Search

Search only in certain items:

Pairing a Deception
Pairing a Deception
Nadine Nettmann | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Food, Wine, Murder
Katie Stillwell and her boyfriend, Dean, are out of town for the weekend, spending it at a food and wine festival outside of Santa Barbara. Several times on opening night, they witness a woman who seems to be stalking festival emcee, Hudson Wiley. When a dead body turns up, they begin to wonder what is going on.

With Katie and Dean out of town, they are the only two real returning characters in the series, but I loved getting to spend more time with them. The new characters are good. The mystery is a little light, but once we get past some set up, Katie uncovers some surprises before we reach the logical and suspenseful conclusion. I’m not a wine lover, but the facts about wine certainly make me want to taste some and see if I can tell the differences that Katie talks about, and those who do love wine will enjoy the pairing suggestions at the beginning of each chapter.
  
TU
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Maxine “Max” O’Hara and Jake Lambert are entering a local brews and burgers festival. However, the festival takes a turn for the worse when notoriously nasty food critic Reginald Mobley signs on as a replacement judge. However, no one expects him to be murdered. Worse yet, he collapses right after eating Jake’s entry in the burger competition. Can Max figure out what is happening.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but I loved this one even more. The characters we met in the first book are all back, and they are still fantastic. The mystery is compelling with lots of secrets to be revealed before we reach a suspenseful and logical climax. I’m already looking forward to the next in the series.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/10/book-review-tangled-up-in-brew-by-joyce.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
40x40

John Taylor recommended Gimme Shelter (2014) in Movies (curated)

 
Gimme Shelter (2014)
Gimme Shelter (2014)
2014 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"The age of innocence that was the sixties ended, it is often said, at Altamont Speedway, miles from the peace and love of San Francisco, one cold fall evening in 1969. The Rolling Stones, frustrated to have missed out on the Woodstock festival weeks earlier, chose this location to stage their own festival, and taking advice from Jerry Garcia, brought in local Hells Angels chapters to handle security, paying them with as much beer as they could drink. The concert was a disaster, and ended with manslaughter. The documentarian brothers Albert and David Maysles were there to film the run-up to the event, the performance itself, and the aftermath. Mick Jagger has never looked so lost onstage, nor would he be quite so out of control again. Strangely, it seemed only to fuel the Stones’ rise to power—but then, the Beatles were about to call it a day. Essential viewing for anyone who loves contemporary music and the culture that surrounds it."

Source
  
RP
Royal Pains: Sick Rich
D.P. Lyle | 2012
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4th of July is right around the corner, and between the health festival, the big costume party, and the designer drugs, the HankMed gang is very busy. As fun visit with these great characters, and I enjoyed the emphasis on crime over medicine. However, I really hated season 1 Evan returning.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-royal-pains-sick-rich-by-d.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.