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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2615 KP) rated Deadly Valentine in Books
Oct 24, 2022
Murder Among the New Neighbors
Annie and Max Darling have finally moved into their new house and are meeting their neighbors. Annie is less than delighted to find out that Sydney Cahill lives next door, mainly because Sydney made a pass at Max in front of Annie. Still, they can’t get out of attending the Cahill’s Valentine’s Day party. Then, that night, someone kills Sydney. Since their new neighborhood is gated, it quickly becomes obvious one of their neighbors is the killer. Can they figure out who did it?
This book has a few of the staples of the series, including the mass introduction of suspects, but that’s mainly worth noting in passing. Overall, it is fun. While the characters could be stronger, we do care, thanks mainly to Annie and Max. Max’s mother, Laurel, is visiting again, and she provides some great laughs along the way. The mystery is complex enough with enough twists and suspects to keep me guessing. It’s easy to see why this series is so beloved.
This book has a few of the staples of the series, including the mass introduction of suspects, but that’s mainly worth noting in passing. Overall, it is fun. While the characters could be stronger, we do care, thanks mainly to Annie and Max. Max’s mother, Laurel, is visiting again, and she provides some great laughs along the way. The mystery is complex enough with enough twists and suspects to keep me guessing. It’s easy to see why this series is so beloved.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2615 KP) rated Dead Days of Summer in Books
Jul 29, 2026 (Updated Jul 29, 2026)
What Happened to Max?
As this book opens, Annie thinks the biggest problem she is facing is keeping the surprise birthday party she is planning for Max a secret, especially given how Laurel, Max’s mother, keeps thinking for herself. But that’s before Max vanishes. He’d taken a new case that Monday afternoon, and he let Annie know he’d be home late. But he never comes home. The search uncovers a dead body. What does it mean? Where is Max?
Being a fan of the series, the premise pulled me in right away. Sadly, it stalled out in the middle before picking up again for the third act. Even so, one major question I had was left unanswered. The series regulars were their usual charming selves, even getting a laugh or two from me at times. One character undergoes a transformation here that fit his personality from earlier in the series better. The suspects don’t get much page time until the end, but they are good for the page time they have. There are hardly any references to other mysteries; I hope we get more in the following books. While this won’t be my favorite in the series, it is one that fans will still be glad they read.
Being a fan of the series, the premise pulled me in right away. Sadly, it stalled out in the middle before picking up again for the third act. Even so, one major question I had was left unanswered. The series regulars were their usual charming selves, even getting a laugh or two from me at times. One character undergoes a transformation here that fit his personality from earlier in the series better. The suspects don’t get much page time until the end, but they are good for the page time they have. There are hardly any references to other mysteries; I hope we get more in the following books. While this won’t be my favorite in the series, it is one that fans will still be glad they read.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Great Race (1965) in Movies
Jul 6, 2018
A fun throwback to 1920's Silent Film Farces
In a tribute to films of a bygone era, Director Blake Edwards pays homage to silent film farces of the 1920's - even dedicating this film to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy" - with the slapstick comedy THE GREAT RACE - and succeeds, mostly.
Reteaming Tony Curtis (as the brave, virtuous and good "The Great Leslie") and Jack Lemmon (as the sinister, dastardly and evil "Professor Fate"), The Great Race is great fun watching these two cartoon characters spar and parry with each other throughout the course of this 2 hour and 40 minute farce.
Lemmon, in particular, relishes in dual roles as the menacing Fate, always dressed in black, twirling his mustache and coming up with scheme after scheme to derail Leslie (think the Coyote in the RoadRunner cartoons). His overacting and hammyness in the character is perfect for the tone that this film has set. And his maniacal laugh is one to remember - unless you are remembering the childlike guffaws of the other character Lemmon portrays, the doppelganger of Fate, Crown Prince Frederick. Both these characters are fun to watch and Fate, especially, plays well against his bumbling assistant and foil, "Max", played in utter buffoonishness by the great Peter Falk.
Joining Curtis for the "good guys" is Natalie Wood as Suffragette and Newspaper
Reporter Maggie DuBois (obviously tailored after real life Suffragette and Newspaper Reporter Nellie Bly). It is said that Curtis and Wood did not get along on set (they had worked together in 2 other films and grew to dislike each other), but their on-screen chemistry cannot be ignored and they are fun together. As is the great Keenan Wynn as Leslie's mechanic and friend Hezekiah Sturdy.
But it is not the characters that makes this film go it is the set pieces and frenetic pacing that Director Edwards put before us. From thrilling chase scenes to a Western barroom brawl, to a trip through a blizzard with a polar bear to the "largest pie fight ever put on screen", this film delivers the goods in a wholesome, 1960's way that makes me truly say...
"They don't make 'em like this anymore".
8 out 10 stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
Reteaming Tony Curtis (as the brave, virtuous and good "The Great Leslie") and Jack Lemmon (as the sinister, dastardly and evil "Professor Fate"), The Great Race is great fun watching these two cartoon characters spar and parry with each other throughout the course of this 2 hour and 40 minute farce.
Lemmon, in particular, relishes in dual roles as the menacing Fate, always dressed in black, twirling his mustache and coming up with scheme after scheme to derail Leslie (think the Coyote in the RoadRunner cartoons). His overacting and hammyness in the character is perfect for the tone that this film has set. And his maniacal laugh is one to remember - unless you are remembering the childlike guffaws of the other character Lemmon portrays, the doppelganger of Fate, Crown Prince Frederick. Both these characters are fun to watch and Fate, especially, plays well against his bumbling assistant and foil, "Max", played in utter buffoonishness by the great Peter Falk.
Joining Curtis for the "good guys" is Natalie Wood as Suffragette and Newspaper
Reporter Maggie DuBois (obviously tailored after real life Suffragette and Newspaper Reporter Nellie Bly). It is said that Curtis and Wood did not get along on set (they had worked together in 2 other films and grew to dislike each other), but their on-screen chemistry cannot be ignored and they are fun together. As is the great Keenan Wynn as Leslie's mechanic and friend Hezekiah Sturdy.
But it is not the characters that makes this film go it is the set pieces and frenetic pacing that Director Edwards put before us. From thrilling chase scenes to a Western barroom brawl, to a trip through a blizzard with a polar bear to the "largest pie fight ever put on screen", this film delivers the goods in a wholesome, 1960's way that makes me truly say...
"They don't make 'em like this anymore".
8 out 10 stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)