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Deacon King Kong
Deacon King Kong
James McBride | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Deacon King Kong is a wonderful book, revolving around the alcoholic Deacon Cuffy Lambkin, aka Sportcoat, and how in an alcohol fuelled haze, he shoots the ear of the local drug dealer. His community pulls together and tries to protect him from the inevitable retribution. And so we are introduced to and learn about the different people who, in some way, touch Sportcoats life: from his blind son and dead wife (who, thanks to the alcohol he drinks, he speaks to regularly), to the women who run the church, to the police officers connected to the case, the drug ring, the local Italian crime boss and his elderly mother, and Sportcoats best friend, Hot Sausage.

They’re all such well-rounded, well-written, real characters, and it all played out in my head like a film (has this been optioned yet?!). I love it when a book does that.
They all seemed to be genuinely nice characters who are getting by as best they can in a culture where drugs are King and poor boys and men of colour are rarely given a chance in life.

Honestly, you should read it. Highly recommended.
  
The Woman Outside the Walls
The Woman Outside the Walls
Suzanne Goldring | 2022 | History & Politics
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Anna is in her 90's and living a quiet and peaceful life but she has lived with the horrors and struggles of her past and of the fear that it's going to catch up with her.

Told from different time lines - pre-war, post war and the present - and mainly from Anna's perspective, this is the story of her life; the good, the bad and the ugly. I admit it did, at times, feel like it was jumping from one time to another and not always, I felt, in a logical way which made it a bit hard to keep up but you soon get caught up in the story.

This is a real thought-provoker and makes you ask yourself some difficult questions about what you would do to survive and if you do, how do you reconcile the decisions you have made.

Although this is a work of fiction, there are historical facts that are interwoven in the story which makes it feel quite authentic and I must thank Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Woman Outside the Walls.
  
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Tonya (52 KP) rated The Informant! (2009) in Movies

Jan 13, 2018 (Updated Feb 5, 2018)  
The Informant! (2009)
The Informant! (2009)
2009 | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Matt Damon (1 more)
Lots of twists and turns
A bit slow at times (0 more)
It was a train wreck that I just couldn't turn away from
This was a strange movie ... and apparently based on a true story - but I guess real life is the strangest of them all. Matt Damon plays a character bent on doing the right thing and turns his company in for unfair business practices. He's not a very smooth FBI informant but he gets the job done. But don't run to the kitchen for more snacks in the last 30 minutes or you will miss the twists and turns that actually make the movie worth watching. You won't find a lot of action in this movie but you will get a lot of plotting, deception, and worthwhile dialogue.
  
TT
To the Nines (Stephanie Plum #9)
Janet Evanovich | 2003 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
In the 9th installment of the Stepahnie Plum series Stephanie finds herself as the "prize" in a real-life game of murder. The players in this game are set up to hunt each other down by being given email clues from the Web Master an unknown person who directs the game & controls those who play it. Stephanie unknowingly thrusts herself into the game when she goes out to hunt down a guy who has bailed on his visa bond.
This book was much more suspensful than the last few in the series. There's lots of tasering, shooting, kidnapping, & bodyguarding. I figured out who the Web Master was with about 100 pages left to go...though I had my suspcisions earlier on. That didn't take away from the plot though.
  
WD
Wrongful Death (David Sloane, #2)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a good read for sure! I think I've found a new author worthy of my reading time thanks to this Goodreads Giveaway win.
The reviews compare Dugoni to John Grisham. When I first saw that I wasn't too thrilled. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Grisham. He just isn't one of my favorite go-to authors, not 1 I always count on for an engrossing read. There are similarities in their styles...legal thrillers, lawyers as main characters, etc. But to me, Dugoni's action is more captivating. This book got me thinking, but it also wasn't too over my head with "legal speak." The characters are well written, believable with a mix of the incredible...just like real life.
I'm looking forward to reading more of Dugoni's work!
  
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Dean (6927 KP) rated Nerve (2016) in Movies

Aug 24, 2017 (Updated Aug 19, 2018)  
Nerve (2016)
Nerve (2016)
2016 | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
Emma Roberts (1 more)
Good cinematography
Are you a Watcher or Player?
A cool, fun, sexy and visually slick thriller. I hadn't heard much about this before seeing it but found it very enjoyable. It's a new spin on the truth or dare game, this time with the Internet community choosing to be a Watcher or Player. People film themselves doing a few dares as watchers pay them to complete the dare. Soon though the dares escalate and become very dangerous.
I like the visual style of the film, bathed in neon light a lot of the time, which makes it feel more like a game. Also makes a slight point about how people behave online compared to real life. Overall not that original but still an entertaining film nevertheless.
  
Tales From the Hood (1995)
Tales From the Hood (1995)
1995 | Horror
8
7.2 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Tales From The Hood is a horror anthology made up of four short stories as well as a into and ending sequence.

The stories are:
Welcome to My Mortuary
Rogue Cop Revelation
Boys Do Get Bruised
KKK Comeuppance
Hard-Core Convert

Welcome to My Mortuary (ending)



I grew up watching this movie and even as a kid I always enjoyed it but as the older I got I really grew to understand that it is not just a horror movie in the sense that is deals with zombies, monsters, living dolls, and ghost but that it is a horror movie in the sense that it deals with real life horrors such as police brutality, abuse, racism, and gang violence all of which still hold extreme relevant 22 years after the movie was released.