Search

Search only in certain items:

#TagMe for Murder
#TagMe for Murder
Sarah E. Burr | 2023 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who Tagged Coco’s Neighbor for Murder?
Coco Cline has a new neighbor, unfortunately. Larry Dunmer is in town to conduct an audit, and he has his wife has proved to be horrible neighbors, complaining about anything and everything. Still, Coco knows he will only be in town a few months. So she is surprised when he is killed on the beach one morning. Worse yet, her friend is accused of the crime. Can Coco wade through the suspects to figure out what is really going on?

This book does include some minor spoilers for the first book (nothing like who the killer is), so keep that in mind. However, I love how part of the character development in this book is watching Coco deal with the aftermath of that first case. The set up for this mystery was familiar, but the book didn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on that, instead moving into a strong mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This was helped by strong suspects. I also love how Coco uses in person interactions and the internet to solve the case. A sub-plot with Coco’s boyfriend also kept me turning pages. If you are looking for a great mystery, you’ll want this book to trend to the top of your to be read pile.
  
I Hate Fairyland, Vol 2: Fluff My Life
I Hate Fairyland, Vol 2: Fluff My Life
Skottie Young | 2017 | Comics & Graphic Novels, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Picking up directly where the first volume leaves off, this volume of I Hate Fairyland, with Gert now Queen of Fairyland, and that goes about as well as you'd expect. She is eventually ousted from the throne and continues her search for a way home, dragging the unfortunate Larry along the way.

While Scottie Young's writing is still funny and his art is as madcap as ever (and Jean-Francois Beaulieu's eye-popping colors are eye-popping!), this volume was far more episodic than the previous story arc, with each issue more or less playing out the same scenario each time: Gert finds a "new" way home each issue, which of course turns out not to be a way home and then she fights her way out of the situation in the usual bloodbath, end of issue. The final issue of the collection does offer an interesting post-apocalyptic view of Fairyland, but it's actually not made clear whether the series is continuing after this volume (which there will be after a short break until the monthly series picks back up again in March), so the casual reader may be confused about whether this is actually the close of the series.

I'll be picking up the next collection of the series for sure, regardless of the slight disappointment that came with this issue, because I Hate Fairyland is still one of the most original comics that I've read in a long time.
  
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Case of the Paranoid Panda</i> is a delightful children’s story by Bruce Murphy about a skunk detective who enjoys solving mysteries. Irwin Lalune is a skunk on a mission after he is informed about a panda at the zoo that has been acting strangely. The panda – Ling Ming – has not been eating or sleeping and has become very paranoid; Irwin is determined to find out why.

With the help of Larry the squirrel, Irwin investigates and interviews a variety of animals as he slowly pieces together what it was that scared the panda so much. The more Irwin probes into the case the more dangerous it becomes.

<i>The Case of the Paranoid Panda </i>is an enchanting little story that will amuse both children and adults. It is full of wit and adorable characters that everyone will be able to appreciate. Some of the humour may not be detected by younger readers, therefore readers of ages eight and upwards are the most appropriate target audience for this book.

Christian Paniagua has provided charming illustrations of the characters throughout the book, which will greatly appeal to youngsters. Although this is the only Irwin Lalune mystery so far, there is great potential of developing a series of stories with animal related cases for the skunk to crack.
  
The Cotton Club (1984)
The Cotton Club (1984)
1984 | Drama, Musical
Richard Gere has made a lot of forgettable movies
Really. Seriously. If you think about it. The guy has been acting since the early 70s and he is mostly remembered for Chicago and Pretty Woman. Honorable mentions maybe to Officer and a Gentleman, Primal Fear or American Gigolo.

Director Francis Ford Coppola I'm sure was hoping to recreate the magic of the 1920s/1930s jazz club gangster era as he did with The Godfather in this film and it just didn't work. It seemed I just didn't care about the characters nearly as much and the case just wasn't up to it. Any time you have James Remar is your main bad guy in a film you are in trouble.

The highlight of the film for me was all the great jazz music, large vaudeville song and dance numbers and great tap dancing scenes with the great Gregory Hines. It was cool to see a very young "Larry" Fishburne and lots of other people you know from other movies, but it just wasn't enough. Nicolas Cage overacting (I know what a shocker) and over the top violence just to have over the top violence.

You won't find the caliber of Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall or James Caan here.

I really wanted to love this film as it has been on my "to watch" list for a long time; however, I was ultimately disappointed.