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Four Parties and a Funeral
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Agatha Award-winning author Maria DiRico returns with the fourth book in the Catering Hall Mystery...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2589 KP) rated Blood Red in Books
May 19, 2022
Promise in the Book, but Needed Another Edit
When her husband disappears and their assets are frozen, Cissy has to return to her career as an interior designer to the rich and famous in Los Angeles to pay the bills. Fortunately, it’s a job she loves. Her current client is renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Martin, but when she appears at his mansion for a meeting, she finds him shot to death in the library. Turns out, he wasn’t as rich as he pretended, and now Cissy might not get paid. In order to free up his estate, she starts looking into his murder. Can she solve it?
I picked up this book thinking it was a cozy, but the language in it kept that from being the case. Fortunately, it did lessen (although not go away completely) as the book went along. The plot was decent and came to a logical conclusion, but it needed another edit and a bit more focus. The story really wanders and takes it’s time getting to the solution. It’s a shame because I enjoyed the characters quite a bit. I am curious where a few threads introduced here go, but I doubt I will be back for Cissy’s next adventure.
I picked up this book thinking it was a cozy, but the language in it kept that from being the case. Fortunately, it did lessen (although not go away completely) as the book went along. The plot was decent and came to a logical conclusion, but it needed another edit and a bit more focus. The story really wanders and takes it’s time getting to the solution. It’s a shame because I enjoyed the characters quite a bit. I am curious where a few threads introduced here go, but I doubt I will be back for Cissy’s next adventure.
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K-Li (5 KP) rated Betrayal at House on the Hill in Tabletop Games
May 25, 2018
Lots of rules to remember. (1 more)
Depending on a couple factors, the game can last for minutes or hours
Quit following me with that monkey
We recently played this with some friends and loved it. It's a tile game with an RPG element, during which the players construct a creepy mansion, then once activating the Haunt (the mission) one player is turned against everyone else, and the game shifts from tile exploration to a mission.
Each room added to the house has an event to play out, item to pick up or leave there, or omen that may behave like an event or item but also may trigger The Haunt, depending on die rolls.
The part I enjoyed was strategizing once The Haunt was triggered - once it happens, the scenario you play depends on the room you were in, and the cards drawn. The enemy has their own rule book, and everyone else shares another rule book. It really is great fun.
*We were preyed upon by aliens intent on taking us back to the mothership.*
I think the biggest downside to this game is the amount of things to remember, but I've heard the 2nd edition greatly improved on the first, which is what we played.
Each room added to the house has an event to play out, item to pick up or leave there, or omen that may behave like an event or item but also may trigger The Haunt, depending on die rolls.
The part I enjoyed was strategizing once The Haunt was triggered - once it happens, the scenario you play depends on the room you were in, and the cards drawn. The enemy has their own rule book, and everyone else shares another rule book. It really is great fun.
*We were preyed upon by aliens intent on taking us back to the mothership.*
I think the biggest downside to this game is the amount of things to remember, but I've heard the 2nd edition greatly improved on the first, which is what we played.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2589 KP) rated Stowed Away (A Maine Clambake Mystery, #6) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
It’s a week away from opening day for the Snowden Family Clambake, and Julia and the rest of her family are hard at work making sure everything is ready. But they are also discussing what to do with the ruins of Windsholme, the family mansion on the island where they host the clambake. One expert they are bring in turns out to be Julia’s prep school roommate, Wyatt Jayne. Wyatt is in town to oversee a yacht renovation, but when the owner of the yacht is found murdered, she finds herself the prime suspect. Julia has her own reason for investigating the murder, a very personal one. Can she figure out what truly happened?
While this is book six in the series, it’s only been a year to Julia and the rest of these characters, which allows us time to really see their relationships grow and change. I like watching this growth as the series progresses. There are several sub-plots that facilitate this, but I felt they slowed things down early in the book. Once the mystery kicks into high gear, it completely captured me again, with several wonderful twists and a climax that tied everything together perfectly.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-review-stowed-away-by-barbara-ross.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
While this is book six in the series, it’s only been a year to Julia and the rest of these characters, which allows us time to really see their relationships grow and change. I like watching this growth as the series progresses. There are several sub-plots that facilitate this, but I felt they slowed things down early in the book. Once the mystery kicks into high gear, it completely captured me again, with several wonderful twists and a climax that tied everything together perfectly.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-review-stowed-away-by-barbara-ross.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2589 KP) rated Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge in Books
Dec 12, 2018
Bah Humbug Murder
Thanks to her neighbor Lance, freelance writer Jaine Austen is spending Christmas at a Bel Air mansion. It's not all luxury, however, when Jaine gets roped into helping her temporary neighbor polish his script. Scotty Parker is a former child actor best known for playing Tiny Tim in a movie version of A Christmas Carol, but now he'd be a shoe in to play Scrooge, complete with penny pinching ways and fights with neighbors. Someone has had enough, and Jaine finds Scotty's body on Christmas morning. With the police focusing on her, Jaine begins her own investigation. But which of the many suspects actually killed Scotty?
Those familiar with the series know exactly what to expect here, and they won't be disappointed. The murder may take place a little later in the book than in some series I read, but we are busy meeting suspects and getting motives, so when Scotty does die, we can jump right in. Jaine once again brings the case to a satisfactory conclusion. We also have a couple of fun sub-plots involving Jaine's on-line dating misadventures and a cruise her parents are taking with their neighbors. There are plenty of laughs, chuckles, and grins. The characters lean toward caricature, but it works for this series. The pages fly by all too quickly as always.
Those familiar with the series know exactly what to expect here, and they won't be disappointed. The murder may take place a little later in the book than in some series I read, but we are busy meeting suspects and getting motives, so when Scotty does die, we can jump right in. Jaine once again brings the case to a satisfactory conclusion. We also have a couple of fun sub-plots involving Jaine's on-line dating misadventures and a cruise her parents are taking with their neighbors. There are plenty of laughs, chuckles, and grins. The characters lean toward caricature, but it works for this series. The pages fly by all too quickly as always.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Addams Family (2019) in Movies
Oct 15, 2019
Creepy, Kooky, Mysterious, Spooky and Ooky
"They're creepy and they're kooky
Mysterious and spooky
They're all together ooky
The Addams family
Their house is a museum
Where people come to see 'em
They really are a scream
The Addams family
Neat
Sweet
Petite
So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The Addams family"
A song that everybody knows or should know. If you have seen the 1964 tv show or the 1991 movie or the 1993 sequel movie. The addams family is loved by all. And this movie is really good.
It takes elements from the oringal tv show and the movies and mixs it up.
The Plot: Members of the mysterious and spooky Addams family -- Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Grandma -- are readily preparing for a visit from their even creepier relatives. But trouble soon arises when shady TV personality Margaux Needler realizes that the Addams' eerie hilltop mansion is standing in the way of her dream to sell all the houses in the neighborhood.
You got to love the charcters, you got to love their personalty, you got to love that their mysterious, spooky, creppy, kooky and ooky.
This is a good film, despite what the critics have said. Kids and their family should see this film.
Mysterious and spooky
They're all together ooky
The Addams family
Their house is a museum
Where people come to see 'em
They really are a scream
The Addams family
Neat
Sweet
Petite
So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The Addams family"
A song that everybody knows or should know. If you have seen the 1964 tv show or the 1991 movie or the 1993 sequel movie. The addams family is loved by all. And this movie is really good.
It takes elements from the oringal tv show and the movies and mixs it up.
The Plot: Members of the mysterious and spooky Addams family -- Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Grandma -- are readily preparing for a visit from their even creepier relatives. But trouble soon arises when shady TV personality Margaux Needler realizes that the Addams' eerie hilltop mansion is standing in the way of her dream to sell all the houses in the neighborhood.
You got to love the charcters, you got to love their personalty, you got to love that their mysterious, spooky, creppy, kooky and ooky.
This is a good film, despite what the critics have said. Kids and their family should see this film.
ClareR (6250 KP) rated The Companion in Books
Jan 14, 2020
The Companion is a really enjoyable historical fiction novel set in 1855 New Hampshire. Lucy Blunt has been found guilty of a double murder, and the story jumps back and forth in time to describe what happened in Lucy’s early life, her time as a maid at the Burton mansion and her life in prison.
One thing that really stood out for me was the stark difference between the privileged Burtons and their hard-working staff. Also Lucy’s shady background was so intriguing, and I really liked the bit by bit exposure of her past and her misdemeanours. She really is an unreliable source of information, and it’s no wonder that she’s sitting in a jail cell awaiting the hangman. But DID she commit murder?
It seemed to me that Lucy was repeatedly let down by the people who should have supported her, that she was used for what these people could get from her. For someone who had virtually no possessions, they took those things that were of herself: her self respect, her trust and her love.
Guilty or not, this was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and/ or unreliable narrators.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.
One thing that really stood out for me was the stark difference between the privileged Burtons and their hard-working staff. Also Lucy’s shady background was so intriguing, and I really liked the bit by bit exposure of her past and her misdemeanours. She really is an unreliable source of information, and it’s no wonder that she’s sitting in a jail cell awaiting the hangman. But DID she commit murder?
It seemed to me that Lucy was repeatedly let down by the people who should have supported her, that she was used for what these people could get from her. For someone who had virtually no possessions, they took those things that were of herself: her self respect, her trust and her love.
Guilty or not, this was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and/ or unreliable narrators.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.
The Rise, the Fall, and the Rise
Book
The Rise, The Fall, and The Rise is the extraordinary story, in her own words, of Brix Smith Start....