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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Murder at the Mansion in Books

Nov 15, 2019

Redwood Cove Faces a Second Killer

Kelly Jackson has returned to Redwood Cove, California, ready to take on her new job as manager of one of the B&B’s in town. While it finishes up some renovations, she is helping out at a sister property, Redwood Heights. Redwood Heights has been having issue with jewelry being stolen from guest’s rooms, but things escalate when Kelly finds one of the guests murdered in that guest’s room. With the aid of the local senior citizen community watch, the Silver Sentinels, Kelly starts digging around. Can she figure out what happened?

Having grown up visiting the redwoods, I love this setting. I would love to visit in real life, between murders, of course. This book starts off strongly and never lets up, always giving us some complication or clue until Kelly pieces everything together. I didn’t have any problem remembering the characters, which is good since there are quite a few of them, but I do feel the cast could be a little better developed. I’m hoping that will come as the series continues. I also stumbled over a few editing errors. They were minor overall, fortunately. While there aren’t any recipes, there is more than enough talk about food to make your mouth water as you read the book. Overall, this is a good second in the series, and I hope to visit Kelly again soon.

Kudos

Leigh J (71 KP) rated Cruising (1980) in Movies

Nov 25, 2019

Cruising (1980)

1980 | Drama, Mystery

7.0

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Bondage with a side of Murder

Contains spoilers, click to show

Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is a rookie Cop who is being sent undercover to investigate a series of sexually aggravated murders in the area. However, the victims of these grizzly murders are all men who are involved in the S&M/Bondage Gay scene... and Steve is straight and in a relationship. To infiltrate the scene in hopes of finally finding the killer before more deaths happen, Steve has to frequent the local Clubs in the area and see if any of the men are the murderer. Will Steve be able to find him? Will he be able to keep up the undercover work and come out unscathed? And what shocking twist is in store... for you!

I recently got Cruising (finally! Thanks Arrow Video for your amazing release of it!) and it's a Movie that caused so much controversy in it's time; I just HAD to see what all the fuss was about! I think the story of Cruising is, as well as being fantastic, an essential cautionary tale. It has you on the edge of your seat all the way through and the shock ending left me absolutely speechless. The only downside is I think it becomes quite stagnant and slow going just as you get to the halfway point. However, it's worth getting through just for that ending... I'm still lost for words. A must see, for sure.

Kudos

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Mar 28, 2020

Have I got a treat for you on my blog today! Author Alexia Gordon shares the top ten real bridezillas in a guest post. Seriously, you will want to check this out! You can also sneak a peek at her paranormal cozy mystery EXECUTION IN E, and enter the #giveaway to #win a signed copy of the book, a Gethsemane Brown Swag which includes a mug, stickers, pens, bookmark, combo bookmark/laser pointer, coasters, & more, and a $10 #Starbucks GIFT CARD!
https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-execution.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Romance is in the air. Or on the 'gram, anyway.

When an influencer-turned-bridezilla shows up at the lighthouse to capture Insta-perfect wedding photos designed to entice sponsors to fund her lavish wedding, Gethsemane has her hands full trying to keep Eamon from blasting the entire wedding party over the edge of the cliff.

Wedding bells become funeral bells when members of the bride’s entourage start turning up dead. Frankie’s girlfriend, Verna, is pegged as maid-of-honor on the suspect list when the Garda discover the not-so-dearly departed groom was her ex and Gethsemane catches her standing over a body.

Gethsemane uncovers devilish dealings as she fights to clear Verna, for Frankie’s sake. Will she find the killer in time to save Frankie from another heartbreak? Or will the photos in her social media feed be post-mortem?

Kudos Comment

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Booked 4 Murder in Books

Apr 30, 2020

Booked 4 Murder

J.C. Eaton | 2017 | Mystery

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Is the Book Really Cursed?

Sophie “Phee” Kimball is annoyed when her mother keeps calling to talk about a cursed book. It seems that several members of her book club have died after starting their current month’s selection. Even though Phee is an accountant, Harriet is sure she is the one who can stop the curse, so Phee gives in and takes some vacation to go visit her mother in Arizona. Once she arrives, Phee quickly determines that something strange is going on. But is it from a cursed book? Or is a killer using the curse to hide his or her tracks?

I’ve been hearing about this series for a couple of years, and I can see why. This is a fun debut. The mystery is something different for a cozy, and I really enjoyed it. I was a little ahead of Phee in piecing things together, but only a little, and there were still some surprises when I reached the climax. I was worried that Harriet would be annoying, but I found her fun. The same goes for the rest of the cast. There were quite a few characters, but I was able to keep them all straight, which shows how well developed they were. The book made me chuckle and laugh, especially at the climax, which was a bit over the top but fit the story perfectly. I will definitely be visiting Phee again soon.