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Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Off the Books (Novel Idea, #5) in Books

Feb 21, 2018

In Off the Books, Lila is helping prepare for a bridal expo jointly presented by an event organizer and the literary agency she works for. The event no sooner gets started than Lila, already nicknamed the "murder magnet" by some in town, finds yet another corpse. This one turns out to have been murdered in a way suggestive of scenes from two of her agency's authors' books. With A Novel Idea's reputation at stake, Lila's boss decides that the staff of the agency need to band together to find out who the real murderer is.

An unusual method of murder and a plethora of suspects kept me guessing until the end, and Lila's personal life kept it interesting as well. I enjoyed getting to know the staff at A Novel Idea and Lila's family and friends, and can't wait to return to Inspiration Valley to learn more about them. I've already picked up book #1 in the series so that I can catch up.

I would highly recommend this one to all cozy mystery lovers, or to anyone who has ever thought about publishing a book (or is even a little bit curious about the process). I enjoyed the glimpses into Lila's professional life - enough to give you a taste of a literary agent's life but not bog down the story with too many details.

NOTE: I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Kudos

Allison Knapp (118 KP) rated Public Secrets in Books

Jan 22, 2019

Public Secrets

Nora Roberts | 1990 | Fiction & Poetry

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Well written and complex characters (7 more)

Covers a broad range of social topics such as addiction, domestic violence, and homosexuality in a way which is both well written and accurate with the times

Strong character dynamics

Not nearly as cheesy as the romance novels of which she is known for writing

At times creepy or psychologically disturbing in a way which makes you care even more about the life of the main character

Strong ensemble cast

Great nostalgic look at music and cinema from the 60s up through the 90s

Excellent and unpredictable plot twists

Murder Mystery set in the world of the Music Industry

The illegitimate daughter of a young rock star witnesses the accidental murder of her baby brother when she is still very young, and due to a case of isolated amnesia, cannot identify the murderer. As she grows up under the public eye, amidst the tragedy and its effects on her family, struggling to let go of her nightmares of that fateful night while struggling to find her own identity aside from the shadow of her father and the legendary status of her family, she faces many struggles and challenges just to prove an identity of her own. Yet as she grows up into a mature young woman, she learns that there are some tragedies from her past which were worth suffering through if she were to finally help bring justice for her brother and their family.

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Knives Out (2019) in Movies

Dec 4, 2019

Knives Out (2019)

2019 | Comedy, Crime, Drama

8.3

(84 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Fun modern sleuthing

I've been wanting to see this since I first saw the trailer, with such a stellar cast and Rian Johnson behind the helm I had high hopes and this did a fairly decent job of living up to my expectations.

The cast are brilliant. There are some great names in this and they all do well and for the most part they're all fairly equally featured. Nobody really stands out above the others, except for maybe Daniel Craig's southern accent. The film itself looks great and the way the story unfolds is interesting, it's very much like a modern day take on an Agatha Christie story - but a hell of a lot better than the bore that was 2017's Murder on the Orient Express. I do think it seemed to flag a little during the middle (after the midway twist but before the big reveal at the end), but it picked up at the end. I don't want to say the ending was predictable, but more like it wasn't entirely surprising. Still a good ending though and let's face it, with the amount of twist endings in books and crime/thriller films, it takes a lot to come up with a truly unpredictable and shocking denoument so this gives it a good go.

Overall a pretty entertaining and fun sleuthing caper, definitely worth a watch if you're into your murder mysteries. Maybe a little more Chris Evans next time...? 😉

Kudos

Emma (519 KP) Dec 4, 2019

I loved this, and maybe I'm just totally naive, but I didn't guess the ending lol. Definitely more Chris Evans needed

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Murder House (DCI Matilda Darke #5) in Books

Jan 27, 2020

This is the fifth in this series starring DCI Matilda Darke but only the second I have read having previous been lucky enough to read the first in the series "For Reasons Unknown" which introduced DCI Darke to the world. Having missed the books in-between and although I have likely missed out on a lot of back story, I didn't feel it detracted from my enjoyment of this book and I felt it worked well as a standalone.

This book starts with the gruesome and brutal murder of 3 family members on the night they were celebrating a family wedding. This is a seemingly motiveless crime against a perfect family ... but can there be such a thing? What follows is the complex investigation by DCI Darke and her Homicide and Major Investigation Team.

The characters are interesting, likeable (mostly) and believable and I quickly became invested in them and their lives. The plot is complex with multiple layers and lines of enquiry and with twists and turns and red herrings aplenty; it certainly kept me on my toes from start to finish and didn't disappoint.

The Murder House is a dark, gripping, thrilling and well paced story which I have no hesitation in recommending to lovers of crime novels like myself and thank you to One More Chapter (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.