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Necole (36 KP) rated The Good Girl in Books
Aug 12, 2018 (Updated Aug 12, 2018)
I was really excited about reading this book. I have not read any books by Mary Kubica before so I wanted to start with her first published book. I love psychothriller and mystery books so the synopsis on the back of the book intrigued me.
Mia is kidnapped and held for ransom, however the it did not go as planned. Colin changed the plans and as the story unfolds, you get a better understanding of why. Mia is a daughter of a powerful judge and a stay at home mom. She is a teacher in an underprivileged high school and lives a life different from her rich upbringing and opposite of her older sister. As the story unfolds it is told in the perspectives of Mia's mom Eve, Gabe (the detective on the case) and Colin (the kidnapper) in a format of before Mia was found and after Mia was found. I actually really liked this writing style and found it kept me more intrigued in the story.
I kept reading and not wanting to put it down to see how each of the characters were involved, how these characters developed from the beginning to the end, how things were going to play out and how the few story lines would end and tie in together.
At the beginning of the book all the male characters seemed very machoistic, dominant and arrogant, but as the story unfolded you got a softer side of Colin and Gabe which helped the story develop into different plots and made you feel more compelled to them unlike in the beginning. Even feeling sorry for the kidnapper Colin at the end for reasons you will have to read the book to understand.
I gave this book 4 stars because I felt the ending could have been better, I wasn't as shocked as I thought I would be, and it felt a little rushed.
All in all is what a good book I would recommend and I will definitely read more of Mary Kubica.
Mia is kidnapped and held for ransom, however the it did not go as planned. Colin changed the plans and as the story unfolds, you get a better understanding of why. Mia is a daughter of a powerful judge and a stay at home mom. She is a teacher in an underprivileged high school and lives a life different from her rich upbringing and opposite of her older sister. As the story unfolds it is told in the perspectives of Mia's mom Eve, Gabe (the detective on the case) and Colin (the kidnapper) in a format of before Mia was found and after Mia was found. I actually really liked this writing style and found it kept me more intrigued in the story.
I kept reading and not wanting to put it down to see how each of the characters were involved, how these characters developed from the beginning to the end, how things were going to play out and how the few story lines would end and tie in together.
At the beginning of the book all the male characters seemed very machoistic, dominant and arrogant, but as the story unfolded you got a softer side of Colin and Gabe which helped the story develop into different plots and made you feel more compelled to them unlike in the beginning. Even feeling sorry for the kidnapper Colin at the end for reasons you will have to read the book to understand.
I gave this book 4 stars because I felt the ending could have been better, I wasn't as shocked as I thought I would be, and it felt a little rushed.
All in all is what a good book I would recommend and I will definitely read more of Mary Kubica.
Kelly (279 KP) rated Outlaw King (2018) in Movies
Dec 16, 2018
Clear passion to retell the story (1 more)
Excellent battle scene
Watchable
After seeing an advert for the Outlaw King, I was excited to watch the movie. Despite this I found that the film missed my expectations, and I found that it became almost boring in places.
The writers of the outlaw king had a clear passion to retell the story of Robert Bruce and his fight to regain the Scottish crown from the English in the early Plantagenet period. To the best of my knowledge, the story was told as accurately as possible, however this did mean that there were a lot of scenes centred around the politics of Roberts plight. The slower scenes were unbalanced with the battle scenes which meant that the pace of the story dipped many times during the film - I have to confess it took me three attempts to watch it in full as a result of this.
As the writers tried to cram too much into such a short film, I found that the movie had a bit of an identity crisis - was this an action, romance or political film? Had the writers focused on just one area, I believe the movie would have been a lot more watchable, instead the movie felt overloaded.
The acting in general was okay, and reasonably well cast, except for the relationship between Robert Bruce and his wife. I struggled to believe the romance between the two actors. Although this is ultimately my opinion, I struggled to believe that what was ultimately an arranged marriage between the two, could rest in the two characters falling for each other as quickly as the film portrayed.
In general, the film is watchable, although it is not one I would go to as a first choice. There are some good parts of the film, for example the relationship between Robert and his men, and the final battle scene. The film also teaches us about part of Scottish history that tends to be overlooked by many schools during history lessons.
The writers of the outlaw king had a clear passion to retell the story of Robert Bruce and his fight to regain the Scottish crown from the English in the early Plantagenet period. To the best of my knowledge, the story was told as accurately as possible, however this did mean that there were a lot of scenes centred around the politics of Roberts plight. The slower scenes were unbalanced with the battle scenes which meant that the pace of the story dipped many times during the film - I have to confess it took me three attempts to watch it in full as a result of this.
As the writers tried to cram too much into such a short film, I found that the movie had a bit of an identity crisis - was this an action, romance or political film? Had the writers focused on just one area, I believe the movie would have been a lot more watchable, instead the movie felt overloaded.
The acting in general was okay, and reasonably well cast, except for the relationship between Robert Bruce and his wife. I struggled to believe the romance between the two actors. Although this is ultimately my opinion, I struggled to believe that what was ultimately an arranged marriage between the two, could rest in the two characters falling for each other as quickly as the film portrayed.
In general, the film is watchable, although it is not one I would go to as a first choice. There are some good parts of the film, for example the relationship between Robert and his men, and the final battle scene. The film also teaches us about part of Scottish history that tends to be overlooked by many schools during history lessons.
An enjoyable Victorian mystery
Julia McAllister is a female photographer in 1895 who works for herself - which is a struggle in England at this time, as she would have had no legal rights. She pretends to her clients that she is working for a male photographer, but in reality he left her the business when he died. So, in order to make ends meet she finds work taking ‘French Style’ photos. These were risqué pornographic photos. Julia makes sure her models are comfortable with what they’re doing and that they’re well paid. She feels responsible for these young women.
When three of them are found murdered, and Julia is visited by an Inspector Collingwood asking questions because her stamp is on the back of the photos found with these women, Julia is devastated. Devastated that she is in the frame, and devastated that she has lost women who she considers to be friends. So Julia sets out to find the killer herself, because she has secrets that she doesn’t want anyone finding out.
This book is pretty jam packed with dead bodies, if I’m honest. The dead models and two unconnected men. Julia is involved with finding the perpetrators of these deaths too. So if you don’t like dead bodies, you’re going to struggle with this one! Although it’s not graphic in any way. It’s not a salacious book - the photos aren’t really described in any great detail: the making of them is just a part of the story.
I liked Julia. She is a caring character who looks after her models, her neighbours, and she even gives a home to a street urchin. I found the photography descriptions (taking photos and developing them) really interesting, and I thought the setting was really well described: the sights and sounds of a busy urban Victorian England especially. This is a very enjoyable book, and one for those who enjoy an easy reading mystery.
Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me my copy to read and honestly review.
When three of them are found murdered, and Julia is visited by an Inspector Collingwood asking questions because her stamp is on the back of the photos found with these women, Julia is devastated. Devastated that she is in the frame, and devastated that she has lost women who she considers to be friends. So Julia sets out to find the killer herself, because she has secrets that she doesn’t want anyone finding out.
This book is pretty jam packed with dead bodies, if I’m honest. The dead models and two unconnected men. Julia is involved with finding the perpetrators of these deaths too. So if you don’t like dead bodies, you’re going to struggle with this one! Although it’s not graphic in any way. It’s not a salacious book - the photos aren’t really described in any great detail: the making of them is just a part of the story.
I liked Julia. She is a caring character who looks after her models, her neighbours, and she even gives a home to a street urchin. I found the photography descriptions (taking photos and developing them) really interesting, and I thought the setting was really well described: the sights and sounds of a busy urban Victorian England especially. This is a very enjoyable book, and one for those who enjoy an easy reading mystery.
Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me my copy to read and honestly review.
ClareR (5950 KP) rated The Flower Girls in Books
Jan 17, 2019
A chilling psychological thriller
A child goes missing on New Years Eve from a hotel, and when the police are called in, it is discovered that one of the guests is one of the notorious Flower Girls. The Flower Girls were involved in the murder and mutilation of a toddler in 1997, when they themselves were only 10 and 6 years old. The 10 year old, Laurel, remains in prison nearly 20 years later. Rosie was found not to have participated in the murder and couldn't remember anything that happened at that time, such was her trauma. She and her remaining family were given new identities and relocated. Her rediscovery provokes a media frenzy. The missing child (Georgie) is found alive and hypothermic, but Rosie's new identity as Hazel is now known to everyone.
We see what happened 20 years ago in short flashbacks, which can have some disturbing moments (not gory, not of the original murder - at least not at the start), and we meet the aunt of Kirstie Swann (the toddler who was murdered), who has campaigned tirelessly to keep Laurel behind bars. We are also kept in the loop of the police investigation of Georgie's disappearance. There are a lot of characters to contend with in this book, but I think it was done well, and I didn't have any problem remembering who they were. I really enjoyed this, despite the rather macabre subject matter. The pace was just right, there was a good amount of skin-crawling moments, and an unresolved ending which really suited the rest of the story - and an unresolved ending? Well, that has to be one of my favourite things!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this book, and to Alice Clark-Platts for reading along and commenting on the story with the readers! If you haven't tried The Pigeonhole, it's well worth a go. I've found some really good books on this platform.
We see what happened 20 years ago in short flashbacks, which can have some disturbing moments (not gory, not of the original murder - at least not at the start), and we meet the aunt of Kirstie Swann (the toddler who was murdered), who has campaigned tirelessly to keep Laurel behind bars. We are also kept in the loop of the police investigation of Georgie's disappearance. There are a lot of characters to contend with in this book, but I think it was done well, and I didn't have any problem remembering who they were. I really enjoyed this, despite the rather macabre subject matter. The pace was just right, there was a good amount of skin-crawling moments, and an unresolved ending which really suited the rest of the story - and an unresolved ending? Well, that has to be one of my favourite things!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this book, and to Alice Clark-Platts for reading along and commenting on the story with the readers! If you haven't tried The Pigeonhole, it's well worth a go. I've found some really good books on this platform.
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Madwoman Upstairs in Books
Dec 21, 2018
I thought this sounded a really interesting idea, modern day woman, descended from the Bronte family uncovers secrets from the history of her family. While I didn't dislike it, I didn't really love it either. For about the first half of the book I found it a bit of a struggle as I found the protagonist, Samantha Whipple, rather hard to like. I'm not even sure I liked her that much by the end of the book to be honest.
Samantha has had rather an odd upbringing, which would account for some of her strangeness. We see her early on arriving at a fictional Oxford college to study English Literature although she seems to hate practically all writers and seems incapable of constructing a reasonable critical argument! She is rather like a spoilt child, and as such I found her hard to like. I'm also pretty good at suspending my disbelief but it takes some stretch of the imagination to accept that someone like Samantha would have been able to gain a place on an English Literature course at an Oxford college! Or that she would be housed on the fifth floor of a tower with no windows in her room and apparently there is only a bathroom on the ground floor. Must have been a bit of an issue when she sprained her ankle, but this is glossed over.
Samantha's tutor is a young, handsome (naturally!) Englishman with the unlikely name of Dr James Timothy Orville III. For most of the book he is referred to simply as 'Orville'. If you are of my generation you might understand why this seemed a bit off-putting and why I've had 'I Wish I Could Fly....' in my head for the past few days!
In conclusion, it wasn't a bad book, the writing was OK (a few Americanisms slipping into the mouths of supposedly British characters....) but it just didn't work for me - there were too many things that were rather improbable and the protagonist was, at times, idiotic.
Samantha has had rather an odd upbringing, which would account for some of her strangeness. We see her early on arriving at a fictional Oxford college to study English Literature although she seems to hate practically all writers and seems incapable of constructing a reasonable critical argument! She is rather like a spoilt child, and as such I found her hard to like. I'm also pretty good at suspending my disbelief but it takes some stretch of the imagination to accept that someone like Samantha would have been able to gain a place on an English Literature course at an Oxford college! Or that she would be housed on the fifth floor of a tower with no windows in her room and apparently there is only a bathroom on the ground floor. Must have been a bit of an issue when she sprained her ankle, but this is glossed over.
Samantha's tutor is a young, handsome (naturally!) Englishman with the unlikely name of Dr James Timothy Orville III. For most of the book he is referred to simply as 'Orville'. If you are of my generation you might understand why this seemed a bit off-putting and why I've had 'I Wish I Could Fly....' in my head for the past few days!
In conclusion, it wasn't a bad book, the writing was OK (a few Americanisms slipping into the mouths of supposedly British characters....) but it just didn't work for me - there were too many things that were rather improbable and the protagonist was, at times, idiotic.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Invisible Man (2020) in Movies
Mar 18, 2020
Terrifying
Don't you just love it when you go and see a film you know little to nothing about, and end up being pleasantly surprised at how good it is? Yesterday was my last chance to catch a film due to closure because of the coronavirus, and I'm very glad I chose to watch The Invisible Man.
Right from the opening scene, the first half of this film i found absolutely terrifying. The score really helps to build up a lot of tension and I found myself on the edge of my seat. I'm known for being quite hardened when it comes to scary films, but there was something about this film that had me wanting to hide my head in my hands. It may just be the idea of an invisible enemy or jump scares that you obviously can't see coming, but I havent been this creeped out in a long time.
The second half of the film is a little less scary and ends up being more like a thriller, which was probably a good thing as I dont think I could've handled that level of terror for the entire film! The acting is great, especially from Elizabeth Moss and really had me questioning her character's sanity. She carries the entire film and she puts in a brilliant performance. The technology and science behind this is maybe a little lacking and questionable at times, but as they dont focus too much on the detail of this and the backstory of Adrian it's rather easy to ignore some of the slightly dodgy science and just enjoy the ride. There are a lot of twists and turns in this film that I hadn't been expecting, and I found the ending to be especially satisfying.
Overall this is a unexpected yet hugely enjoyable thriller that had me cowering in my seat for a good hour. Not many films can do that.
Right from the opening scene, the first half of this film i found absolutely terrifying. The score really helps to build up a lot of tension and I found myself on the edge of my seat. I'm known for being quite hardened when it comes to scary films, but there was something about this film that had me wanting to hide my head in my hands. It may just be the idea of an invisible enemy or jump scares that you obviously can't see coming, but I havent been this creeped out in a long time.
The second half of the film is a little less scary and ends up being more like a thriller, which was probably a good thing as I dont think I could've handled that level of terror for the entire film! The acting is great, especially from Elizabeth Moss and really had me questioning her character's sanity. She carries the entire film and she puts in a brilliant performance. The technology and science behind this is maybe a little lacking and questionable at times, but as they dont focus too much on the detail of this and the backstory of Adrian it's rather easy to ignore some of the slightly dodgy science and just enjoy the ride. There are a lot of twists and turns in this film that I hadn't been expecting, and I found the ending to be especially satisfying.
Overall this is a unexpected yet hugely enjoyable thriller that had me cowering in my seat for a good hour. Not many films can do that.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Dolittle (2020) in Movies
Feb 26, 2020 (Updated Feb 26, 2020)
Perfect... for kids
The trailer for this didn't fill me with much confidence, and I was even more concerned after hearing about the troubles even getting it to the screen, and I'm afraid to say it lived up to my rather low expectations.
Right from the opening scene, its obvious this film has been made solely for children. The plot is basic and predictable and a lot of the action and gags are very childish and puerile. Even Emma Thompson's narration made me feel like I was watching a kids educational show. I appreciate it's difficult to make a film suitable for kids and adults alike, but Disney and Pixar have proved it's possible without being infantile - sadly Dolittle doesn't. There are a few moments that I did have a small giggle at, but most of the gags I found either too obvious or childish to be funny. Weirdly enough I found Kevin the squirrel and his logs hilarious.
The cast themselves I found underused, or rather odd choices - some of the voice actors of the animals to me seemed a little out of place. That probably wasn't helped by how distractingly odd the animals looked when they were talking, and with the CGI ranging from pretty good to decidedly dodgy. Antonio Banderas was wasted as King Rassouli and Michael Sheen was hamming it up to the extremes, but it's Robert Downey Jnr that deserves a notable mention... for how terrible his accent is. I love RDJ, but his Welsh accent ranges from ok to downright horrendous. I couldn't even tell from the trailer what sort of accent he was doing it was that bad. And the problem with this is the accent took away all of the fun and charisma you'd expect from his performance.
The one benefit of this film is that it's fairly short, so it doesnt drag too much. Your kids will love it, but as an adult I wouldn't expect much.
Right from the opening scene, its obvious this film has been made solely for children. The plot is basic and predictable and a lot of the action and gags are very childish and puerile. Even Emma Thompson's narration made me feel like I was watching a kids educational show. I appreciate it's difficult to make a film suitable for kids and adults alike, but Disney and Pixar have proved it's possible without being infantile - sadly Dolittle doesn't. There are a few moments that I did have a small giggle at, but most of the gags I found either too obvious or childish to be funny. Weirdly enough I found Kevin the squirrel and his logs hilarious.
The cast themselves I found underused, or rather odd choices - some of the voice actors of the animals to me seemed a little out of place. That probably wasn't helped by how distractingly odd the animals looked when they were talking, and with the CGI ranging from pretty good to decidedly dodgy. Antonio Banderas was wasted as King Rassouli and Michael Sheen was hamming it up to the extremes, but it's Robert Downey Jnr that deserves a notable mention... for how terrible his accent is. I love RDJ, but his Welsh accent ranges from ok to downright horrendous. I couldn't even tell from the trailer what sort of accent he was doing it was that bad. And the problem with this is the accent took away all of the fun and charisma you'd expect from his performance.
The one benefit of this film is that it's fairly short, so it doesnt drag too much. Your kids will love it, but as an adult I wouldn't expect much.
The Keeper Of Lost Things
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ClareR (5950 KP) rated The Devil You Know: Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion in Books
Jun 22, 2021
The Devil You Know is a series of case studies of some of the patients that Dr Gwen Adshead has worked with in her role as a forensic psychiatrist. I don’t know quite what I expected from this: perhaps a dry, academic-type book. It was nothing at all like that. It’s a book full of compassion for the terrible mistakes, acts and choices that these people have made. And this is what’s made clear in this book: we (or rather, I) have always been led to believe that people who murder, stalk or destroy others lives are sub-human, have no empathy, no guilt or reasons for their actions. But there are those who have made terrible, unforgivable, life-changing decisions and must now live with those choices. Some are wracked with guilt, others aren’t.
It’s really interesting to read about this diverse group of people - they were in Broadmoor, secure prisons or units, and some had been released back into society and were experiencing the world again after serving their sentences.
If you’ve always wondered what motivates people to commit violent crimes, then this is, in part, the book for you. I found it quite reassuring to know that there are people like Dr Adshead out there who listen to perpetrators of crime, who want to learn what it is that causes them to make that fatal decision. I found the part about early childhood neglect and abuse and its impact on brain development particularly interesting (I work in Early Years), and the fact that it is potentially within society’s power to prevent crime before it has even been thought about was sobering.
I could go on, but I won’t. Just to say that I found this whole book fascinating - it’s such a well-written, accessible and interesting read.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne for reading along with the Pigeons!
It’s really interesting to read about this diverse group of people - they were in Broadmoor, secure prisons or units, and some had been released back into society and were experiencing the world again after serving their sentences.
If you’ve always wondered what motivates people to commit violent crimes, then this is, in part, the book for you. I found it quite reassuring to know that there are people like Dr Adshead out there who listen to perpetrators of crime, who want to learn what it is that causes them to make that fatal decision. I found the part about early childhood neglect and abuse and its impact on brain development particularly interesting (I work in Early Years), and the fact that it is potentially within society’s power to prevent crime before it has even been thought about was sobering.
I could go on, but I won’t. Just to say that I found this whole book fascinating - it’s such a well-written, accessible and interesting read.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne for reading along with the Pigeons!