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Essentials of Death
Essentials of Death
Kim Davis | 2025 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Death of a Nemesis
Carissa Carmichael is frustrated to learn that the booth next to hers at a community event is being staffed by Lacie, her nemesis since the two were growing up in the town of Oak Creek Valley. True to form, Lacie makes the day miserable for everyone. But that night, Carissa stumbles on Lacie’s dead body. With the evidence pointing to herself, Carissa can’t help but jump in again. Can she find the killer?

It’s been a while since I read book one, but I didn’t have any trouble slipping back into Carissa’s world. I enjoyed the bonds the characters have, and the subplots that helped us get to know them better were great. The mystery itself started out a bit unevenly, with events driving things more than Carissa did. But as she began to take more of an active role, I got hooked, not wanting to put the book down. The ending was satisfying. And we get an essential oil recipe and an intriguing sounding cookie recipe. Here’s hoping we get to visit again soon.
  
Only The Brave (2017)
Only The Brave (2017)
2017 | Biography, Drama
One of the year's best films
Films based on true events are ten-a-penny these days. From 2015s stunning American Sniper and 2016s breath-taking Deepwater Horizon to the critically acclaimed Patriots Day, there seems to be no stopping the ‘true to life’ variety of movies that has suddenly become very popular.

The trouble is, getting the films right is trickier than for any other genre. Not only do you have to please the audience with bombastic spectacle, you have to respect the events that caused them to exist in the first place. The new kid on the block is Only the Brave. But does this tale of the Granite Mountain Hotshots do their incredibly tragic story justice?

Through hope, determination, sacrifice and the drive to protect families and communities, the Granite Mountain Hotshots become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the country. While most people run from danger, they run toward it — watching over lives, homes and everything people hold dear, forging a unique brotherhood that comes into focus with one fateful fire in Yarnell, Arizona.

With a cast that includes the likes of Jeff Bridges, Miles Teller, Josh Brolin, Jennifer Connelly and Andie MacDowell to name but a few, there’s no denying there is some seriously good talent on offer here. After researching the people these characters are based on, it appears that director Joseph Kosinski – who just so happens to be directing the long-awaited Top Gun sequel – has picked the perfect group of actors to portray them.

Teller is frankly, outstanding as troubled Brendan McDonough, joining the Hotshots after leaving his life of crime and addiction behind him. Josh Brolin is his ever-magnetic self as group leader Eric Marsh and the legendary Jeff Bridges really needs no introduction. The cast ooze class in every frame.

Cinematography wise, the lush landscapes of Arizona lend themselves perfectly to a beautifully shot film that features intense CGI and tasteful practical effects. Make no mistake though, this is not an action film and it feels all the better for it. While the fires themselves are mightily impressive and rendered with magnificent detail and precision, the real action here is in the human drama, of which there is an abundance.

The fact that this touching story is based on true events means that the subject matter needs to be handled as sensitively as possible and in that respect, Only the Brave has succeeded on every level. The touching tribute to these incredible men before the end credits proves to be a final emotional gut-punch after 2 hours of absolute excellence.

The script is good at making us feel for these people through their daily personal lives and their professional mentalities. In fact, it’s so well written, it may just be one of the best scripts I’ve had the pleasure of watching come to life all year and coupled with the glorious airborne shots, it makes for a deeply immersive film.

Only the Brave isn’t a film that shouts about any one thing it does well. Instead Joseph Kosinski rallies a phenomenal cast in a film that is beautifully written, exquisitely acted and is a fitting but perhaps most importantly, touching, tribute to the men who desperately tried to protect those around them.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/11/11/only-the-brave-review/
  
The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle
The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle
Stuart Turton | 2018 | Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
7.9 (24 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is an all-singing, all-dancing time-travel-mystery-thriller - the plot is simultaneously absurd and delightful.

The action kicks off immediately when the Protagonist wakes up with no recollection of who he is, and witnesses a murder. But events take a stranger turn the following day when he wakes up as someone else, replaying the events of the previous day.

Effectively, the Protagonist takes the roles of several different versions of himself in randomly assigned host bodies, replaying the events of the same day over and over. His predicament is a form of rehabilitative imprisonment, and he soon learns he can only escape this predicament by solving the murder.

There are plots and sub plots galore, with juicy gossip at every turn, and I revelled in it! With so much going on, I had no pause to try and figure out who the murderer was. It became quite hard to keep up even before I had reached the halfway mark. As I went along the book, I found that the author was making reference to a lot of things that had slipped my mind.

The Protagonist struggles with ascertaining and maintaining his true identity and struggles to ascertain and assure himself of who’s a friend and who’s a foe. He tries to leave clues for himself and his helpers but his host bodies alternatively provide assistance and impediments.

The Protagonist solves the central murder with 20% of the book left to go - he's still on a mission to do the save the others in his situation. And with 10% of the book left he sets out to solve another murder on the same premises.

The author uses an old fashioned but bearable writing style. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the book was how the soul of the Protagonist reacts in the bodies of different hosts, all with different tendencies and propensities.

It is a pleasure to read, and I may have enjoyed it more had I been able to keep track of the minutiae.

You can check out more of my book reviews on Wordpress or Facebook:
https://bookblogbycari.wordpress.com/
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    Predynastic Egypt

    Predynastic Egypt

    Games and Education

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    ***Localizations: English, Русский, 中文, Español, Deutsch, Français, Italiano,...