Murder in the Reading Room
10.0
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Book
Storyton Hall, Virginia, is a paradise for book lovers who come from all over for literary getaways....
ellery adams mystery romance thriller cozy
Risen (Blood Eternal #1)
10.0
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Book
My aunt has been kidnapped by vampires, and it’s up to me to save her. Only…I had no idea...
Thick as Thieves (2009)
Movie
Kidnapping, shootouts, explosions...girlfriends. It's just another day in this house when Dave (Bob...
The Crimson and the Black (Hidden Empire #2)
10.0
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Book
Beware of dragons... Being a rich, beautiful vampire in Victorian England isn't all it's cracked...
Historical Paranormal Romance
Awaken
Book
Natalia has embraced the choice of her people. She is honored to have been chosen as their human...
Speculative Fiction Action & Adventure
Merissa (11935 KP) rated Moon Bound: Ceithin (Aurelia Fridell #1.5) in Books
Apr 6, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)
This is Ceithin's side of the story, of when Aura was kidnapped and tortured. You will learn how he coped and dealt with the situation, the anguish and the torment of knowing his mate was gone and there was nothing he could do to help. You will also hear more about family and how they coped, especially Ville as he tried to deal without his bond with Aura. Although I already knew what happened to Aura because of reading the first book, the telling of Ceithin's story still managed to bring a tear to my eye.
Recommended for everyone who has read Fractured Moon.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
December 19, 2018
The Avowed (Shadowed Wings #2)
9.0
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Just when I think things are starting to look up...I manage to get myself kidnapped. All I want...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated His Game: The Woods in Books
Dec 14, 2023
Kindle
Book sirens arc
His Game: The woods
By Tirzah M.M. Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️
John returns for another game. Only this time he passes himself off as Luke, a former army medic, living alone in the woods with his dog.
Sandra is a romantic. Her idea of a good time is curling up with a love story and her cat. When she's kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead in a forest, Luke looks like the closest thing she's ever seen to a guardian angel.
But the game is still going. And she doesn't realize she's playing.
This was a decent quick read. I didn’t realise at the time it was the second of a series so I will have to go back and read the first. This is a cruel way to play a game especially when it’s not going to end well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A Cop's Necklace
Book
It has been nearly a year since the murder and kidnapping happened at the McPherson mansion....
Thriller Mystery
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated All the Money in the World (2017) in Movies
Feb 14, 2018
I stopped looking at this for I was captivated by Plummer's performance.
A 3 time Oscar nominee (he is the oldest person to win an Academy Award - at the age of 82 - for his Supporting Role in BEGINNERS in 2010), the 88 year old Plummer shows that he can still command a movie for anytime he is on screen this film crackles and becomes interesting.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the film.
Telling the story of the kidnapping of Getty's grandson, and the "richest man in the world's" refusal to pay the ransom, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD stars Charlie Plummer (no relation) as John Paul Getty III (the kidnapped grandson), Mark Wahlberg as "fixer" Fletcher Chase, who was told by Getty to get his grandson back for "the lowest possible cost", Romain Duris as one of the kidnappers and the great Michelle Williams as the mother of the kidnapped boy - and the daughter-in-law of Getty, Gail Harris. Each one of these performances are good, but not great. Doing what needs to be done in what they are given to do but nothing more.
I think the problem with this film is one of focus. It spends about 50% of the time with William's character - and this is fine, but then it jumps to the kidnapped son, to "the fixer", to "the kidnapper", to the grandson and back to the mother, so no real through-line, continuity or strong character development can occur, with the exception of Christopher Plummer's J. Paul Getty. To be fair to Williams, C. Plummer has the showier role and she is just asked to be the center of this tale, the world in which all else revolves and that, ultimately, makes her character somewhat bland.
I place the blame for this on Screenwriter David Scarpa (based on the book by John Pearson) and Director Scott. I think their reach exceeded their grasp on this one. If they could have focused more on one of the characters - instead of spreading things out - perhaps this film would have become more interesting and less bland. It stays on one note - despite jumping to different people in vastly different situations - throughout it's 2 hour and 15 minute time frame.
All in all, a missed opportunity. It is a decent film that had the potential to be VERY good. The only one who was VERY good was Christopher Plummer - and certainly his performance is worth the price of admission.
Letter Grade: B
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (OfMarquis)