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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2476 KP) rated Book, Line, and Sinker in Books

Jun 23, 2019

This Book is Not a Stinker, and That’s Not a Line to Hook You

Treasure hunters have come to town, certain they have a map to Captain Kidd’s treasure that he buried off the coast of Briar Creek, Connecticut. Their presence quickly divides the town, with the library that Lindsay Norris runs becoming ground zero for some of the fights. However, when the tension leads to a dead body at the dig site, several of her friends become suspects. Naturally, Lindsay begins looking for a clue that might point the police in a different direction. Can she dig up the correct X to mark the killer?

I completely enjoyed this book. The plot is a little different for a cozy mystery, but in this case that was a good thing. Just adjust your expectations accordingly, but you will be satisfied when you turn the final page. Lindsay’s love life gets complicated when her ex-fiance shows up, but I enjoyed seeing how that storyline played out, and I felt it allowed us to get to know Lindsay better. The characters are as charming as always; I’m especially pleased to see that Lindsay’s relationship with the police is already changing for the better. We get some extras, thanks to the crafternoon group, including discussion questions for The Great Gatsby, a cross stitch pattern, and two recipes. I may be behind in this series, but I am certainly enjoying catching up.

Kudos

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

John Vaillant

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Book

It's December 1997, and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote Russian village. The...

Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Ken Binmore

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Book

Games are everywhere: Drivers manoeuvring in heavy traffic are playing a driving game. Bargain...

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Jessica Townsend

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Enter the Wundrous world of Morrigan Crow and Nevermoor - the most fantastical children's release of...

Elephants and Kings: An Environmental History

Thomas R. Trautmann

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Book

Because of their enormous size, elephants have long been irresistible for kings as symbols of their...

Lenard (726 KP) rated Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) in Movies

Sep 2, 2019 (Updated Sep 2, 2019)

Eugenio Derbez (0 more)

Backpack, backpack, backpack, backpack

In the era of reboots, legacyquels, and reimaginings, films require a balance between innovation and "the original" product. Dora and the Lost City of Gold is such an undertaking as a adaptation of a popular children's show. The filmmakers had an objective to make a feature film while not alienating fans of the original Dora the Explorer. I believe that the team (who also worked on the previous two Muppets movies) did a good job. They found ways to have Dora speak to the audience (like on her show), have Backpack and Map speak, introduce Spanish words and phrases (the point of the show), and Boots and Swiper ("Swiper, no swiping.") were integral characters, all of which would have detracted from the film if done improperly. At the same time, the writers and director had to have a story that would sustain a 90-minute movie and leave little left to, pardon the pun, explore. The search for a lost city of gold and a race between archaelogists and treasure hunters satisfied that objective, a little Young Indiana Jones adventure mixed with National Treasure. The biggest liability in the whole film was Eugenio Derbez and his slapstick comedic style never fit the tone of the film. Luckily, Michael Pena can debilitate him with a styling monologue. Now that Dora has ended her adventure in the jungle, she can study the harshest environment known to man: high school in an anthropological dissertation.