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In Darkness: The Shark
In Darkness: The Shark
L. Diane Wolfe | 2022 | Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance
5
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It is clean and there is no violence
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I'm going to struggle with this review, and I apologise for that. The reviews for books that do not garner much of any feelings from me (either positive or negative) I find the hardest to write.

I liked the tale, I did, it just came across a bit sappy for me. I liked the twist as to who/what Clarence really is, although I kinda saw something along those lines coming at me.

It is clean, there is no violence, save for the shark getting caught in the fishing net. I've tagged it Young Adult, because I think this is probably more suited to an upper teen (14-18) than for me.

First I've read of this author. Will I read more? Not of this series, no. Possibly something else, though.

I DID finish it, so that's why I gave it. . .

3 stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
The Man Who Saw Everything
The Man Who Saw Everything
Deborah Levy | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What can I say about The Man Who Saw Everything? Firstly, I enjoyed reading it. It certainly wasn’t predictable, and I had no idea how the book was going to go in either half. As I read on to the second half, it began to become a little clearer as to why that was, exactly. There is a reason why the main character, Saul Adler, slips around in time. And I can’t tell you why, because to do so will give away the whole book!

This is a book where time, sexuality and personality are all malleable and difficult to pin down - all at the same time. You don’t know what’s real, and what’s in the imagination. Past and present are portrayed not just in the ages of the main character, but also in the former East and West Germany and the old and new (post-Brexit) Europe.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly explain this - even if I tried. I do know, however, that I really liked it.
  
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Know What You Did Last Summer
2021 | Horror
Few differences to the film (1 more)
Good production
Annoying characters (1 more)
Weak ending
Decent Slasher series but with a poor ending
Quite excited when I saw a TV series on one of the my fave Slasher films. Only a few ties to the film in terms of the incident that leads to the I know what you did last summer message. But otherwise it's quite different.
There is a twin element key to the main story and it's set on Hawaii. There are a lot of characters to start with, some are quite weak and annoying. The production does feel good quality overall though.
The first few episodes are pretty good and with a fare few kills and gore. The last few episodes start to focus on the Whodunit side more.. But the ending was a surprise and didn't sit right really with the rest of the series.
Overall decent to start with if running out of momentum towards the end, and an ending I don't think many will like. Worth checking out if you liked the Scream series.
  
No One Saw a Thing
No One Saw a Thing
Andrea Mara | 2023 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
No One Saw a Thing is a great thriller that races along at a breakneck speed. It left me guessing right up to the point where Andrea Mara decided the reader should know what was happening - I wasn’t going to be able to work this one out myself!

If you’ve ever been near a train or the underground with small children, telling them not to move an inch from your side, and they start to walk ahead, then you’ll get the general feeling of this. Except Sive’s children DO get on the train ahead of her. And the doors close. And then the race is on to catch her 6 and 2 year olds at the next station. When she gets there however, only the youngest has been found.

There follows one of the most tense stories I’ve read in a long time. I was suspecting everyone, and I was still wrong! And the thing about it, was that it all seemed completely believable!
This was a thrilling read - and recommended!

Thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Andrea Mara for reading along.
  
Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way
Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way
Donald J. Sobol | 1972 | Children, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ten More Mysteries with the World’s Smartest Ten-Year-Old
What is Encyclopedia up to this time around? He helps his father prove who stole an electric drill. He helps a kid get his harmonica back from Bugs. When a girl wants to figure out who got her kicked off a baseball team, Encyclopedia Brown takes the case. He figures out who stole a rattlesnake rattle from a display at a museum. And he helps a friend who thinks he saw a ghost.

The ten stories in this book are fairly short, which makes them easy to breeze through. I still find I rarely solve the case before Encyclopedia does, but that’s okay. I have fun with them. There isn’t time for much in the way of twists here, and the characters are fairly thin. I don’t think kids will mind either one. What they might find off putting is the dated elements of the books. Like, what’s an encyclopedia? Still, if they are willing to pick it up, they’ll find these stories fun.