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ClareR (5885 KP) rated The Cliff House in Books

Dec 10, 2022  
The Cliff House
The Cliff House
Chris Brookmyre | 2022 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A group of hens travel to a remote, exclusive Scottish island to celebrate in luxury with the bride to be. Some of the women know one another, some don’t, and all of them have secrets.

So when the chef is murdered and one of the hens goes missing presumed kidnapped, it’s a race against time to save her. And then the secrets start to come out…

This was fast paced and great fun. None of the characters were particularly nice, but I do love to hate characters in my books!

Read with relish on The Pigeonhole!
  
Caught in the Crossfire (PROTEKT #3)
Caught in the Crossfire (PROTEKT #3)
Michael Mandrake | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
butfor the missing information, might have been 5 stars!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Tryst is new to PROTEKT, and is sent to "babysit the pop tart". Bastien finds himself attracted to Tryst, but equally to Claudius, the guy who saved his life. Bastien is, however, in the middle of something far bigger than even his books could give him.

This is book 3 in the PROTEKT series. I have not read books one, On The Run, or book 2, Closely Guarded and I think maybe I should have done. While everything becomes clearer as to what's happening in THIS book, I wanted to know BEFORE. I wanted to know how Tryst came to PROTEKT, how the others guys knew just what he was really up to. I NEEDED that information, and it isn't fully recapped here.

THAT said, I rather enjoyed this, the first I've read of Mr Mandrake. Three very different guys, from very different backgrounds, are thrown together, and neither one is strong enough to keep away from the other.

It's very well told, from all three guys point of view. I saw no spelling or editing errors. I read it in one sitting, a little over the hour mark. Fully engrossed, I was!

I liked how it all played out, LOVED who the informant was! Did not see that one coming! Loved that the bad guy gets his come-uppence, and by whom! Well played there, Mr Mandrake, very well played.

I'd like to go back and read the other two books. just to fill in those missing pieces of information that I am missing. Maybe I'll come back and re-read this one after (don't die of shock, I'm so not a re-reader! ) I just need to know how Tryst came to PROTEKT, really!

Thank you, Mr Mandrake, for an enjoyable 75 minutes.

4 solid stars (but had I all the information, might have been 5!)

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
When Lana Davis, an insurance adjuster from LA, heads to Santa Fe to find a missing heir, she gets more than she bargained for. Her investigation takes her deep into Santa Fe’s art scene, where she finds forgery, murder, and temporary employment.

The story starts off slow, but once Lana makes it to Santa Fe the action, and the pace of the story, pick up. The search for Antonio “Lefty“ Sanchez, a client’s beneficiary, takes Lana to several galleries where Lefty was employed doing odd jobs. One of the gallery owners decides that an insurance investigator isn’t that far from private detective, and asks Lana to track down a missing painting and in so doing, save her gallery. While Lana’s main focus in Santa Fe should have been to track down Lefty Sanchez for the employer who is paying her expenses, she devotes most of her time and attention to her investigation of the missing artwork. The two mysteries eventually start to intertwine though, and there are enough suspects and red herrings to keep you guessing as to who has done what.

While they mystery itself is well plotted and enjoyable, the characters fell flat for me. I didn’t feel any emotional connection with the main character, or see any real conflict in her decision making process. Lana displays the same lack of commitment to her new part time job as she did to her original job, and I found her indifference off-putting. I prefer a heroine that I care about and can root for, or a main character that I can despise, but Lana was neither of these. With a little more character development this could turn into a good series though, so I’d be willing to give Lana one more try.

<i>NOTE: While I received a copy of the book and was compensated for my review, this in no way influenced my opinion or rating of the book.</i>
  
Patron Of Mercy (Lords of The Underworld #3)
Patron Of Mercy (Lords of The Underworld #3)
Sam Burns, W.M. Fawkes | 2019 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was missing . . . .something!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 3 in the Lords of The Underworld series, and it CAN be read as a stand alone. However, personally, I felt I was missing. . . something . . .that I can't quite put my finger on, for not having read books one and two YET. I have them, but I have not got round to them yet! I will do, now though!

Lach walked away from Thanatos a milennia ago, because now he was immortal, who wanted to hang aroudn the God of Death? But both Thanatos and Lach lusted after the other for all that time. When Lach discoveres a way to save the world from starvation, he knows he will need Thanatos. Can Lach win back the only man, the only GOD he would ever love?

I did enjoy this, apart from the previously mentioned . . .something . . . I really did!

All the major players get a say, and you don't see what fate has instore for Lach and his friend till all is made clear in the book.

It is HEAVY on the Greek gods history. I *sort of* managed to keep up, because I paid no attention to histoy at school, but I felt I was given enough to *sort of* keep up! Someone else will have paid far better attention, and followed it beautifully.

Thanatos and Lach's story, though, I had no trouble following!

It;s not overly explicit, but hot enough. There is some detailed descriptions when Lach is in major trouble, though.

It is the first book I've read of Sam Burns or WM Fawkes. I'd like to read more, as I said, I have books one and two to read. Their collaboration is really well written, and you really can't tell how they split the writing! (sometimes, it's very obvious!)

So, ONLY because of that . . .something . . .I (personally, me, myself, and no one else!) was missing. . .

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Get Out (2017)
Get Out (2017)
2017 | Horror, Thriller
Psychologcally Disburing
Jordan Peele goes from comedy to horror, as his directorial debut, he does a excellent/fantasic/phenomenal job. Going from one genre to anethor is hard, but Jordan Peele did the impossible, and he successed, all expectations. This film is psycologically twisted, horrorfyng, suspenseful and thrilling till the very end.

So this movie does have a theme, This disturbing film ... is really about how white America has mastered its relationship with black America. Within all of the interracial tension is the white American’s strange envy of the grim determination, melancholy humor, and creative strength of the black race. ... But Peele’s irony is that white America will continue to do what it does despite these truths, and, sadly, so must black America remain hypnotized.

The film also depicts the lack of attention on missing black Americans compared to missing white females. Slate's Damon Young stated the film's premise was "depressingly plausible ... Although black people only comprise 13 percent of America's population, they are 34 percent of America's missing, a reality that exists as the result of a mélange of racial and socioeconomic factors rendering black lives demonstratively less valuable than the lives [of] our white counterparts.

Peele does a excellent of this theme, of the world that we live in today and his views on it.

The Plot: Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

This film is a must watch, if you havent seen it, than go and see it. Its psycologically twisted, horrorfying, thrilling, suspenseful and overall excellent.
  
Missing Link (2019)
Missing Link (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Animation Style (3 more)
Character development
Voice Acting
Hilarity
Predictable Plot (0 more)
An adventurous, family-friendly animation.
After winning the BAFTA for best animated feature, my interest in seeing this film rose. As it is conveniently found on Netflix, we watched it as a family for a ‘movie night’. I was prepared for a mediocre adventure in search of a missing link between man and ape. What you actually get is a heartfelt, quintessentially British, global adventure in search of a home for a lonely Sasquatch. The journey each character goes through is wonderful as they learn about family, friendships and individuality before conquering the villain.

With a high calibre cast, this film is full of seasoned voice actors. So much so that it is actually difficult to identify the owner of each voice until the credits roll. This, for the most part, makes the film even more enjoyable as you aren’t left guessing actors or imagining them in the role.

Beginning with two characters on a quest for the Loch Ness Monster, the story is full of mystery and myth. It then becomes a predictable one, when it gets into its flow. For an adult, this can make the film a little expected. However, for a child this film is filled with hilarity. When watching with my three kids, there was non-stop laughter. From the naming of the Sasquatch to him forgetting swimwear, the room was full of joy.

Animation has always been a passion of mine, since I was young: from hand drawn to computer generated. My favourite had always been stop motion. Missing Link is primarily filmed in stop motion, using new techniques that allow for smoother facial transitions. The film’s adventurous nature encourages for exciting sets and explosive additional CGI that makes the film feel incredibly polished.

Captivating the attention of adults and children, alike, Missing Link provides an animated, family friendly adventure that teaches morals and respect. I can see why it won so many awards and challenges Toy Story 4 for the top place.