Search
ClareR (5854 KP) rated The Animals at Lockwood Manor in Books
Apr 3, 2020
The Animals at Lockwood Manor is a creepy, gothic tale, set during World War Two. Hetty Cartwright is unusual, in that she has been put in charge of the Natural History Museums mammal collection, and the task of removing it from London to Lockwood Manor. She is expected to keep the collection safe, and to keep it in good condition. She is well aware that she only holds the post because the men who would have had the post have all gone to war. Hetty knows that the role will be challenging, but she hasn’t counted on Lord Lockwood, who is bullish, overbearing and opinionated. His daughter, Lucy, is another matter. She seems to be completely controlled by him, and is constantly reminded about her delicate mental health by her father. Hetty feels drawn to Lucy, and tries to help her with her anxiety and her grief at the loss of her mother and grandmother.
This is no fast-moving thriller, but it is creepy, haunting (in fact, is Lockwood Manor haunted?) with a malevolent undercurrent. It’s like the Manor itself is alive. It’s also a story of secrets: family secrets and secret love.
This was a pleasure to read; it’s richly descriptive language described the house, people and the time in history beautifully. If you enjoy a creepy, slow burner, you’ll love this book. I did.
This is no fast-moving thriller, but it is creepy, haunting (in fact, is Lockwood Manor haunted?) with a malevolent undercurrent. It’s like the Manor itself is alive. It’s also a story of secrets: family secrets and secret love.
This was a pleasure to read; it’s richly descriptive language described the house, people and the time in history beautifully. If you enjoy a creepy, slow burner, you’ll love this book. I did.
The Secrets You Keep
10.0
Rate It
Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Man and Eyes on You comes a harrowing new...
Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days
Book
This is a Sunday Telegraph Book of the Year. "Packed with charm and beautifully illustrated, it's a...
Pine
10.0
Rate It
Book
They are driving home from the search party when they see her. The trees are coarse and tall in the...
Literary Fiction Scotland
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2322 KP) rated Halloween Party Murder in Books
Sep 1, 2021 (Updated Sep 1, 2021)
Partying with a Corpse or Three
This Halloween, we are being treated to another novella collection with these three cozy mystery authors as they feature their series sleuths. First up, Lucy Stone finds a dead body after a haunted house fund raiser. Then, Hayley Powell’s Halloween party in her new restaurant ends with the discovery of a corpse in the freezer. Finally, when Julia Snowden’s niece finds herself at a high school party, Julia goes to bring her home, only for the police to discover a dead body in the shed out back.
Out of these three authors, I only regularly read Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake mysteries, so that story, featuring Julia Snowden, was my favorite. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy all three of the novellas. All three feature a strong assortment of characters and a solid mystery. Even if I figured out a part of the story early, I didn’t have it all pieced together until the end. My only complaint was the politics brought into the first novella in the collection. Even then, I’m a bit torn since it did play a part in the story while also feeling like I was reading a lecture. Still, if you are in the mood for a murderous Halloween party, you’ll be glad you picked up this novella collection.
Out of these three authors, I only regularly read Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake mysteries, so that story, featuring Julia Snowden, was my favorite. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy all three of the novellas. All three feature a strong assortment of characters and a solid mystery. Even if I figured out a part of the story early, I didn’t have it all pieced together until the end. My only complaint was the politics brought into the first novella in the collection. Even then, I’m a bit torn since it did play a part in the story while also feeling like I was reading a lecture. Still, if you are in the mood for a murderous Halloween party, you’ll be glad you picked up this novella collection.
David McK (3547 KP) rated Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) in Movies
Aug 14, 2022
Insect park?
Jurassic Park (the original) is a masterpiece of cinema.
Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World has it's moments (the raptors in the long grass), but also has the annoying-kid-doing-gymnastics-while-a-Raptor-watches.
Jurassic Park 3 takes some scenes from the original novel (most noticeably the aviary) that were left out of the previous films, but also has the stupid ringing phone that a dinosaur has swallowed that remind the viewer too much (and not in a good way) of Peter Pan and Captain Hook crocodile.
Jurassic World follows the same format as Jurassic Park, except goes larger. It's not a bad movie.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes in a completely different direction, going the haunted house route in the second half, and ends with the dinosaurs released on the mainland.
Which is where Jurassic World: Dominion picks up, roughly four years on from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. Lots have been made of the fact that this also reunites the original cast - Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - alongside the newer duo of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The problem, however, is that more is quite often less, which I found to be the case here - plenty of action (and dinosaurs), yes, but also, well, just missing something :(
Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World has it's moments (the raptors in the long grass), but also has the annoying-kid-doing-gymnastics-while-a-Raptor-watches.
Jurassic Park 3 takes some scenes from the original novel (most noticeably the aviary) that were left out of the previous films, but also has the stupid ringing phone that a dinosaur has swallowed that remind the viewer too much (and not in a good way) of Peter Pan and Captain Hook crocodile.
Jurassic World follows the same format as Jurassic Park, except goes larger. It's not a bad movie.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes in a completely different direction, going the haunted house route in the second half, and ends with the dinosaurs released on the mainland.
Which is where Jurassic World: Dominion picks up, roughly four years on from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. Lots have been made of the fact that this also reunites the original cast - Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - alongside the newer duo of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The problem, however, is that more is quite often less, which I found to be the case here - plenty of action (and dinosaurs), yes, but also, well, just missing something :(
ClareR (5854 KP) rated The Ghost of Hollow House in Books
Jun 9, 2019 (Updated Jun 9, 2019)
A Victorian ghostly mystery.
This is a mystery set in Victorian England (1872), a time when women were the weaker sex and unable to tolerate anything vaguely ‘upsetting’. Mina Scarletti clearly hasn’t seen the memo about this. She’s intelligent, witty and brave - she’s also 4 feet 8 inches tall, and she has what appears to be a severe scoliosis. So those who don’t know her are surprised by her outlook on life and her independence. Mina is a great character, as are Dr Hamid, who is her physician and travels with her, and Nellie, her friend.
Nellie is invited to stay with an old friend, Kitty, from her stage days, and her wealthy husband. They have a large house in the country and it appears to be haunted. The maids won’t stay overnight, and Mrs Honeyacre (Kitty) is beside herself. Her husband is a big follower of spiritualism and the occult(it was very fashionable at this time), but just not in his house.
It’s a slow burner, but when the action gets going, it really does go for it. I’m no expert on Victorians, but the attitudes and daily routines rang true, and the characters were all interesting and on the whole, likeable - especially Mina. I loved how she consistently surprised the male characters: they expected a meek and mild, sickly girl, and got an outspoken and independent woman instead.
I hadn’t realised when I began to read this, that it was the fourth in a series. I didn’t feel that I missed anything by not reading the first three, and it definitely could be read as a stand-alone. However, based on this novel, I would think that books 1-3 will be going on to my ‘to read’ pile!
If you like Victorians, mysteries and possibly ghosts, then this is a book that you’ll enjoy. I did!
Many thanks to Sapere books for my copy of this to read and honestly review.
Nellie is invited to stay with an old friend, Kitty, from her stage days, and her wealthy husband. They have a large house in the country and it appears to be haunted. The maids won’t stay overnight, and Mrs Honeyacre (Kitty) is beside herself. Her husband is a big follower of spiritualism and the occult(it was very fashionable at this time), but just not in his house.
It’s a slow burner, but when the action gets going, it really does go for it. I’m no expert on Victorians, but the attitudes and daily routines rang true, and the characters were all interesting and on the whole, likeable - especially Mina. I loved how she consistently surprised the male characters: they expected a meek and mild, sickly girl, and got an outspoken and independent woman instead.
I hadn’t realised when I began to read this, that it was the fourth in a series. I didn’t feel that I missed anything by not reading the first three, and it definitely could be read as a stand-alone. However, based on this novel, I would think that books 1-3 will be going on to my ‘to read’ pile!
If you like Victorians, mysteries and possibly ghosts, then this is a book that you’ll enjoy. I did!
Many thanks to Sapere books for my copy of this to read and honestly review.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Trouble with Twelfth Grave in Books
Jan 6, 2021
4.5 stars.
I finished book 11, Eleventh Grave in Moonlight, in September and decided that I had to have the last book before I started book 12 just so I could finish the series all at once. I now have it so here goes.
This starts with Charley at a client's house as she tells the whole ordeal of the past three days (since the events of the last book) to the little old lady beside her who thinks her house is haunted. Ever since Reyes went into the God glass in the last book and spent what could have been days in there before coming back out as Rey'azikeen, there have been deaths in the Albuquerque area - deaths that point to him as the culprit. Charley finally gets the gang together to tell them what happened and they try to come up with a plan to find out if it was Reyes and how to stop him or Michael and the angels will come to take him out.
As usual, this book is filled to the brim with Charley Davidson craziness. I absolutely love her but she is totally bonkers at times. She has an unusual way of thinking but it seems to always go her way anyway. It's ridiculous but so much of why I love this series. It is simply amazing. I can't recommend this series enough!
The books in this series are fairly short but the author manages to pack a lot into them. We had a murder investigation, a breaking and entering, some sexy times, a mob family, some creepy sounding wraiths and quite a lot more too. I can't go into too much detail as it will spoil it for everyone.
I do love the characters in this. Charley and Reyes have grown a lot over the last eleven books and I'm waiting with baited breath to start the last book to see where the series has been building up to after all this time. Off to start book 13!
I finished book 11, Eleventh Grave in Moonlight, in September and decided that I had to have the last book before I started book 12 just so I could finish the series all at once. I now have it so here goes.
This starts with Charley at a client's house as she tells the whole ordeal of the past three days (since the events of the last book) to the little old lady beside her who thinks her house is haunted. Ever since Reyes went into the God glass in the last book and spent what could have been days in there before coming back out as Rey'azikeen, there have been deaths in the Albuquerque area - deaths that point to him as the culprit. Charley finally gets the gang together to tell them what happened and they try to come up with a plan to find out if it was Reyes and how to stop him or Michael and the angels will come to take him out.
As usual, this book is filled to the brim with Charley Davidson craziness. I absolutely love her but she is totally bonkers at times. She has an unusual way of thinking but it seems to always go her way anyway. It's ridiculous but so much of why I love this series. It is simply amazing. I can't recommend this series enough!
The books in this series are fairly short but the author manages to pack a lot into them. We had a murder investigation, a breaking and entering, some sexy times, a mob family, some creepy sounding wraiths and quite a lot more too. I can't go into too much detail as it will spoil it for everyone.
I do love the characters in this. Charley and Reyes have grown a lot over the last eleven books and I'm waiting with baited breath to start the last book to see where the series has been building up to after all this time. Off to start book 13!
Hadley (567 KP) rated The Haunted in Books
Jun 23, 2019
A lot of inconsistencies (1 more)
Stereo-typical characters
A murder begins the story of 'The Haunted,' where Vega starts with every parent's nightmare:
a little girl named Maribeth is killed in the cellar of the Steele House by an unseen force. We jump to three years later, where our main character, Hendricks, is moving into this house with her parents and baby brother- - - a family that is unaware of the murder that took place in the cellar. Vega does a wonderful job of steering the paranormal aspects away from the usual ones that most readers are used to. But although the story is good, the writing is poorly executed.
Starting with the teenaged girl Hendricks, she tells us that she refuses to be a stereo-type, but her first thoughts on the ride to school are of her ex-boyfriend, Grayson. But this is a young adult book, so a young girl obsessing over her ex is to be expected. Yet, when Hendricks gets to her new high school, she quickly begins to stereo-type everyone she meets by what they are wearing. Unfortunately, every character in this story, including Hendricks parents, are stereo-types. Eddie, who wears nothing but black clothing, is the outcast; Portia, who wears too short of skirts and too tight of shirts, is the makeup obsessed girly-girl; Raven, who tries to be funny, is the sporty best friend, and, Connor, who seems to be the only character that Vega tried to keep away from his stereo-type, is a friendly jock who loves his large family.
Readers learn early on that Hendricks' break-up with her ex, Grayson, was a traumatic event for her- - - as Hendricks releases more and more memories, it's soon easy to see that the relationship was an emotional abusive one; from Grayson telling her how to dress to him influencing the way she acted around other people, including who she was allowed to be around. In the middle of all this, Hendricks begins to learn the history of the Steele House, and we find out that Maribeth may not have been the only one murdered there. When Hendricks isn't trying to drink alcohol in almost every chapter, she begins experiencing strange things in the house, including one very similar to Maribeth's experience, but sadly, the paranormal aspect is the only good part of this book.
'The Haunted' could have been a great story, but there are so many inconsistencies, some even on the very next page. Such as, on page 44, Hendricks sees a singing doll waking up her baby brother inside his room (Vega literally states 'in the middle of his room'), but the very next page, Hendricks is suddenly scooping up the doll outside of her brother's room to put it away. On page 157, Hendricks is being pinned against a wall in the cellar by an unseen force, one of her arms is against her back, but suddenly she is able to use both hands to push off the wall, but it was never stated that her arm became unpinned.
One of Vega's biggest mistakes in 'The Haunted' was using the same handful of descriptions for emotions with every single character throughout the entire book. Such as, if a character was trying to make a decision, they always bit their lip; if a character was confused, they always furrowed their brow; if a character was embarrassed, they always had a reddening face. Vega never took advantage of other body language to convey these emotions, causing the story to come up short.
As I have said, the only good part of this book was the paranormal aspect, and the ghosts happen to be the only interesting characters. If I had to choose my favorite part of this story, I would have to choose when Eddie and Hendricks bring in the occult store owner, Ileana. Following this chapter, the best part of the paranormal aspects happen, but I don't want to spoil that for anyone who may want to read this. Vega is crafty in keeping up the suspense throughout this entire time, this is apparently where her strength in writing occurs. She amazingly describes scenes where readers can easily imagine them happening in reality. Her take on hauntings is one that is rarely seen and I think should be utilized in paranormal fiction more often.
'The Haunting' just didn't add up for me. It seems the story was written too hastily that beginning writer mistakes were made and overlooked, but most young adult readers may be able to look past this. Like Stephen King, Vega has great story-telling power in the horror genre, but in 'The Haunting,' I don't feel she was fully able to display this because the focus on Hendricks' life drama took over most of it. If I were to recommend this to anyone, I would only recommend it to people who like teenaged drama mixed in with a ghost story.
a little girl named Maribeth is killed in the cellar of the Steele House by an unseen force. We jump to three years later, where our main character, Hendricks, is moving into this house with her parents and baby brother- - - a family that is unaware of the murder that took place in the cellar. Vega does a wonderful job of steering the paranormal aspects away from the usual ones that most readers are used to. But although the story is good, the writing is poorly executed.
Starting with the teenaged girl Hendricks, she tells us that she refuses to be a stereo-type, but her first thoughts on the ride to school are of her ex-boyfriend, Grayson. But this is a young adult book, so a young girl obsessing over her ex is to be expected. Yet, when Hendricks gets to her new high school, she quickly begins to stereo-type everyone she meets by what they are wearing. Unfortunately, every character in this story, including Hendricks parents, are stereo-types. Eddie, who wears nothing but black clothing, is the outcast; Portia, who wears too short of skirts and too tight of shirts, is the makeup obsessed girly-girl; Raven, who tries to be funny, is the sporty best friend, and, Connor, who seems to be the only character that Vega tried to keep away from his stereo-type, is a friendly jock who loves his large family.
Readers learn early on that Hendricks' break-up with her ex, Grayson, was a traumatic event for her- - - as Hendricks releases more and more memories, it's soon easy to see that the relationship was an emotional abusive one; from Grayson telling her how to dress to him influencing the way she acted around other people, including who she was allowed to be around. In the middle of all this, Hendricks begins to learn the history of the Steele House, and we find out that Maribeth may not have been the only one murdered there. When Hendricks isn't trying to drink alcohol in almost every chapter, she begins experiencing strange things in the house, including one very similar to Maribeth's experience, but sadly, the paranormal aspect is the only good part of this book.
'The Haunted' could have been a great story, but there are so many inconsistencies, some even on the very next page. Such as, on page 44, Hendricks sees a singing doll waking up her baby brother inside his room (Vega literally states 'in the middle of his room'), but the very next page, Hendricks is suddenly scooping up the doll outside of her brother's room to put it away. On page 157, Hendricks is being pinned against a wall in the cellar by an unseen force, one of her arms is against her back, but suddenly she is able to use both hands to push off the wall, but it was never stated that her arm became unpinned.
One of Vega's biggest mistakes in 'The Haunted' was using the same handful of descriptions for emotions with every single character throughout the entire book. Such as, if a character was trying to make a decision, they always bit their lip; if a character was confused, they always furrowed their brow; if a character was embarrassed, they always had a reddening face. Vega never took advantage of other body language to convey these emotions, causing the story to come up short.
As I have said, the only good part of this book was the paranormal aspect, and the ghosts happen to be the only interesting characters. If I had to choose my favorite part of this story, I would have to choose when Eddie and Hendricks bring in the occult store owner, Ileana. Following this chapter, the best part of the paranormal aspects happen, but I don't want to spoil that for anyone who may want to read this. Vega is crafty in keeping up the suspense throughout this entire time, this is apparently where her strength in writing occurs. She amazingly describes scenes where readers can easily imagine them happening in reality. Her take on hauntings is one that is rarely seen and I think should be utilized in paranormal fiction more often.
'The Haunting' just didn't add up for me. It seems the story was written too hastily that beginning writer mistakes were made and overlooked, but most young adult readers may be able to look past this. Like Stephen King, Vega has great story-telling power in the horror genre, but in 'The Haunting,' I don't feel she was fully able to display this because the focus on Hendricks' life drama took over most of it. If I were to recommend this to anyone, I would only recommend it to people who like teenaged drama mixed in with a ghost story.