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Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated Duncan in Books
May 22, 2019
A cunning pederastic serial killer nicknamed Santa is making his way up the East Coast from New Orleans to Boston, leaving a trail of young bodies in his wake. Santa covers his tracks along the way by working as an itinerant bass player in a series of jazz combos. At the same time, the Driscoll family Mark, Julie and their nine-year-old son Nate who live in an upstate suburb of Syracuse, New York, struggle to come to grips with Moms quadriplegia following a horrific auto accident. The suspense builds to a fever pitch as these two plot strands approach each other for the inevitable confrontation. All this tension is heightened by the mystery of Duncan, Nates stuffed-toy gorilla, who is not only the boys beloved companion but becomes a kind of family totem, and, later on in the story, so much more.
Trigger warning for pedophilia, disability, murder, and so forth
This is a novel not only for readers addicted to thrill rides and maddening suspense, but also those who are curious about the abnormal psychology of the pedophiliac killer. The book gives food for thought as well as a kind of perverse satisfaction for the imagination and senses. It is a thinking readers thriller.
There are some graphic scenes that would make any normal human uncomfortable to say the least.
I loved how Mr. McCort portrays the heart-warming relationship dynamics within the Driscoll family. Oh I did love Duncan too!
The book also delivers on its' promise to the insight of the killers mind as well (the diabolical Santa).
Disturbing but excellent read.
Recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Trigger warning for pedophilia, disability, murder, and so forth
This is a novel not only for readers addicted to thrill rides and maddening suspense, but also those who are curious about the abnormal psychology of the pedophiliac killer. The book gives food for thought as well as a kind of perverse satisfaction for the imagination and senses. It is a thinking readers thriller.
There are some graphic scenes that would make any normal human uncomfortable to say the least.
I loved how Mr. McCort portrays the heart-warming relationship dynamics within the Driscoll family. Oh I did love Duncan too!
The book also delivers on its' promise to the insight of the killers mind as well (the diabolical Santa).
Disturbing but excellent read.
Recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Golden Door: Letters to America
Book
Britain's most readable journalist takes on his biggest challenge - America. Where were you when...
Smart Urbanism: Utopian Vision or False Dawn?
Simon Marvin, Andres Luque-Ayala and Colin McFarlane
Book
Smart Urbanism (SU) - the rebuilding of cities through the integration of digital technologies with...
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness in TV
Apr 8, 2021
And so, this is the one you are probably most familiar with, even if you have never watched a True Crime Doc before. Essentially a 7 part mini series with a making of extra program tagged on at the end that definitely does not need to be watched. Does any of it? It certainly showcases the nuttier side of America and some of the more eccentric characters that exist, not Least the compelling car crash human that is Joe Exotic – at times likeable, often very unlikable and almost certainly criminally insane. But it isn’t really about murder. The title is misleading in that sense. Mayhem and madness, oh for sure, but the murder part is an almost incidental detail of the show, as if to give it more gravitas.
It focuses on rivalries that existed between exotic animal parks that seem to take pride in mistreating tigers and other wild animals that have no place being there at all. The “fun” of it is watching “crazy” people, mostly Joe rolling around as if they were tiny kittens, and holding your breathe waiting for the inevitable moment they rip him to shreds. As it turns out, there is so much filler and false promise in this show that I would have to put it at the bottom of the list. It may not even have got on there at all if it wasn’t for the fact Lockdown viewing made it a shared experience that became ubiquitous. Otherwise, it is a poor circus freak show, badly presented and entirely cheap.
It focuses on rivalries that existed between exotic animal parks that seem to take pride in mistreating tigers and other wild animals that have no place being there at all. The “fun” of it is watching “crazy” people, mostly Joe rolling around as if they were tiny kittens, and holding your breathe waiting for the inevitable moment they rip him to shreds. As it turns out, there is so much filler and false promise in this show that I would have to put it at the bottom of the list. It may not even have got on there at all if it wasn’t for the fact Lockdown viewing made it a shared experience that became ubiquitous. Otherwise, it is a poor circus freak show, badly presented and entirely cheap.
Janeeny (200 KP) rated The Binding in Books
May 8, 2019
Emmett is a boy with a gift, he doesn’t realise it but he is a natural ‘Binder’. Binders are people who can take any memory you wish to forget and bind it in a book. So Emmett is sent as an apprentice to a local Binder, but this story isn’t about Binding, this is about Emmett and something he may have forgotten.
I do appreciate a good-looking book, and this is one good looking book. The cover art just draws the eye and the marbling effect on the inside cover is just beautiful. Then you have this little blurb
“Imagine you could erase grief.
Imagine you could remove pain.
Imagine you could hide the darkest, most horrifying secret.
Forever”
Captures the imagination, right?
The Binding is categorized as 'Magical Realism', although it doesn’t totally deliver on it’s promise.
The story starts out around Emmett, and you know there is a deep secret there which will eventually unravel. He is sent to an old Binder as an apprentice to learn the trade, which basically involves laying your hand on the person who wishes to forget as they tell you their memory. That is essentially it for the Binding aspect of the book. This story is predominantly about Emmett and his past, and ‘Binding’ plays a very small part in that. Don’t get me wrong I did really enjoy the direction that the book took, but as somebody in my book club pointed out, we would have liked to know more about The actual Binding and the books. Maybe if Bridget Collins releases more books based around this I may get my wish!
I do appreciate a good-looking book, and this is one good looking book. The cover art just draws the eye and the marbling effect on the inside cover is just beautiful. Then you have this little blurb
“Imagine you could erase grief.
Imagine you could remove pain.
Imagine you could hide the darkest, most horrifying secret.
Forever”
Captures the imagination, right?
The Binding is categorized as 'Magical Realism', although it doesn’t totally deliver on it’s promise.
The story starts out around Emmett, and you know there is a deep secret there which will eventually unravel. He is sent to an old Binder as an apprentice to learn the trade, which basically involves laying your hand on the person who wishes to forget as they tell you their memory. That is essentially it for the Binding aspect of the book. This story is predominantly about Emmett and his past, and ‘Binding’ plays a very small part in that. Don’t get me wrong I did really enjoy the direction that the book took, but as somebody in my book club pointed out, we would have liked to know more about The actual Binding and the books. Maybe if Bridget Collins releases more books based around this I may get my wish!
The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives
Stephen Thomas Ziliak and Deirdre McCloskey
Book
"Statistical significance," a technique that dominates medicine, economics, psychology, and many...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Heartless (The Privileged of Pembroke High #1) in Books
Dec 18, 2020
210
Kindle
Heartless (The Privileged of Pembroke High book 1)
By Ivy Fox
Review will be completed on Smashbomb once finished link will be placed in comments
I had their love once.
They saw me for the girl I am and the person I yearn to become one day—a woman who thrives in her freedom and dances away in her rightfully earned independence.
They saw all the strong, unafraid parts of me, and coaxed each one of them out, daring me to dream bigger, climb higher.
They never once saw the girl I had been groomed to see in the mirror.
The abandoned daughter of a dead man.
The unwanted child of a woman who despised her.
The broken body formed wrong and built on a shaky foundation, threatening to fall apart and shatter.
They made all the ugliness disappear and left only wonder and promise. The love we shared for each other was probably the only miracle I would be granted in this life, and I knew they felt the same.
Or so I thought.
Everything I held dear has been robbed from me, and I’ve been a victim of theft too many times to mention.
I will not have them steal my pride.
They can keep my heart, for all I care.
The day they became my stepbrothers, it stopped working anyway.
Well that was so much better than I thought it was going to be! I do love Ivy’s books. This was brilliant I didn’t put it down. So much has happened and we haven’t hit the school yet! The epilogue was sooo good!
Kindle
Heartless (The Privileged of Pembroke High book 1)
By Ivy Fox
Review will be completed on Smashbomb once finished link will be placed in comments
I had their love once.
They saw me for the girl I am and the person I yearn to become one day—a woman who thrives in her freedom and dances away in her rightfully earned independence.
They saw all the strong, unafraid parts of me, and coaxed each one of them out, daring me to dream bigger, climb higher.
They never once saw the girl I had been groomed to see in the mirror.
The abandoned daughter of a dead man.
The unwanted child of a woman who despised her.
The broken body formed wrong and built on a shaky foundation, threatening to fall apart and shatter.
They made all the ugliness disappear and left only wonder and promise. The love we shared for each other was probably the only miracle I would be granted in this life, and I knew they felt the same.
Or so I thought.
Everything I held dear has been robbed from me, and I’ve been a victim of theft too many times to mention.
I will not have them steal my pride.
They can keep my heart, for all I care.
The day they became my stepbrothers, it stopped working anyway.
Well that was so much better than I thought it was going to be! I do love Ivy’s books. This was brilliant I didn’t put it down. So much has happened and we haven’t hit the school yet! The epilogue was sooo good!
The Storyteller of Auschwitz
9.0
Rate It
Book
Auschwitz, 1942. ‘When this is all over, you will be able to tell the world what they did to...
The Wines of Northern Spain: From Galicia to the Pyrenees and Rioja to the Basque Country
Book
There's no doubt about it, Spain is the most exciting country in Europe when it comes to wine. As...
The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World
Book
A visionary exploration of the life and times of Joseph Conrad, his turbulent age of globalization...
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