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Autumn (430 KP) rated Dark in TV

Dec 30, 2017  
Dark
Dark
2017 | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Dark is very dark and eerie (2 more)
Interesting story with supernatural elements
Follows several families in a small German town, as you get further in you see that three generations of each family have been/are involved.
Subtitles or dubbed english (1 more)
That end of the last episode made it seem like next season would be even more far fetched and maybe not in a good way.
Interesting story that follows three generations of several families in a small German town. It’s definitely a show you’ll have to pay attention to or you’ll get lost. My only concern is the end of the last episode, seems like it might be headed in the direction of a bad syfy movie. Just have to wait and see.
  
Super 8 (2011)
Super 8 (2011)
2011 | Action, Sci-Fi
Our 8mm camera caught what
During the late 1970's a group of kids who are close friends are making a zombie movie together. One night as they were filing on the outskirts of their small town a train crashes and the capture some of it on film. It is not until they are able to see the film that they find out it wasn't a normal train that crashed. After the crash their small town begins to experience weird problems. What was on that train and what did they see???

The movie had a good storyline and the acting was not too bad. It was a fun movie to watch. Most likely only a one time see for me but, worth the viewing.
  
The Searchers (1956)
The Searchers (1956)
1956 | Drama, Western

"This might be the first movie that I saw. I remember watching it when I was five or six — I shouldn’t even have been watching it — and I saw it in a theater. I grew up in a small town and they had one of those small town theaters, and they put Westerns and whatnot onscreen. It’s one of those movies that made me think it would be very cool to work in movies. I don’t know if I understood the concept of being a director, but I understood the concept of someone making movies, and this movie did it for me. Other people say Star Wars or Indiana Jones. For me it was this one. That’s why I have an emotional reaction to it."

Source
  
Rebecca Robbins has returned to her small home town just long enough to sell her mother's roller rink. But when the town handy man is found murdered in the women's bathroom, she realizes she needs to get his murder solved quickly since no one is interested in it. A typical cozy series debut, but I really enjoyed the characters and found the story fun.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-skating-around-law-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Gemma Monroe is a police detective in a small town nestled in the mountains of Colorado. Early in her career, while skiing, Gemma found the long-buried bodies of two young boys who disappeared in the mid-1980s. The boys were murdered; their killer never found; and their disappearance and the subsequent crime has haunted the town. Now, in the present day, Gemma is called upon to investigate the gruesome murder of a teenage circus worker who was part of a circus traveling through town. Soon though, Gemma will come to realize that this murder is connected to the disappearance of the boys. She'll uncover a dark past that haunts her town--and discover that someone desperately wants her to leave the past alone.

This was an excellent and well-plotted mystery novel. The story reels you in immediately and never lets you go with its strong, complex narrative. Gemma is a likeable, fairly deep, and interesting lead character. I took to her quickly and found myself wrapped up in her life. Gemma is six months pregnant - something you don't always find in detective novels, and you see her grappling with not only the case, but her personal life. Working in a small town, she finds quickly that she can't really trust anyone, and Littlejohn gives us good insight into her squad dynamics. She also captures small town living fairly well. This is a town wrapped up in its past, unable to move on from a web of secrets and lies that have tormented it for years.

Indeed, the secrets continue to unfold, but in a completely believable manner, which I really appreciated. I guessed a part of the plot early on, but there were still so many pieces to the story that I was very much riveted until the very end. There's a strong supporting cast here as well, without the usual simple stock characters who sometimes support a rural detective. Goodreads is telling me that this is the first in a Gemma Monroe series, which I hope is true. While I think the series could hit a wall--as many others do--with the small town aspect (only so much murder and mayhem can happen in a small town: see Linda Castillo's excellent Kate Burkholder series, where you eventually start to fear for the poor townspeople of Painter's Mill), but I would certainly love to see more of Gemma.

Overall, a well-done mystery. Originally rated at 3.5 stars, but pushing up to 4 as I write this review and realize how much I enjoyed it. Always nice to have a new face in the mystery world.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 11/01/2016.
  
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Dean (6926 KP) rated Insomnia (2002) in Movies

Feb 24, 2018  
Insomnia (2002)
Insomnia (2002)
2002 | Drama, Mystery
A decent thriller with a strong cast set in an unusual location. A cop trying to solve a murder in a small Alaskan town, where it's never dark, weaves a tangled web of deceit to cover up some problems of his own. It's a little slow at times but overall a good film with a different plot to most.
  
Amidst This Fading Light
Amidst This Fading Light
Rebecca Davis | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Amidst this Fading Light, so much tragedy and so much love. It rips at your heart, reading what these families have gone through.The small town always seems to overcome the losses. It thrilled me to see how it all worked out in the end. I definitely recommend this novel. I can't wait to see what Rebecca Davis writes next!