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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Heron's Cry in Books
Sep 16, 2021
An excellent, complex character-driven mystery
Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a farm/artist retreat where Dr. Nigel Yeo has been killed. He's found dead in his own daughter's glassblower studio, stabbed with a shard of one of her vases. Dr. Yeo seems like a nice man: adored by his daughter and a public servant, working to help bring understanding between the public trusts. When a second body is found--killed in a similar way--Matthew realizes that he must dig deep into the secrets and lies of his community to find a killer.
I adore this series and the fact that Detective Matthew Venn, our lead, is a gay man. As with all of Cleeves' books, this is an excellent, solid mystery, with an interesting plot and a team whom you can easily become invested in. Each of her characters is well-written, strong, and original. It's so refreshing, honestly, to read a tale without a crazy unreliable narrator but instead one that simply relies on a strong story and excellent characters. There is a slate of people who could be potential suspects, and we also get backstories for our various detectives: Matthew, Ross, and Jen. Everyone is entwined in this small town (and honestly, if I were them, I'd be a bit worried how many people seem to die there! Cabot Cove, anyone?).
This book kept me guessing the entire time, which I love. I was constantly second guessing myself and wondering who killed whom. It was filled with twists, but nothing wild or unbelievable. This is easily becoming one of my new favorite series. 4+ stars.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
I adore this series and the fact that Detective Matthew Venn, our lead, is a gay man. As with all of Cleeves' books, this is an excellent, solid mystery, with an interesting plot and a team whom you can easily become invested in. Each of her characters is well-written, strong, and original. It's so refreshing, honestly, to read a tale without a crazy unreliable narrator but instead one that simply relies on a strong story and excellent characters. There is a slate of people who could be potential suspects, and we also get backstories for our various detectives: Matthew, Ross, and Jen. Everyone is entwined in this small town (and honestly, if I were them, I'd be a bit worried how many people seem to die there! Cabot Cove, anyone?).
This book kept me guessing the entire time, which I love. I was constantly second guessing myself and wondering who killed whom. It was filled with twists, but nothing wild or unbelievable. This is easily becoming one of my new favorite series. 4+ stars.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Deep Calleth Upon Deep by Satyricon
Album Watch
Only one duo is able to evoke sinister settings like the world of bleak woods lurking behind...
metal
Carma (21 KP) rated Bad Reputation (Bad Bachelors, #2) in Books
Jun 17, 2019
Bad Reputation by Stefanie London is the first book Ive read by this author after meeting her briefly at a reader event in June 2018. Bad Reputation is the 2nd book in this series but not having read the first one before diving into this one hasnt really affected my enjoyment of this novel. The theme of the first 2 books centers around an app called Bad Bachelor, which essentially allows people to rate and review dates online. The first book set the stage for this continuation of story with Wes being the target of reviews online.
Wes is the son of famous dance parents. He has lived in the world of ballet and dance his entire life. He wants to break free of his family name and legacy and start something on his own, he leaves the family business much to the chagrin of his very opinionated mother. He comes up with an idea for an off-off broadway show that will engage the audience right into the middle of the show. Now all he needs are investors and a star dancer for the female lead. With a website posting reviews about his manhood threatening to derail any hope of funding he needs to find a way to get his show off the ground.
Remi is an ex ballerina currently living in New York teaching ballet class at her friends studio. She has dream of opening her own studio now that her career in the dance world looks to be over. A chance meeting at one of her parent/kid classes has her reconsidering giving up on her dream. But can she put her past mistakes behind her and not head down the same ruining road of disaster.
I really enjoyed the dynamic of Wes and his mother, his father was pretty much talked about not actually to during this novel. Wes was trying his hardest to show his mother that he can make it on his own, without being a disappointment to the family name, while waiting for her to dish out an I told you so.
I wasnt sure I liked the gossip articles, review blurbs etc that were at the beginning of each new chapter. At the beginning they were very distracting, but as the story went on they really added to and became part of the story. I received an advance copy from the publishers without any expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are solely my own. I cant wait to read many more books from Stefanie London, starting with Bad Bachelor (Book 1 in this series)
Wes is the son of famous dance parents. He has lived in the world of ballet and dance his entire life. He wants to break free of his family name and legacy and start something on his own, he leaves the family business much to the chagrin of his very opinionated mother. He comes up with an idea for an off-off broadway show that will engage the audience right into the middle of the show. Now all he needs are investors and a star dancer for the female lead. With a website posting reviews about his manhood threatening to derail any hope of funding he needs to find a way to get his show off the ground.
Remi is an ex ballerina currently living in New York teaching ballet class at her friends studio. She has dream of opening her own studio now that her career in the dance world looks to be over. A chance meeting at one of her parent/kid classes has her reconsidering giving up on her dream. But can she put her past mistakes behind her and not head down the same ruining road of disaster.
I really enjoyed the dynamic of Wes and his mother, his father was pretty much talked about not actually to during this novel. Wes was trying his hardest to show his mother that he can make it on his own, without being a disappointment to the family name, while waiting for her to dish out an I told you so.
I wasnt sure I liked the gossip articles, review blurbs etc that were at the beginning of each new chapter. At the beginning they were very distracting, but as the story went on they really added to and became part of the story. I received an advance copy from the publishers without any expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are solely my own. I cant wait to read many more books from Stefanie London, starting with Bad Bachelor (Book 1 in this series)
Miner Disturbance
Games
App
The more downloads we get, the more levels we can make. Tell your friends! #5 Paid App in the UK...
Awesome Voice Recorder
Business and Productivity
App
■■■ #Rank 1 Business app in 30 Countries ■■■ ■■■ #Rank 5 Business app in 69...
Awesome Voice Recorder PRO AVR
Business and Productivity
App
■■■ #Rank 1 Business app in 30 Countries ■■■ ■■■ #Rank 5 Business app in 69...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (1986) in Movies
Mar 26, 2019
Fourth big-screen Trek dodges the usual 'all SF blockbusters must be action movies' pitfall and opts for some gentle social comedy instead. Alien probe is outraged by the extinction of Earth's whales and decides to wipe out civilisation; Kirk and the gang have to travel back to 1980s San Francisco to recruit some substitute cetaceans and save the day. Very possibly riding on the coat-tails of Back to the Future, but also Nick Meyer's Time After Time (Meyer wrote the middle section of the film).
Solidly structured and engagingly played: the actors know their characters backward and it's a pleasure to spend time with them. Interesting to speculate about the original version of the film, which would have co-starred Eddie Murphy (Paramount nixed the idea). Doing a lighter Trek works well here, but led to the studio insisting on comedy bits being added to future films in the series, which was arguably a big mistake. Doesn't detract from the entertainment value of Star Trek in one of its magisterial phases.
Solidly structured and engagingly played: the actors know their characters backward and it's a pleasure to spend time with them. Interesting to speculate about the original version of the film, which would have co-starred Eddie Murphy (Paramount nixed the idea). Doing a lighter Trek works well here, but led to the studio insisting on comedy bits being added to future films in the series, which was arguably a big mistake. Doesn't detract from the entertainment value of Star Trek in one of its magisterial phases.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Lust for a Vampire (1971) in Movies
Feb 17, 2018 (Updated Feb 17, 2018)
I Was A Teenage Lesbian Vampire in a Girl's Boarding School
Largely risible Hammer vampire movie. After the censors objected to all the not-very-subtly-implied lesbianism in The Vampire Lovers, the studio replaced that with a story about a schoolteacher becoming infatuated with one of his pupils and starting a torrid romance with her, which apparently was seen as less problematic (it was the 70s, I suppose).
Initially conceived as another vehicle for Ingrid Pitt and Peter Cushing, to be directed by Terence Fisher; in the end Pitt did Countess Dracula instead, Cushing passed due to family problems, and Fisher was replaced by Jimmy Sangster. The result is a prurient melodrama largely untroubled by subtlety, style, or acting talent (Ralph Bates is not too bad in the role earmarked for Cushing). The sex and nudity which is essentially the film's sine qua non feels very tame by modern standards; the pop song on the soundtrack will make discriminating viewers want to rip their own ears off.
Initially conceived as another vehicle for Ingrid Pitt and Peter Cushing, to be directed by Terence Fisher; in the end Pitt did Countess Dracula instead, Cushing passed due to family problems, and Fisher was replaced by Jimmy Sangster. The result is a prurient melodrama largely untroubled by subtlety, style, or acting talent (Ralph Bates is not too bad in the role earmarked for Cushing). The sex and nudity which is essentially the film's sine qua non feels very tame by modern standards; the pop song on the soundtrack will make discriminating viewers want to rip their own ears off.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Hammer House of Horror in TV
Mar 15, 2018 (Updated Mar 15, 2018)
Last-gasp attempt by the famous film studio to stay solvent is a fairly decent stab at a horror anthology show, featuring some of Hammer's regular personnel (though not Christopher Lee, as he was in the States at the time).
The fact the show was made for a commercial British network inevitably means the horror content is somewhat constrained, and the low budget means the episodes have a contemporary setting quite unlike the archetypal Hammer films (then again, Amicus House of Horror wouldn't have been as catchy a title). This being an anthology show, the quality and tone of the episodes is inevitably all over the place: some of them are rather subtle and inventive, others are predictable nonsense. Some good performances, though, including many from the before-they-were-famous file - a 27-year-old Pierce Brosnan gets one of his first speaking roles as 'Last Victim' in the Carpathian Eagle episode. As a whole, the series is probably more of a curiosity for Hammer completists than anything else.
The fact the show was made for a commercial British network inevitably means the horror content is somewhat constrained, and the low budget means the episodes have a contemporary setting quite unlike the archetypal Hammer films (then again, Amicus House of Horror wouldn't have been as catchy a title). This being an anthology show, the quality and tone of the episodes is inevitably all over the place: some of them are rather subtle and inventive, others are predictable nonsense. Some good performances, though, including many from the before-they-were-famous file - a 27-year-old Pierce Brosnan gets one of his first speaking roles as 'Last Victim' in the Carpathian Eagle episode. As a whole, the series is probably more of a curiosity for Hammer completists than anything else.
CB
Cecil Beaton at Home: An Interior Life
Andrew Ginger and Hugo Viickers
Book
Cecil Beaton (1904 1980) was one of twentieth- century Britain s Renaissance men: photographer,...