Search

Search only in certain items:

Local Woman Missing
Local Woman Missing
Mary Kubica | 2021 | Contemporary, Thriller
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour for this dark, frantic page-turner of a thriller
First Shelby Tebow goes missing. A new mom, Shelby's husband is quickly suspected in her disappearance. Then Meredith Dickey and her young daughter, Delilah--who live just blocks from Shelby--vanish. The rest of the neighborhood, including couple Bea and Kate, are terrified. Are the cases related? An investigation is launched, with few results. Then, eleven years later, Delilah is found, bringing back memories of all the incidents, especially for her father Josh and brother Leo. Everyone wants answers, but Delilah is too traumatized to provide them. Besides, the secrets unearthed with Delilah's return may be too much for everyone.

"I don't know how old I am. I don't know how long they've been keeping me here."

This was a captivating page-turner that I read in three breathless sittings. It's undeniably compelling and sucks you in from the beginning. It starts with Delilah's point of view, shocking and terrifying, and sort of never lets you go. Her voice and story are hard to forget. Among other narrators, we hear from Meredith, eleven years ago, and then Kate and Leo in the present. Working out how the various families and characters are interconnected is part of the challenge and honestly, I was truly shocked at various points in the story. How exactly these missing women and Delilah are tied together is incredibly dark and twisty.

I was completely into this book for most of the story and thought I was looking at 4.5+ star read. It started to dissolve a bit at the end, as things (including some characters) went a little crazy. Still, some of the twists were truly awesome and breathtaking. I think--in that way--this is one of Kubica's best in a while.

Overall, this is an addictive thriller filled with some truly shocking plot twists. It keeps you guessing the entire time, and its complex and layered plot is different and exciting. 4+ stars.
  
40x40

Darren (1599 KP) rated Refuge (2013) in Movies

Sep 26, 2019  
Refuge (2013)
Refuge (2013)
2013 | Horror, Thriller
7
5.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – The characters focus on a family, Jack the father, the man that will do everything to keep his family safe, even if it means taking risks by saving strangers, he doesn’t back down from enemies or threats, but is forced into decisions he doesn’t want to make. Nell is the wife and mother, we don’t really learn too much about her though, she falls in the woman being protected circle. Birdie is the daughter that doesn’t fully understand the world and wants to just be a child in this world. Kyle is one of the people that Jack has saved in the past.

Performances – The performances from the cast are great throughout, we feel their bleak outlook on the life they are living which is what we want to see, the final act shows them at their best too.

Story – The story here follows a family in a post-apocalyptic world where the biggest threats marauders and the virus that has wiped out most of the world. This is a bleak story that helps show us just how desperate the world now is and not having any sort of zombie side to everything giving us the only enemy the human one. This keeps everything simple because it is all we need, even though it does follow the typical mistakes being made by the characters.

Thriller – This does try to keep us on the edge of our seats about whether our characters will survive and what is next in line for them.

Settings – The film keeps us in the bleak locations from start to finish, they show where people will survive and keeps us away from the big city.


Scene of the Movie – The break in.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just shot them.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the best looking bleak virus outbreak movies, it does have questionable character decisions but that does add to the drama.

 

Overall: Simple and effective.
  
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
1960 | Action, Family
5
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – The characters focus on a family, Jack the father, the man that will do everything to keep his family safe, even if it means taking risks by saving strangers, he doesn’t back down from enemies or threats, but is forced into decisions he doesn’t want to make. Nell is the wife and mother, we don’t really learn too much about her though, she falls in the woman being protected circle. Birdie is the daughter that doesn’t fully understand the world and wants to just be a child in this world. Kyle is one of the people that Jack has saved in the past.

Performances – The performances from the cast are great throughout, we feel their bleak outlook on the life they are living which is what we want to see, the final act shows them at their best too.

Story – The story here follows a family in a post-apocalyptic world where the biggest threats marauders and the virus that has wiped out most of the world. This is a bleak story that helps show us just how desperate the world now is and not having any sort of zombie side to everything giving us the only enemy the human one. This keeps everything simple because it is all we need, even though it does follow the typical mistakes being made by the characters.

Thriller – This does try to keep us on the edge of our seats about whether our characters will survive and what is next in line for them.

Settings – The film keeps us in the bleak locations from start to finish, they show where people will survive and keeps us away from the big city.


Scene of the Movie – The break in.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just shot them.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the best looking bleak virus outbreak movies, it does have questionable character decisions but that does add to the drama.

 

Overall: Simple and effective.
  
Saved by the Matchmaker (A Shanahan Match #2)
Saved by the Matchmaker (A Shanahan Match #2)
Jody Hedlund | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Upon discovering this book, I was immediately drawn to its description. I have a penchant for history, especially when it's presented in a way that's not overly serious but still retains a hint of fiction. Having enjoyed the author's previous works, I was eager to delve into Saved by Matchmaker, fully anticipating the same level of personal enjoyment from her unique writing style that I've experienced before.

It is how it starts, and we meet a daughter named Enya, her father, and her brother. However, when Enya mentions that she is holding a secret that will harm her family's reputation, things get pulled into action when her brother rushes to meet the matchmaker named Bellemy.

We are also introduced to Sullivan O'Brien and his livelihood. Will Sullivan take his father's ultimatum and lose his life? Will I love Enya, and will they indeed find love with each other? Will Enya learn to trust Sullivan, or will she fall back when she compares her new husband to Brian? Will he overcome her trust issues and fall in love with Sullivan?

We see that Sullivan loves to free enslaved people, but will the enslaved person catch him captured? Enya seems to see and want to help her husband, or she has found an enslaved person while returning from New Orleans.

There was a fire that caused some boats to be lost. But will Sullivan save him and the enslaved person, or will he be lost to see when he daringly moves to have his boat floating away from other ships? Will he help save another boat so the fire does not spread, or was it someone who started fires? Was it an act of nature?

What does the matchmaker see in Enya? Why does he think Sullivan is a good match for Enya? There seems to be something Belmy sees in Enya, and she can see Sullivan as a match. Will it work? Belmy appears to have a knack for matchmaking to have them marry and fall in love.