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Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff: A Novel

Sean Penn

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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“An almost literally up-to-the-minute fever dream of a novel.” —Bill Maher From legendary...

satire

Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Switch in Books

Dec 14, 2018

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Crime writer Elmore Leonard wrote a lot of stories during his lifetime and this book The Switch, originally published in 1978, has recently been brought to cinema screens as Life of Crime starring Jennifer Aniston. Two ex-cons, Ordell and Louis, kidnap Mickey, the wife of a millionaire, in the belief that they will collect some easy ransom money. However their plan backfires when it is revealed that Frank does not care about his wife and planned to divorce her so he could live with his younger mistress, Melanie.

It is a fairly quick read as it is not a lengthy book but I did not care for the writing style. I have not read many American novels from the 1970s and perhaps this is a typical example of way things were written then, however it made it difficult to remain interested.

There is also not much of a chance to relate to any of the characters therefore it was impossible to become emotionally involved with the plot – for this reason we should be thankful that it was less than 200 pages long.

Although I have not seen the film I can imagine that it would be quite interesting as the actors and scriptwriters would be able to emphasize the suspense and add in comic aspects.

Overall Leonard is usually regarded as a legendary crime writer, however this book was not for me. Nonetheless, I am sure there would be other people who would love the book.

Kudos

Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Unbelievable in TV

Oct 16, 2019

Unbelievable

2019 | Drama

8.6

(7 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

A hard to watch but a must watch mini series

This is a true-crime story done so right. It focuses on a series of rapes so if that’s a trigger for you; stay well away; there is detail about the rapes.

I came across the story from a podcast episode on This American Life which had based an episode on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and was rerunning the story because of this series coming out. It’s a hard-hitting story that strongly shines a light on the issues between differences of how victims can be treated. This adaptation does the story justice and is an engrossing watch.

We start off meeting Marie a young woman fresh out of the foster system who is raped by an intruder; her story and in particular how she is treated are hard to watch but important for people to understand the full horror of having to come forward as a victim.

As the series progresses we still see Marie’s journey but more of the action is on investigations into other rapes in different jurisdictions. We meet Det. Karen Duvall and Det. Grace Rasmussen who are both great and the story gets easier to watch as we see them get down to some hard-hitting police work.

What sets this apart in the current influx of true-crime TV is the real focus on the victims rather than the all too common focus on the perpetrator. It works so well; making a strong emotional watching experience.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Hired Guns in Books

Jan 11, 2025

Hired Guns

Steve Hockensmith | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Spinoff Series Starts with a Bang

This book finds a trio of Army friends turned adventurers heading to the Arizona Territory to help out a struggling copper mine. No, it’s not to help them with the mining. The conglomerate Consolidated American Mining Corporation has decided it wants to buy this particular mine, and they are doing all they can to convince the owners to sell. There’s just one major problem – the owners don’t want to sell. And our trio of heroes have been hired to help protect the mine. But against the overwhelming odds, can they do it?

These characters began life in the author’s Holmes on the Range series, and I was happy to follow them over here. The story started a bit slowly, but it isn’t long before the action heats up as the characters find themselves facing overwhelming odds. Yet, I found myself cheering at the end. To be clear, this is more of an action story than a mystery. The characters are a bit thin, but they do have their moments to shine. The reality of racial relations in 1894 is part of the backdrop of the book, and it’s sad to think we ever treated each other this badly. The book is a bit more violent than I normally like, but only a little bit. It is softened some by the humor. If you are looking for an action book set in the old west, you’ll find this the perfect book to pick up.