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Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen
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*A Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller* Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by bestselling historian...
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated A Star Is Born (1976) in Movies
Jun 30, 2020
Decent, But Hoped For More
When a local singer is discovered by a big time star, she finds that her time in the spotlight isn’t all she expected it to be.
Acting: 10
While I wasn’t in love with Barbara Streisand’s lead role of Esther Hoffman, she did alright for the most part. I’ll just say it was a little bit better than bearable. I’m never one to say an actor has to knock it out of the park, but they can’t be so bad as to take me out of the movie. For any of her shortcomings Kris Kristofferson made up for it playing the alcoholic musician John Norman Howard. He definitely carries the chemistry between the two.
Beginning: 10
Solid kickoff as you are immediately engaged with John’s character and his shortcomings as a man. You can see this guy is a trainwreck and anyone that gets close to him will probably be brought down too. While I have seen the previous two versions before this one, it made me interested to see how they would tackle his struggles.
Characters: 8
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
For what it’s worth, I did like what director Frank R. Pierson did in showing Esther’s life at home versus what the glamorous life looked like. Before she makes it big, and even in some of the quieter moments, there is peace, shots of calm and quiet. The road life is an entirely different animal, however, as heaps of fans cheer her on at every turn and you can feel just how overwhelming it is. I appreciated that stark contrast.
Conflict: 7
Entertainment Value: 7
Throughout its 141-minute duration, A Star is Born definitely has its shining spots. Who doesn’t love a good rags to riches story? In a twist you can see coming for some time, this is a rags to riches to mortal endings story. I enjoyed watching her rise to stardom although some parts were truly unbearable with John’s character being such a total anus. It was over-the-top at times and took some of the enjoyment away.
Memorability: 2
Pace: 6
Plot: 8
Resolution: 4
Overall: 72
Of the four versions, this is hands-down the weakest A Star is Born. It’s not a horrible movie and I definitely wouldn’t steer someone away from checking it out at least once. For me, it just doesn’t stand the test of time.
Acting: 10
While I wasn’t in love with Barbara Streisand’s lead role of Esther Hoffman, she did alright for the most part. I’ll just say it was a little bit better than bearable. I’m never one to say an actor has to knock it out of the park, but they can’t be so bad as to take me out of the movie. For any of her shortcomings Kris Kristofferson made up for it playing the alcoholic musician John Norman Howard. He definitely carries the chemistry between the two.
Beginning: 10
Solid kickoff as you are immediately engaged with John’s character and his shortcomings as a man. You can see this guy is a trainwreck and anyone that gets close to him will probably be brought down too. While I have seen the previous two versions before this one, it made me interested to see how they would tackle his struggles.
Characters: 8
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
For what it’s worth, I did like what director Frank R. Pierson did in showing Esther’s life at home versus what the glamorous life looked like. Before she makes it big, and even in some of the quieter moments, there is peace, shots of calm and quiet. The road life is an entirely different animal, however, as heaps of fans cheer her on at every turn and you can feel just how overwhelming it is. I appreciated that stark contrast.
Conflict: 7
Entertainment Value: 7
Throughout its 141-minute duration, A Star is Born definitely has its shining spots. Who doesn’t love a good rags to riches story? In a twist you can see coming for some time, this is a rags to riches to mortal endings story. I enjoyed watching her rise to stardom although some parts were truly unbearable with John’s character being such a total anus. It was over-the-top at times and took some of the enjoyment away.
Memorability: 2
Pace: 6
Plot: 8
Resolution: 4
Overall: 72
Of the four versions, this is hands-down the weakest A Star is Born. It’s not a horrible movie and I definitely wouldn’t steer someone away from checking it out at least once. For me, it just doesn’t stand the test of time.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Saw IV (2007) in Movies
Apr 13, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
Continuing on from the events of the previous film a new game is started as the last of the police officers from the other films are tested by jigsaw.
Like the previous films we have more traps and more people being tested and, of course things are not always what they seem.
With 'Saw 4' we get more of a feel of where the series is going, we see more of how Jigsaw recruits his assistants and how he intends to continue his work even when he no longer can.
We also get more on Jigsaws past, although, at times it does seem like it's contradicting what we already know everything comers together by the end of the film.
Saw 4 does a better job with the remaining characters from the previous films, keeping then through the film instead of killing them off in the first few minuets like they did in saw 3 and this film really does do a good job of tying up the loose ends from saw 3 and setting up things to come which is something which could have gone really wrong after the events of saw 3, other franchises have had problems bringing back their main killers and most of the way they used would not work with Saw as the franchise is more grounded in reality than a lot of other slasher type films.
I'm not sure how much of the story is planned ahead and how much is the writers checking the previous films for plot holes and then filling them in but Saw 4 does answer some questions, like how was Amanda able to lift some of her victims. The film also show us things like why Amanda uses a Pig mask.
The Gore level isn't as much as in Saw 3 and a lot of the 'game' is more psychological than the previous films but this fits the overall tone of the series and allows the film to give us more information via flashbacks, which are also used to throw the viewer off what is happening.
Saw 4 is more of the same, traps, games, blood and tests whilst also building on the law and setting up for more movies and ends leaving the viewer wanting more.
Like the previous films we have more traps and more people being tested and, of course things are not always what they seem.
With 'Saw 4' we get more of a feel of where the series is going, we see more of how Jigsaw recruits his assistants and how he intends to continue his work even when he no longer can.
We also get more on Jigsaws past, although, at times it does seem like it's contradicting what we already know everything comers together by the end of the film.
Saw 4 does a better job with the remaining characters from the previous films, keeping then through the film instead of killing them off in the first few minuets like they did in saw 3 and this film really does do a good job of tying up the loose ends from saw 3 and setting up things to come which is something which could have gone really wrong after the events of saw 3, other franchises have had problems bringing back their main killers and most of the way they used would not work with Saw as the franchise is more grounded in reality than a lot of other slasher type films.
I'm not sure how much of the story is planned ahead and how much is the writers checking the previous films for plot holes and then filling them in but Saw 4 does answer some questions, like how was Amanda able to lift some of her victims. The film also show us things like why Amanda uses a Pig mask.
The Gore level isn't as much as in Saw 3 and a lot of the 'game' is more psychological than the previous films but this fits the overall tone of the series and allows the film to give us more information via flashbacks, which are also used to throw the viewer off what is happening.
Saw 4 is more of the same, traps, games, blood and tests whilst also building on the law and setting up for more movies and ends leaving the viewer wanting more.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Suicide Squad (2021) in Movies
Aug 5, 2021
James Gunn returns with the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. This time, the nefarious company woman Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), returns to Belle Reve to recruit the next iteration of Task Force X. Initially, we are introduced to the new recruits: Savant (Michael Rooker), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and The Weasel (Sean Gunn). We meet our favorites from the first film: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). They have signed on to be dropped into a small island nation, Corto Maltese.
This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team member’s sentence to “Save the World”. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.
Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.
This sequel has James Gunn’s DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stooges’ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.
I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like they’re from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.
The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.
4.75 out of 5 Stars
This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team member’s sentence to “Save the World”. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.
Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.
This sequel has James Gunn’s DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stooges’ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.
I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like they’re from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.
The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.
4.75 out of 5 Stars
Kurt Vile recommended Tusk by The Dead C in Music (curated)
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Fast & Furious 9 (2021) in Movies
Jul 10, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
Spoilers
In the 9th instalment of the the 'Fast and Furious' franchise we have; backstory, fun with magnets, brothers who have never been mentioned before, the return of dead characters, plenty of set up for spin offs, doggy English accents and cars in space.
Fast and Furious 9 is a big film, with a lot going on, it acts as Dom's back story, continuation of the franchise and (possibly) a set up for some spinoffs. The latter is not a surprise as Vin Diesel has already said that, including F9 there are only 3 more films left, but that there will be more spin offs, like Hobbs and Shaw (There is a rumoured 'Cipher ' spin off in the works as well as Hobbs and Shaw 2).
A large part of Fast 9 is Dom's back story. We get to see the incident where Dom kills a man, as mentioned in Fast 1 and the impact this has on his biological family. We also get flash backs/more story to 'Tokyo Drift' which they tie into the main franchise a bit more.
Fast 9 seems to bring the cars back to the franchise, although the 7 & 8 did have cars they seemed to be loosing there way in favour of the action but 9 has both cars and action.
There are a lot of call backs to the other films with almost every past family member returning in a original scene, we even almost get to see the return of Brian, however this does make Hobbs' absents more obvious.
There were a couple of points that niggled at me a bit, the being that, in the flashbacks, young Dom and young Jakob were played by different actors (because it would be hard for Vin Diesel and John Cena to play their younger selves) but the actors (especially young Dom) didn't feel right. This isn't a criticism of the actors but there was just something that didn't quite Jell between the present and past characters.
Over all Fast and furious 9 is a good addition to an increasingly over blown film franchise although you do have to suspend reality a few times and you can see why the main franchise is coming to an end soon otherwise the 'Family' would probably end up colonising Mars or slipping into another reality.
In the 9th instalment of the the 'Fast and Furious' franchise we have; backstory, fun with magnets, brothers who have never been mentioned before, the return of dead characters, plenty of set up for spin offs, doggy English accents and cars in space.
Fast and Furious 9 is a big film, with a lot going on, it acts as Dom's back story, continuation of the franchise and (possibly) a set up for some spinoffs. The latter is not a surprise as Vin Diesel has already said that, including F9 there are only 3 more films left, but that there will be more spin offs, like Hobbs and Shaw (There is a rumoured 'Cipher ' spin off in the works as well as Hobbs and Shaw 2).
A large part of Fast 9 is Dom's back story. We get to see the incident where Dom kills a man, as mentioned in Fast 1 and the impact this has on his biological family. We also get flash backs/more story to 'Tokyo Drift' which they tie into the main franchise a bit more.
Fast 9 seems to bring the cars back to the franchise, although the 7 & 8 did have cars they seemed to be loosing there way in favour of the action but 9 has both cars and action.
There are a lot of call backs to the other films with almost every past family member returning in a original scene, we even almost get to see the return of Brian, however this does make Hobbs' absents more obvious.
There were a couple of points that niggled at me a bit, the being that, in the flashbacks, young Dom and young Jakob were played by different actors (because it would be hard for Vin Diesel and John Cena to play their younger selves) but the actors (especially young Dom) didn't feel right. This isn't a criticism of the actors but there was just something that didn't quite Jell between the present and past characters.
Over all Fast and furious 9 is a good addition to an increasingly over blown film franchise although you do have to suspend reality a few times and you can see why the main franchise is coming to an end soon otherwise the 'Family' would probably end up colonising Mars or slipping into another reality.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Faking Friends in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The main characters in this novel are Amy and Melissa, two best friends who become worst enemies. This book was a real emotional roller coaster for me: I was laughing, getting angry, feeling pity and upset throughout this book. And all that was caused by the characters which were chosen for this book. I really liked Amy as a character, I think she was charming, very believable and relatable in some way. I absolutely could not stand Melissa though, I think she is an absolute lowlife who is a disgrace to womankind. Everything about her pissed me off, EVERYTHING! Jack and Simon in this book were not better as well, they were just plain stupid. But that was what made this book so indulging. The variety of characters and their unbelievably silly actions somehow made it really entertaining.
The plot of this book really hooked me, the constant drama, action, twists and turns didn’t let me sleep till 4 am in the morning. I just had to find out how it will end. I really appreciate that author used different perspectives in this book, it made it much more gripping and interesting, and it did allow to understand the characters way better. Another thing which I found really cool was the jumps between the past and present, it made the whole story richer and explained their friendship’s nuances to the reader. I really enjoyed all Fallon’s personal experience such as: movie industry and how it works, acting and it’s struggles, general knowledge of London (places, student life, renting options, shops etc.) It was really enlightening to me and I do feel sympathy for all the actors out there.
In this book Jane Fallon stayed true to her writing style, offering multiple perspectives, suspense, interesting topics and absolutely stunning writing itself. The language used was easy to understand, however, there were some swear words. The chapters were not very long, and it kept me going, as I really wanted to find out what will happen next. I really liked the ending of this book, I think it rounded up the story very nicely and left me satisfied. So to conclude, I absolutely loved this book, it gave me everything I need in good Chick – lit book, it has different types of characters, amusing and absorbing plot and interesting topics, and I do strongly recommend this novel. Enjoy 🙂
The plot of this book really hooked me, the constant drama, action, twists and turns didn’t let me sleep till 4 am in the morning. I just had to find out how it will end. I really appreciate that author used different perspectives in this book, it made it much more gripping and interesting, and it did allow to understand the characters way better. Another thing which I found really cool was the jumps between the past and present, it made the whole story richer and explained their friendship’s nuances to the reader. I really enjoyed all Fallon’s personal experience such as: movie industry and how it works, acting and it’s struggles, general knowledge of London (places, student life, renting options, shops etc.) It was really enlightening to me and I do feel sympathy for all the actors out there.
In this book Jane Fallon stayed true to her writing style, offering multiple perspectives, suspense, interesting topics and absolutely stunning writing itself. The language used was easy to understand, however, there were some swear words. The chapters were not very long, and it kept me going, as I really wanted to find out what will happen next. I really liked the ending of this book, I think it rounded up the story very nicely and left me satisfied. So to conclude, I absolutely loved this book, it gave me everything I need in good Chick – lit book, it has different types of characters, amusing and absorbing plot and interesting topics, and I do strongly recommend this novel. Enjoy 🙂
BookInspector (124 KP) rated My Sweet Revenge in Books
Sep 24, 2020
From the first pages of the book I thought to myself “well this is going to be a good laugh”. And it absolutely was! Paula is an overweight housewife of a well known actor. Accidentally she finds out, that her husband Robert is cheating on her. She doesn’t want just to finish the relationship, she wants to make Robert to fall in love with her again and then ditch him. But it’s not that easy as it might sound. What I really liked about this book was, the way author picked the characters. All the characters were really diverse and very believable. We have an overweight Paula and her opposite, skinny Saskia. We have grumpy Robert and his opposite - sweet and calm Josh. I really enjoyed Paula’s journey in this book, and I’ll tell you that, after reading this novel It made me want to exercise and start eating healthy. If Paula can do it, why I couldn’t? I really enjoyed, that author gave the voice to more than one character in the book. It really helped to understand the characters better and added some fuel to the fire.
When you start reading the book, the whole plot looks a little bit unbelievable. Celebrities, movie shoots sounds not very relatable for common man. But after reading about the author of this book, I understood that this is a perfect insight into filming industry. Author has plenty of experience in this area and I believe that was her way to share it with us. The plot of this book is really well thought through. When you think that it will get boring and repetitive, author throws some well planned turn or twist. They were so unexpected and it kept the whole book like emotional roller coaster. The whole book is really funny and I had that silly smirk on my face while reading it, it lifted my mood. Nevertheless there were some important themes discussed in this book e.g. how weight loss makes you feel or how a divorce can influence you and the ones around you. I loved the ending of the book, it concluded the story very nicely and left me really satisfied. So to conclude, if You like “Bridget Jones”, you will definitely love this light hearted, easy to read and very enjoyable book, with lots of twists and turns and so very sweet revenge.
When you start reading the book, the whole plot looks a little bit unbelievable. Celebrities, movie shoots sounds not very relatable for common man. But after reading about the author of this book, I understood that this is a perfect insight into filming industry. Author has plenty of experience in this area and I believe that was her way to share it with us. The plot of this book is really well thought through. When you think that it will get boring and repetitive, author throws some well planned turn or twist. They were so unexpected and it kept the whole book like emotional roller coaster. The whole book is really funny and I had that silly smirk on my face while reading it, it lifted my mood. Nevertheless there were some important themes discussed in this book e.g. how weight loss makes you feel or how a divorce can influence you and the ones around you. I loved the ending of the book, it concluded the story very nicely and left me really satisfied. So to conclude, if You like “Bridget Jones”, you will definitely love this light hearted, easy to read and very enjoyable book, with lots of twists and turns and so very sweet revenge.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Appetite in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The main characters in this book were David, Naomi and Matthew, and the whole story was told from their perspectives. Even though this book was told from these three characters views, there were plenty of other, smaller, but very influential characters as well, which should not be forgotten, because I think they shaped the main characters in this novel. I am talking about David’s mom Kerri, Matthew’s girlfriend Polly and Naomi’s guilty pleasure, Mike. I loved that Anita created this very strong emotional bond between all the characters, I think that allowed to understand the main storytellers and the reasons for their actions way better.
My favourite one in this novel was David. I found his feelings and his experience highly amusing and sometimes shocking, but I was looking forward to his parts in this book. My least favourite one was Naomi. I simply cannot justify her behaviour in any way, and I personally do not respect people like her. (I could rant about her for a very long time, but I will try not to, even though she makes my blood boil.)
One thing that really stands out while reading this novel was passion. I could feel author’s passion about the topics she discussed, seeping through the pages of this book. I think it is very well researched novel, sharing plenty of facts with a reader. I am very grateful that author talks about really important topics, such as bullying, obesity, how parents influence children’s eating habits, and how sugar is taking over our society. Even though this topic has been analyzed in many books, I think that author chose a fresh and original way to highlight these issues.
I really liked the writing style of this book, I think it has a very good focus on detail, and it actually left me more connected to this book. (It is hard to describe the feeling…) The chapters are decent length, and overall it didn’t leave me bored, except for Naomi’s part, they kind of dragged for me. The ending of this book rounded the story nicely and left me quite satisfied. I would like to throw in a disclaimer, that there are some graphic sexual scenes in this book. So to conclude, I had very educational experience, filled with very complex characters and their different needs, feelings and emotions. I do recommend this book, I think it is quite relatable, very realistic and thought-provoking.
My favourite one in this novel was David. I found his feelings and his experience highly amusing and sometimes shocking, but I was looking forward to his parts in this book. My least favourite one was Naomi. I simply cannot justify her behaviour in any way, and I personally do not respect people like her. (I could rant about her for a very long time, but I will try not to, even though she makes my blood boil.)
One thing that really stands out while reading this novel was passion. I could feel author’s passion about the topics she discussed, seeping through the pages of this book. I think it is very well researched novel, sharing plenty of facts with a reader. I am very grateful that author talks about really important topics, such as bullying, obesity, how parents influence children’s eating habits, and how sugar is taking over our society. Even though this topic has been analyzed in many books, I think that author chose a fresh and original way to highlight these issues.
I really liked the writing style of this book, I think it has a very good focus on detail, and it actually left me more connected to this book. (It is hard to describe the feeling…) The chapters are decent length, and overall it didn’t leave me bored, except for Naomi’s part, they kind of dragged for me. The ending of this book rounded the story nicely and left me quite satisfied. I would like to throw in a disclaimer, that there are some graphic sexual scenes in this book. So to conclude, I had very educational experience, filled with very complex characters and their different needs, feelings and emotions. I do recommend this book, I think it is quite relatable, very realistic and thought-provoking.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Imperfect Women in Books
Sep 17, 2020
An engaging and suspenseful look into the power of secrets
Eleanor, Nancy, and Mary have been best friends since they met at Oxford. But then Nancy is murdered, leaving behind an adoring husband and a daughter. Her life, from the outside, was seemingly perfect. But Eleanor knows that the night Nancy died, she was going to meet her lover, hoping to break it off. And as the investigation into Nancy's death continues, both Eleanor and Mary struggle with their grief, the memories they have of their friend, and what her death means for those left behind.
"Eleanor felt a jolt of terror pass through her as she realized that everything about Nancy's death was worse than any other death anywhere. They would all suffer, and nothing would ever be the same again."
This was a truly fascinating book: it's part character-driven mystery and part insightful look at the role of women in society. It's told from the point of view of the three friends, but not the usual quick back and forth: we get large chunks of the story told from one woman at a time. Truths unfold slowly, as we learn bits and pieces about Eleanor, Nancy, and Mary--from themselves and each other.
The focal point of the story is Nancy's rather gruesome murder, but Hall fills her tale with thoughts and ruminations on women and how they are seen in society--and how they feel they are perceived. In some ways, it felt like a bunch broad generalizations applied to women, yet as I read, I found that most of them really rang true. I was furiously highlighting passages, nodding my head yes!
At times, it was hard to see where this book was going. Murder? Deep thoughts? It certainly straddled the line on both. In terms of Nancy's murder, I had a good chunk figured out early on, but the story certainly kept me engaged, reading and wondering if I was right. All three flawed (imperfect, indeed) women were interesting in their own way, and I liked each woman's section. I found this to be a very well-written book, but it's not a snappy thriller.
If you want a fast whodunit, this isn't for you. But if you want a well-done and thoughtful read, I recommend Hall's latest. It's a suspenseful and insightful look at love, marriage, and friendship. 4 stars.
"Eleanor felt a jolt of terror pass through her as she realized that everything about Nancy's death was worse than any other death anywhere. They would all suffer, and nothing would ever be the same again."
This was a truly fascinating book: it's part character-driven mystery and part insightful look at the role of women in society. It's told from the point of view of the three friends, but not the usual quick back and forth: we get large chunks of the story told from one woman at a time. Truths unfold slowly, as we learn bits and pieces about Eleanor, Nancy, and Mary--from themselves and each other.
The focal point of the story is Nancy's rather gruesome murder, but Hall fills her tale with thoughts and ruminations on women and how they are seen in society--and how they feel they are perceived. In some ways, it felt like a bunch broad generalizations applied to women, yet as I read, I found that most of them really rang true. I was furiously highlighting passages, nodding my head yes!
At times, it was hard to see where this book was going. Murder? Deep thoughts? It certainly straddled the line on both. In terms of Nancy's murder, I had a good chunk figured out early on, but the story certainly kept me engaged, reading and wondering if I was right. All three flawed (imperfect, indeed) women were interesting in their own way, and I liked each woman's section. I found this to be a very well-written book, but it's not a snappy thriller.
If you want a fast whodunit, this isn't for you. But if you want a well-done and thoughtful read, I recommend Hall's latest. It's a suspenseful and insightful look at love, marriage, and friendship. 4 stars.