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S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone, #19)
S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone, #19)
Sue Grafton | 2006 | Mystery
8
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Kinsey Tries to Solve a Very Cold Case
On July 4, 1953, Victoria Sullivan vanished without a trace and was never heard from again. Her abusive husband lived under the shadow of suspicion, and her then seven-year-old daughter, Daisy, has lived with the questions about what happened to her mother and why. And so, thirty-four years later, she hires PI Kinsey Millhone to try to finally solve this mystery. Kinsey is reluctant to take on the case. After all this time, what can she find? Yet, as she begins to poke around, she suspects that the people she is talking to know more than they’ve ever told the police or are telling her. Can she figure out what happened?

Cold cases can make excellent novels, and this is a perfect example. It is obvious early on that Kinsey is gaining new information, but how that is going to play out keeps us guessing until the end. I was certain I knew who it was, but I was wrong. Still, the ending did make sense to me. The characters are strong as always. Kinsey spends much of the book out of town, so we don’t see much of the regulars, which was disappointing, but a minor issue. While all the “modern” 1987 scenes are narrated from Kinsey’s first-person point of view, there are sections from other character’s point of view back in 1953. As good as some of those scenes are, sadly, there are some very graphic scenes in them. We could have easily done without them and it wouldn’t have impacted the story at all. I’m taking a star off for that. If you are a fan, be prepared to skim those scenes and you’ll still enjoy the book overall.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Dear Child in Books

Oct 29, 2020  
Dear Child
Dear Child
Romy Hausmann | 2020 | Crime, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
8
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lena Beck disappeared fourteen years ago--a carefree student who simply vanished without a trace. Since then, her father, Matthias, and her mother have waited for any news about their daughter's whereabouts. Then, they receive a call: a woman has been found after an accident. She's in the hospital and a young girl, Hannah, presumably her daughter, is with her. From Hannah, we learn that Lena and Hannah were living in a cabin, basically unknown and cutoff from the outside world.

"He creates day and night. Like God."

This book was quite the ride! I couldn't put this one down. It was eerily reminiscent of Wendy Walker's Don't Look For Me, which I just read, and of course, Room, as everyone has mentioned. It's utterly captivating; I read it over the course of about 24 hours. The story is told from the perspective of Hannah, who has her own unique voice (that's putting it mildly); the woman known as Lena; and Matthias. Together, they tell us a creepy and often heartbreaking tale, going back in time to the cabin, as well as present day in the hospital.

I won't go too in-depth, because it's best to go in to this one blind. I will say that it's easy to get caught up in the characters, particularly Lena, and Hannah, in a sort of spellbinding way. I was mesmerized by their stories and totally enjoyed that I didn't guess the outcome. I thought this was going to be a 4.5-star read, but the ending wound up being a little crazy. It came on suddenly and just seemed a bit jarring.

Still, if you're looking for an eerie and compelling read--told by some original and haunting voices--you'll enjoy DEAR CHILD. 4 stars.
  
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Sarah Paulson recommended Frances (1982) in Movies (curated)

 
Frances (1982)
Frances (1982)
1982 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Frances, starring Jessica Lange, is one of those movies that for me was quite connected to my wanting to be an actor. I had obviously been to the movies many times as a young person, but I think I was about 14, or 15 when I was at home on a Sunday, and this movie … I turned a channel, and it was on cable, or whatever cable was at that time. And it was midway through the movie, and I just was transfixed and went out, back when we could go to the video store, and I rented it, so I could watch it from the beginning. And to me, it’s just an extraordinary portrait of an actress. Frances Farmer, I didn’t have knowledge about her and her work, but also whatever I knew of her working-wise, I certainly didn’t know anything about her real life, which is really tragic, and a painful movie to watch. Jessica Lange gives one of the greatest performances, and it was my introduction to Kim Stanley, who is actually the screensaver on one of my cell phones. [The pictures is] from her performance in Bus Stop, not from Frances; it’s just been on my phone for I don’t even know how long. And just again, there’s a thematic thread here [with Frances]: it’s another story about mother and daughter. At its core that’s what it’s about. And I just find it incredibly powerful. It was just like watching two acting titans and thinking, “Oh, if that’s what acting is, I want to do that.” And of course, I’ve come to learn that a lot of times acting doesn’t get to be that, but every once in a while you get to touch on that, and it was really inspiring – and another movie poster I had in house."

Source
  
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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Omens (Cainsville, #1) in Books

Aug 18, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2021)  
Omens (Cainsville, #1)
Omens (Cainsville, #1)
9
9.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Loved it
Contains spoilers, click to show
Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

This is a reread for me I first read this a couple of years ago. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors and I've read pretty much everything she has written! So I decided to start Cainsville from the beginning.
I remember how I was rooting for Gabrielle from his first appearance. Although Ricky is so hot Gabe has always held my heart. The beginning of their relationship was so rocky but I just loved reliving how great they are working together.




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