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Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10)
Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10)
Lisa Gardner | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Includes Detective D.D. Warren, Flora Dane, and FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy (1 more)
Can stand alone
A stand-alone, multi POV novel and the 10th novel in the Detective D.D. Warren series.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I was not my parents' favorite child. I was not even the favorite daughter. Let me say my family has a strange sense of humor so my dad bought me Lisa Gardner's novel "The Other Daughter". I laughed and let the book sit for a few years. When I eventually read it, I knew I found an author I would definitely read again.

Never Tell by Lisa Gardner can stand alone. The multi POV thriller is the 10th novel in her Detective D.D. Warren series. It includes Flora Dane who was first introduced in Find Her, the 8th novel in her Detective D.D. Warren series.

In Find Her, Dane was kidnapped while on spring break and held for 472 days. Since then, she in now working as Warren's unpaid Confidential Informant). The agent who was instrumental in rescuing Dane was FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy, daughter of FBI Profiler Pierce Quincy, a main character in Gardner's FBI Profiler series. Kimberly Quincy also returns to assist with Warren's case.

It might be difficult to understand the connections I mentioned if you have not read prior books. The book does stand alone and will make you want to go read the others.


Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/27/19.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The First Purge (2018) in Movies

Jun 11, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)  
The First Purge (2018)
The First Purge (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Definitely killed a few brain cells
The concept behind The Purge films is kind of good I guess? (If you don't think about it too hard), but none of them have really delivered much to the horror genre, and this prequel somehow delivers less to the point where it actually takes away from the horror genre!

I found myself disinterested in any of the characters after just a few minutes. So much so, that when the first 'Purge' actually begins, I just found myself thinking 'why?' Why are these characters even taking part, why are so many people taking part (surely they can't all have weird murder boners), why did this film even get passed a storyboard phase, why am I still watching!?

It's just dumb, and not even in a slightly so-dumb-its-good way.
Any scares or horror are completely absent, to the point where the film devolves into a low quality action B-movie rip off of The Raid.

The whole sorry affair just seemed like an excuse for some people to whack some contact lenses in and roam about with 'sinister' grins on their faces, like a pack of 14 year olds who have had one too many cans of Monster Energy.

Won't be watching this one again! ?
  
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Dean (6925 KP) Jun 11, 2019

I agree, so bad compared to the original Purge film.

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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) Jun 11, 2019

I haven't watched the Amazon Prime series yet - maybe that fairs a bit better?

Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start by saying I hold a Master's Degree in Forensic Psychology, so when I was approached to read and review this book, I jumped at it. Schizophrenia was one of the many different topics throughout my coursework, and I'm always eager to learn more about anything Psychology-related. I thought back on my different classes, and while we discussed all sorts of things about Schizophrenia (symptoms, effects on the individual and family/friends, therapeutic treatment, drug treatment, etc.), I don't recall having ever read an anecdotal account from someone with the illness, and I think it's just a fantastic idea.

While this book is very long, it's well worth the read if you're either like me and are interested in Psychology, or if you either have or know someone who has Schizophrenia (Sz for short). Reading this book gave me all sorts of personal insight into the illness that you just can't find in a textbook, and I'm sure it would greatly benefit anyone who is affected in their life by Sz in some way. I found the opening philosophies on God to be very interesting, as it was a new way of looking at the topic for me, and it really drew me in to see what all Eugene believed, had been through, is going through, etc. The various quotes from song lyrics, psychologists, other Sz memoirs, and numerous other sources really worked to convey just what Eugene was thinking and feeling, especially the ones pulled from his earlier writings.

As I said, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has Sz in some form of their life: either themselves, a family member or friend, therapists, social workers, etc, as well as those who are studying or just interested in Psychology. First-hand accounts are few and far between, and I feel I learned more about Sz, its effects on the mind as well as the idea of "remission," from this book than I did throughout my coursework.

5 stars for its ability to suck you in and keep you reading and learning, no matter how long it is =)
  
The Lies We Told
The Lies We Told
Camilla Way | 2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
10
8.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastic Plot Twists (1 more)
Interesting Characters
Plot Twists Abound!
I believe I first heard about The Lies We Told by Camilla Way on Goodreads. When I read the book synopsis, I knew it was a book I had to read. I'm so glad I did because I loved this book.

The pacing in The Lies We Told was brilliant. It is such a fast paced psychological suspense novel! I found myself having a hard time putting this book down. Never once did it slow down to the point of being boring, and it never went too too quickly where I had no clue what was going on.

I really did enjoy the plot and the world building. For the most part, The Lies We Told is written fabulously. The plot is interesting., and I loved how it changed from us reading about Clara to hearing from Beth's point of view throughout the story. Clara's boyfriend Luke goes missing. She knows he had a stalker, but he never took it seriously. Clara becomes even more worried when she finds some worrying emails sent to Luke. As she starts to learn more and more about Luke's past, she puts herself in danger, and she's worried that Luke may be in even more danger. There were so many plot twists and turns in The Lies We Told. I loved it! This book had me guessing, and I was never right! There's even a plot twist towards the very end. All but one of my questions were answered. I won't go too much into it because it would spoil almost all of the book, but I will just say that I was left wondering why the police didn't do one thing once the truth had been revealed. I would have thought it would have been protocol if someone suggests it. Sorry for leaving you hanging, but I can't go into much detail.

The characters in The Lies We Told were so well written and fleshed out. I could relate to Clara a lot. I loved how far she was willing to go to find out about Luke. Hannah was another great character to read about. I found her to be the most interesting character of the story if I'm honest. I also enjoyed reading about Mac. He seemed like a great friend. Luke's parents also seemed very sweet, and I would sympathize with Beth when she would talk about Hannah. However, keep in mind that with this book, some of the characters aren't who and what they seem which was great!

Trigger warnings for The Lies We Told include profanity, cheating, blackmail, lying, kidnapping, mentions of sex, alcohol and some drug use, mental illness, death, murder, and violence.

Overall, The Lies We Told is such a brilliant book. It's got a fascinating plot, very interesting characters, and fantastic plot twists that will leave you scratching your head! I would definitely recommend The Lies We Told by Camilla Way to everyone aged 17+. I really enjoyed it.
  
I received a free copy of this short story from www.netgalley.com and the publisher, Randomhouse UK, Cornerstone and I wish to thank them for this.

I am only a little familiar with Temperance Brennan having read only one of the previous books - funnily enough, it's the one that's mentioned in this story - "the case of a body found in a barrel of asphalt at the Charlotte Motor Speedway" but it was a few years ago and I can't remember what it's called but I must have enjoyed it otherwise I wouldn't have remembered it!

Anyway, this short story will only take a couple of hours to read but it packs a lot in and not only is it entertaining but it's educational too - I learnt a lot about pythons! The descriptions of the setting made me feel that I was there - my hair even went frizzy! The characters, not only Temperance herself, but the "extras" were developed just enough to add to the overall interest and made me want to read more.

I enjoyed it. It was well written, had good pace and tension and a twist ... what more do you want from a story even one that is as short as this.

http://haziegaze.blogspot.co.uk/
  
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Joey Santiago recommended Loaded by The Velvet Underground in Music (curated)

 
Loaded by The Velvet Underground
Loaded by The Velvet Underground
1970 | Compilation
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Ah that's the one, unfortunately, Lou Reed hated. He couldn't stand it... but I liked it! There's such a variety of songs on it. There's one song on there - [line cuts out; we reconnect] - I told you Lou Reed hated that album! That song 'Who Loves The Sun', how good is that?! The breakdown on it, it's like a hoedown. They called it an album, but this is just an art project! A lost memo for an album... Let's come up with 16 ideas and just whittle it down. 'I Found A Reason', that song, the melody [imitates it] that was just amazing. 'Rock & Roll', I first heard that in my father's car. He had a Monte Carlo, and I thought that was cool. It came on the radio and I was like, "What is this?!" It was so simple and it was talking about a radio station in New York - and I was in New York, that was where I heard it - and I just loved the rhythm guitar and also the soaring chorus, where it's just like three notes and it kind of soars around. And that became an influence on our song called 'Ed Is Dead' - another homage!"

Source
  
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Morgan Sheppard (926 KP) created a post

Feb 16, 2024  
IT'S LIVE!!! - Slippers and Songs

I can't believe it's finally out in the world! So far, the feedback has been great. And don't forget, you can get it for FREE in return for a review if you click the link for BookSirens - https://booksirens.com/book/HI60XMA/Y746Y5R

I also had some fun this week and, by request, made a recipe page for the Brodyr Alarch. All of the recipes were found online - although some have already disappeared, so I had to find substitutes! Which one would you like to try the most? And if you do for real, let me know what you think! https://morganjsheppard.weebly.com/brodyralarchrecipes.html

You can find Slippers and Songs at the following:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200681601-slippers-and-songs​
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/slippers-and-songs-by-morgan-sheppard​
Smashbomb: https://smashbomb.com/s/slippers-and-songs-brodyr-alarch-1​
Universal Purchase: https://books2read.com/SlippersandSongs​
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSPQTCJ6​
Apple: https://books.apple.com/de/book/slippers-and-songs-brodyr-alarch-1/id6477316319​
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slippers-and-songs-morgan-sheppard/1144779682​
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/slippers-and-songs-brodyr-alarch-1​
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1514775​
Eden: https://edenbookstore.com/product/pre-order-slippers-and-songs-brodyr-alarch-11/

If you could spare a moment, I'd greatly appreciate your review. Even just a few words can make a significant difference for authors.💙

Have a great weekend and I'll catch you later. Have fun!

#Fantasy
#Romance
#WelshGods
#BrodyrAlarch
#BrothersGrimm
#FairytaleRetelling
     
The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1)
The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1)
Kimberly Derting | 2011 | Thriller
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I enjoyed this.

I found it easy to read and the plot was interesting. The sub-plot of realising she was falling in love with her best friend was an added bonus.

Never in a million years would I have guessed who the bad guy was, it was definitely a mystery trying to figure it out and the chapters from his POV were chilling at times. His lack of feeling for what he was about to do and the pleasure he got from getting the girls to trust him. *shivers*

As for Jay and Violet, they were likable though Violet was a bit blind when it came to Jay's feelings. I'm sorry, Vi, but it was obvious from early on that he cared about you in more than a friendly manner.
  
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Neil Gaiman recommended All That Jazz (1979) in Movies (curated)

 
All That Jazz (1979)
All That Jazz (1979)
1979 | Drama, Musical, Sci-Fi
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Second film: All That Jazz, Bob Fosse. It’s an incredibly hopeful, uplifting art journey and you know, on the one hand it’s about a man who is killing himself through over-work and who is over-extended and miserable and is going to die of a heart attack, and on the other hand, it’s Bob Fosse’s celebration of the fact that he didn’t die of a heart attack. He came through, and now he’s going to take the events that precipitated him into his heart attack, create a roman à clef around them, and build something magical, which he does. There’s a sort of strange and lovely honesty to it that, the first time I saw it when I was about 15/16 and it was on television, I found arresting, and it’s magic."

Source
  
Godfather Was A Girl: . . . And Blanche Dubois Was A Guy
Godfather Was A Girl: . . . And Blanche Dubois Was A Guy
Eamon Evans | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good book to dip in and out of when you just want to spend a quick half an hour reading. Interesting where some of the characters have come from, and others were fairly obvious and well known already. The author is very sarcastic about various films and books, which I feel sometimes spoils the character he is explaining but then other times enhances the story behind the inspiration. Although the chapters do split the characters into some sort of order, the actual chapters themselves don’t have any conceivable order which I feel might make it easier to read (maybe alphabetised or in chronological order of when the character first appeared?).
Overall, it was ok to waste a few hours and I found some of the stories behind famous characters interesting.