Search

Search only in certain items:

Into the Night
Into the Night
Sarah Bailey | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Our protagonist in this story is Gemma, she moved from a little town to Melbourne, leaving her family behind, to try and start her life fresh. She is assigned to a couple of murders, first of all, we have a homeless man stabbed in an alley, followed shortly by a stabbing of a movie star. Are these murders related? Who stabbed the celebrity and why? These questions followed me all the way throughout the pages of this novel.

I really liked Gemma in this book. In the first book I didn’t support her actions, and couldn’t understand her behaviour, but in this book, she explained her actions a little better, and I was able to have a better glimpse into her inner personality. I really liked that the author chose the characters who are hard to read and incredibly disturbed, they give the book this mysterious aura, and as a reader, I like the challenge of trying to figure them out. 😀 I really enjoyed the variety and diversity of the characters as well, from homeless and poor, to rich and famous, and everything in between. 🙂 I did like the parts, where Gemma was sharing her personal feelings, they allowed to get to know her better, but in some places, these parts were a bit too long, and my mind tended to wander off…

The narrative is told from a single perspective, and there is quite a lot happening in this book. The spotlight is on the famous actor’s death, but there are other two cases (homeless man and an escort), which remain in the shadows for most of the time, appearing just briefly here and there. The investigation is going on quite slowly, but paired with other murders and Gemma’s life, the story didn’t drag to me. Even though I missed more twists, I did like the turns author brought to this book, they were quite unexpected to me.

I really liked the writing style, I think it was creative and very well thought through, with decent length chapters, which made my reading experience very enjoyable. I liked the setting of this book, it changed between different places, and I appreciate that the author skipped the unimportant events. I thought that I figured out the reasoning for the murders halfway through the book, but I was really happy to be proved wrong. 😀 I really liked the ending of this book, I think it concluded this story nicely, however, I still couldn’t fully figure out what Gemma wants. 😀

So, to conclude, I can see author’s improvement in this book, the characters picked for this novel are challenging and intriguing, the plot is very creatively layered and complex, filled with unexpected discoveries. I strongly recommend this book if you are looking for a different thriller, where the protagonist is as important as the investigation. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
  
40x40

Leigh J (71 KP) rated Cruising (1980) in Movies

Nov 25, 2019  
Cruising (1980)
Cruising (1980)
1980 | Drama, Mystery
8
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Bondage with a side of Murder
Contains spoilers, click to show
Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is a rookie Cop who is being sent undercover to investigate a series of sexually aggravated murders in the area. However, the victims of these grizzly murders are all men who are involved in the S&M/Bondage Gay scene... and Steve is straight and in a relationship. To infiltrate the scene in hopes of finally finding the killer before more deaths happen, Steve has to frequent the local Clubs in the area and see if any of the men are the murderer. Will Steve be able to find him? Will he be able to keep up the undercover work and come out unscathed? And what shocking twist is in store... for you!

I recently got Cruising (finally! Thanks Arrow Video for your amazing release of it!) and it's a Movie that caused so much controversy in it's time; I just HAD to see what all the fuss was about! I think the story of Cruising is, as well as being fantastic, an essential cautionary tale. It has you on the edge of your seat all the way through and the shock ending left me absolutely speechless. The only downside is I think it becomes quite stagnant and slow going just as you get to the halfway point. However, it's worth getting through just for that ending... I'm still lost for words. A must see, for sure.
  
    Manson

    Manson

    Jeff Guinn

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    After more than forty years, Charles Manson continues to mystify and fascinate us. One of the most...

Cash (Ruthless Daddies #6)
Cash (Ruthless Daddies #6)
K.L. Hiers | 2022 | Contemporary, Crime, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sweet as candy with no 'damsels' in distress to be found.
CASH is part of the Ruthless Daddies series but is the first one I have read so, obviously, you don't have to have read the series to read this. Now, I really want to, though, as I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Brick was a brilliant character - Mr Normal compared to Jules being the Mob-man - but that doesn't mean he will take any attitude and, if you come at him, you'd better knock him out or he will finish the job. I loved how he Macgyvered his way out of things. No shrinking violet or damsel in distress, this one. Jules was besotted and caring, everything a Daddy should be. Their relationship was natural and smooth, and oh-so-caring.

The storyline with what was missing, the murders, the attempted murders, the threats - it all worked. I could follow along completely without having read any of the others. The secondary characters really helped to flesh this out, although I would have enjoyed Brick meeting Rowena!

All in all, this was a great read to a series I want to read more of! Definitely recommended if you want a sweet as candy story.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Dark Places (2015)
Dark Places (2015)
2015 | Drama, Mystery
6
6.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Mediocre adaptation from a book by Gillian Flynn. I couldn't fathom Theron's character, Libby. Yes she was young when the murders happened but she seems so detached and unemotional about what happened she just didn't seem believable to me. Also, by the end of the film I still didn't understand why she lied about the evidence she gave, why had she never visited her brother in prison when they seemed quite close when they were young, DNA and fingerprint testing was around in 1985 so how come this was not used or further tested in the intervening years re the gun and the neck of the sister? More holes than a sieve!