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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Your Neighbour's Wife in Books

Jan 3, 2021

Your Neighbour's Wife

Tony Parsons | 2021 | Crime, Thriller

9.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

We all know that seemingly perfect family that appear to have it all but nobody knows what's going on behind closed doors; My Neighbour's Wife is a perfect example of things not being as rosy as we think and all it takes is for one mistake, albeit a massive one, and the walls come tumbling down.

I am a fan of Tony Parsons' work having read most of his series starring DC Max Wolfe and thoroughly enjoying them but this is a break from those stories but is no less enjoyable.

The story is gripping and most definitely a cautionary tale of how one "little" mistake can cause so many ripples and affect so many lives in ways you wouldn't see coming. The characters Mr Parsons creates are an interesting mixed bag of those you will love and those you will love to hate, those you will initially like and grow to dislike and the other way around - I love it when that happens!

The pace is good and there are twists, turns and red herrings that will keep you second guessing yourself and totally engrossed and I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone who enjoys a great psychological thriller.

Thank you to Random House UK / Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

Kudos

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Amnesia: The Dark Descent in Video Games

Nov 14, 2020

Scary and Spooky

Amnesia: The Dark Descent- is a terrorfying, horrorfying, spooky, scary, creepy game.

The game features a protagonist named Daniel exploring a dark and foreboding castle, while trying to maintain his sanity by avoiding monsters and other terrifying obstructions.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a first-person adventure game with survival horror elements. The player takes control of Daniel, who must navigate Brennenburg Castle while avoiding various dangers and solving puzzles. The gameplay retains the physical object interaction used in the Penumbra series, allowing for physics-based puzzles and interactions such as opening doors and fixing machinery.

In addition to a health indicator, Daniel's sanity must be managed, centered around an "afraid of darkness" mechanic. According to designer Thomas Grip, "the idea was basically that the darkness itself should be an enemy." Sanity is reduced by staying in the dark for too long, witnessing unsettling events or looking directly at monsters. Low sanity causes visual and auditory hallucinations and an increased chance of attracting monsters, while its complete depletion results in a temporary drop in mobility, or death in higher difficulties.

Hiding in dark areas where monsters will not notice Daniel is also effective, but will decrease Daniel's sanity. In higher difficulties, the monsters will move faster, deal more damage and search for Daniel for longer periods of time.

Its a excellent survival horror game and a must play.

Kudos

Pete Fowler recommended Da Capo by Love in Music (curated)

Da Capo by Love

1967 | Rock

(0 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"This might be seen as quite an obvious choice but, for me, this album was a gateway drug. When I was a kid, I remember my older brother and his mates getting really into Forever Changes and thinking, "This is just incredible." From that point onwards, I just wanted to hear more and more of that kind of music. We were all skateboarders in Cardiff back then. People always think of skateboarders being into proper hardcore music. My brother and his mates were into Love and The Doors… some were even into proper sunshine psych. We weren't team sports kind of people – we were the last people picked for football or rugby; a weird sort of outsider gang. Da Capo was a big milestone for me growing up as part of that gang. I loved the fact that Arthur Lee was very West Coast – a smart guy and definitely not a hippy; a freak-flag flier. There was something punk about their attitude. I love the story about him moving into a new neighbourhood in LA, somewhere properly rough. His whole thing was like, "Right. I'm going to let people know I'm here and that I'm the fucking toughest guy in the neighbourhood." He was a hardcore dude. They knew how to make proper aggro psych."

Source

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Pete Wareham recommended Run, Run, Run by The Velvet Underground in Music (curated)

"I was 16 or 17. I'd just started doing Art A Level at school, and this whole world suddenly just opened up. For ages, I'd been playing the flute, playing the saxophone and skateboarding. That was it really and then all of a sudden, I hit that age. My friend Adrian had a ridiculous record collection. He started making tapes for us, me and another friend of mine, and he introduced us to all that stuff: The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix. I was getting really into art and really into poetry. I discovered Picasso, Matisse, Magritte at the same time. I also discovered surrealism and surrealist poetry, literally in the same couple of years. It was like an explosion in my head.  'Run Run Run' was just brilliant because it was so chaotic. I'd been into music for a while - I was really into The Police and various bits - but this was just so different. I just loved how nihilistic it was. Really dirty. Luckily my partner's a massive Velvet Underground fan as well, so we stick it on quite often, even now. I still get the same feeling from it when I listen to it now that I did that very first time. I still get that electric charge of energy from it."

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Combo Organ Model V

Music

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

Combo Organ Model V is a musical keyboard app for iPad/iPhone/iPod touch that simulates the electric...

Christine A. (965 KP) rated Been There, Married That in Books

May 23, 2020

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Agnes Murphy Nash has the perfect Hollywood life...or so she thought until arriving home to find the gates and doors locked and is prevented from entering her own house. What ensues is a humorous look at divorce, the stupid things people do while divorcing, and how badly we can act.

Gigi Levangie Grazer could have written Been There, Married That as a Debbie Downer book especially when discussing Agnes having to still cohabitate with her husband during the divorce. Anyone who had to endure cohabitating knows there is not much to laugh about. Grazier focuses on the negative but writes it with such style you are guaranteed to laugh.

I do not usually read "women's fiction" or "chick lit" but, after reading its description, I figured I would give it a try. I am so glad I chose this novel. I will continue with my norms (mystery, YA, SciFi) but will not shun women's fiction immediately from now on. I will probably still avoid romances but Been There, Married That is not a romance novel.

I also heard part of the audiobook. The narrator, Amy McFadden, did a fabulous job and really brought this novel and its humor to life.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 5/23/20.