Death on the Menu
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Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope Mystery, #1)
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London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat...
Verse and Vengeance (A Magical Bookshop Mystery #4)
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USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award winner Amanda Flower turns the charm up to ten in her...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2163 KP) rated Honeymoon with Murder in Books
Nov 8, 2021
I was very impressed with Max in this book. While he did grumble to himself a bit about the way these days played out, he showed his love for Annie by digging in and helping out. We get the usual assortment of colorful supporting players and suspects strong enough to keep us guessing. The wedding doesn’t really slow down the beginning of the book, and the mystery is strong. It kept me guessing until Annie put everything together at the end. I know the series is known for its mystery author name dropping, but it did get excessive at times. Also excessive was the foul language. Still, I did enjoy this book overall and look forward to Annie and Max’s next case.
Wined and Died in New Orleans
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The second in a fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling...
Struck Dead (Forensic Instincts #10)
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The fragile line between life and death… Families that will never be the same… When a tragic...
Suspense Mystery Thriller
Midge (525 KP) rated The First Time I Died in Books
Feb 4, 2019
Garnet McGee returns to her home-town in Pitchford, Vermont, at the suggestion of her college professor, who thinks she needs some time away from her studies so that she can re-evaluate what she wants to do with her life. Whilst there, she vows to solve the mystery of a murder which shattered her life ten years ago. But after dying in an accident and being brought back to life, she starts hearing voices, seeing visions and experiencing strange sensations. Are these merely symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and an over-active imagination, or is she getting messages from a paranormal presence?
This is the first of Jo Macgregor’s novels I have read and as always when reading a mystery, I started guessing who the main suspect was. Well, I was wrong because it was someone else…
THE FIRST TIME I DIED is unusual in that I had imagined that it would be about Garnet's death, but it was, in fact mostly about someone else’s. I found that this gave the novel an edge that was both engaging and enjoyable. I found it easy to empathise with Garnet and I wanted her to succeed in what she was looking to achieve.
I loved Jo Macgregor’s writing style and some of her descriptions in the novel were so atmospheric, especially those about Plover Pond. The first half of the novel is written in alternating chapters of time, giving the reader clarity, which really worked for me. "Then" referred to a time period of ten years ago, when Garnet was a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl.
Jo Macgregor brought everything together for a fabulous conclusion even though I never did manage to accurately guess who was behind the murder. I haven’t got anything negative thing to say about this book. I loved it and it has left me eager to read more from this author. THE FIRST TIME I DIED is an exciting and action-packed crime/thriller that I highly recommend.
Thank you to Hidden Gems and the author for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.
Gareth von Kallenbach (974 KP) rated Death on the Nile (2022) in Movies
Feb 7, 2022
The wedding is a bit of a shock to many as just six weeks prior Doyle was engaged to Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), and Poirot observed the two of them in a London club and how Ridgeway was introduced to Simon by her friend Jacqueline.
The wedding reception is disrupted by the arrival of Jacqueline and Linette and Simon confides in Poirot that she has been following them around the world and asks the Detective to encourage her to leave them alone so they can get on with their life.
Jacqueline is highly disturbed and pleads her love for Simon and shows a gun which leads Poirot to encourage the newlyweds to abandon their overseas plans and go home. Simon and Linette press on and decide to take their wedding party on a cruise of the Nile in an attempt to get away from Jacqueline.
The plan seems to be working well until Jacqueline shows up as a ticketed passenger at a stop along the way. When a near-fatal accident occurs followed by a murder; Poirot must investigate the guests to find the killer. Naturally, there is plenty of motivation to go around, and as the deaths mount; Poirot must use his genius to find the killer.
The movie takes its time getting started but the CGI-enhanced scenery and the strong cast are very compelling and set the pieces in place very well. While I was able to solve the mystery about halfway into the film, some of the details around it were cleverly concealed and there were plenty of twists that had me consider other possible suspects.
Some may find the film a bit slow but that is the nature of a good mystery as time is given to developing the characters and their motives which adds to the suspense of the film.
In the end, the film is an engaging mystery that recalls the classic movie mysteries of old and it will be very interesting to see if audiences will embrace the film in the same way as they did with “Murder on the Orient Express” and audiences will get more Poirot adventures from Branagh in the near future.
4 stars out of 5.
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Only by Death (Ozark Mountain Trilogy #2) in Books
Feb 27, 2019
Ms. Herman has once again created wonderfully chiseled, heart capturing characters. She has created an intriguing plot line of twists, turns, ups and downs with Liam's story. Just when I thought I had Liam and his reasonings for doing things, Ms. Herman threw us another twist and really made the story play out like a movie. Losing my own mother unexpectedly 4 years, and my grandfather from Alzheimer's 8 years ago, this story just completely enveloped me and didn't let me go.
This is definitely one of the better murder mystery stories I've read in a long while. Ms. Herman knows how to throw the words out there and make them play out like a movie on the big screen. I have not read book one in this series but I was definitely not confused, and am looking forward to going back to book 1 and catching up on the other characters. This is most definitely a 5 star worthy novel. The suspense, the murder, the rollercoaster ride that you're taken on in this story of hope, mercy and intrigue is absolutely jaw dropping. Hats off to you, Ms. Herman! Can't wait for book 3!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated The Lying Game (The Lying Game, #1) in Books
Jul 10, 2018
Okay, where to startÛ_ The Lying Game by Sara Shepard is a murder mystery that takes place in high school. This book is filled with drama and murder with a slice of romance. The characters were very "Mean Girls" with an evil streak and I found myself thankful that my high school could not be compared to this high school.
I felt that the characters could have more dimension to them. I felt like they fell flat. Even the main character was only 2 dimensional and very clich̩. I tend to be a character person so I found that I couldn't truly connect with any of the characters in this book.
The storyline was entertaining, I found myself wondering what was going to happen and I was sort of invested in the plot. I wish that the plot line was more flushed out and that the characters were more flushed out. Seriously, I love characters that I can relate toÛ_
I could definitely tell that this was a young adult novel. I liked that it was a quick and surprisingly light read.
Ultimately, I think I may have been too old for this novel. I think I would have liked it better if I were to have read this in middle school. I liked the concept of this book but it just fell flat.
Ultimately, I would give this novel 3 cups of coffee. I enjoyed the book while it lasted but I will not continue on in the series.