
Dustin Kensrue recommended Laughing Stock by Talk Talk in Music (curated)

Call Me Kat
TV Show
In an effort to prove to her mother -- and society -- that it's possible to be single at 39 and...

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pureheart
TV Show
A Puss-in-Boots-esque heroic cat and his slacker badger partner get stuck in a valley where...

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2423 KP) rated Jennifer and Josephine in Books
Sep 18, 2018
This is another of Bill Peet’s odd couple books, and Josephine’s devotion to Jennifer is very touching. We get this story from the cat’s point of view, although we occasionally get glimpses into Jennifer’s feelings. The story is definitely from a slower, simpler time, and that leads to a story that drags a little in the middle, but that’s the only real complaint here.

Nil's Labyrinth
Games, Entertainment and Stickers
App
Help Nil the cat on a journey through the mysterious labyrinth of his mind. Nil's Labyrinth is a...

One More Year
Book
Simon Hanselmann’s previous two Megg & Mogg books — 2014’s Megahex and 2016’s Megg and Mogg...
Comics

Claws for Alarm
Book
As Maddie James and her family and friends get ready for their first full tourist season with JJ’s...

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Sweet Little Lies in Books
Mar 18, 2019
"I feel it's necessary to make clear that I know nothing about what happened to Maryanne Doyle, the girl who went to Riley's for hairspray and never came back. I have my suspicions, of course. I speculate plenty, especially after white wine. But when it comes right down to it, I actually know nothing. The same cannot be said of my father."
This was an interesting, complicated tale. The mystery aspect of it was actually really fascinating, with the linkages slowly building between Alice and Maryanne, as we try to figure out what happened between Maryanne disappearing as a teen, her becoming Alice and then winding up murdered. Overall, I really enjoyed that part of the book. Frear has a lot of good surprises for us, and I was kept guessing for most of the novel.
The personal side of the book was a little harder for me. Don't get me wrong, I did like Cat. She certainly is a complicated character. I have to admit that characters that don't tell the truth or narratives that revolve around this aspect of keeping the truth hidden can be a bit of a pet peeve of mine. So basically an entire book that involves the main character keeping such a big secret (my Dad knew my murder victim, who was found a few paces outside the pub he owns)--that was tough for me. The more involved Cat gets in her case and the more entwined the case becomes with her own life and past: ugh. It all felt a little wrong and icky for me.
Honestly, I probably would have enjoyed this book more if the personal ties to Cat weren't there, or weren't so strong. I recognize they existed to give her depth and add more to the story and case, but they just made me uncomfortable and almost added an extra layer to the mystery that I felt wasn't necessary. Things were already twisty enough, it seemed as we didn't need this whole additional convoluted element with Cat's family. But maybe that's just me and my aversion to lying and such. (I don't even like when this happens in movies and eventually you know it's all going to come out and bad things will happen.)
This is not a simple book, and the story told is a perplexing and sophisticated one: you really have to be ready to follow along. On the plus side, it's original, and the characters are rather unique. I'm intrigued that it looks like Cat will be part of a series. I did like this book, even if some elements were a little harder for me to enjoy, and it was well-written. I'd certainly pick up the next book in a series and perhaps if her family wasn't so entwined in her case, enjoy it even more.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
