becomes clear that there is a long, complex and very tense history between them all. While us humans remain blissfully unaware.

The show begins in Oxford, England with Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), a witch working as a historian. While carrying out research in the local library she discovers a book which had long been considered missing, and mysteriously only shows itself to Diana. It's return triggers a lot of interest within the supernatural community and she finds herself attracting a lot of unwanted attention, beginning with Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), a local geneticist and vampire. They eventually forge a romantic relationship and begin working together to try and solve the mysteries within the book.

My wife absolutely loves this show and looking at some of the reviews for it on IMDB I know I'm in the minority here, but I mostly found A Discovery Of Witches to be a bit dull. The whole thing is very stylishly done, highlighting Oxford as the beautiful city it is, and we also spend a lot of time in Venice, and various other exotic international locations. But it's the slow burn and the characters themselves that didn't really do it for me. The vampires are mostly moody, throwing their weight around and showing off their lightning speed and reactions along with their heightened senses. The witches are generally wise and supposedly more powerful, but rarely exhibit any more power than setting something on fire, rattling something, or making it a bit windy to the point where people get knocked off their feet. And the demons... well, the demons don't really seem to do anything at all, acting and appearing just like normal humans throughout the entire show. There's a lot of dodgy acting, and as much as I've loved Teresa Palmer in other roles prior to this, I don't really feel she's well suited here. It's all just slow burn and forbidden love. Twilight, but with grown-ups and less special effects.

It's just been granted another two seasons, so I'm definitely in the minority with my opinions. To be fair though, there have been some enjoyable moments, and I'm certainly interested in the direction the show appeared to be heading in. The finale cliffhanger definitely opened up some fun and interesting potential for next season too.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) Nov 11, 2018

I’m only 4 episodes in to this and am not particularly impressed. It reminds me so much of Twilight, I’m glad you’ve said this too!
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Karica Truebenbach (156 KP) Nov 12, 2018

I didn't know they made the books into a show. I loved the All Souls Trilogy, so I think I might give this a pass. Thanks for the review.