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ClareR (5911 KP) rated The Imposter in Books
Mar 7, 2023
Obsession, loneliness and lies. What a hand-rubbing trio of themes they are!
Newspaper archivist Chloe is the sole carer of her grandmother who has dementia. She’s trying to fend off social services to keep her Nan at home - she’s all she has, after all.
It’s no surprise to me that Chloe develops an obsession with a past case that she comes across whilst digitalising old articles. Angela Kyle went missing as a 4 year old in 1980. Chloe tracks down the child’s parents, discovers they need a lodger, and gets the room when Nan has been moved into a home.
This is a sad book. Chloe’s nan’s dementia; Angela’s parents living with their loss and not knowing what happened to their child; Chloe’s obsession and loneliness. These are all strong, well-thought out characters - and it’s so tense! I felt like I needed to come up regularly for air!
It’s emotional, and the ending is absolutely plausible - it’s a cracking story!!
Newspaper archivist Chloe is the sole carer of her grandmother who has dementia. She’s trying to fend off social services to keep her Nan at home - she’s all she has, after all.
It’s no surprise to me that Chloe develops an obsession with a past case that she comes across whilst digitalising old articles. Angela Kyle went missing as a 4 year old in 1980. Chloe tracks down the child’s parents, discovers they need a lodger, and gets the room when Nan has been moved into a home.
This is a sad book. Chloe’s nan’s dementia; Angela’s parents living with their loss and not knowing what happened to their child; Chloe’s obsession and loneliness. These are all strong, well-thought out characters - and it’s so tense! I felt like I needed to come up regularly for air!
It’s emotional, and the ending is absolutely plausible - it’s a cracking story!!
The Shimmer
8.0
Rate It
Book
In the near future, in the Epcot of Walt Disney’s imagination, sixty thousand people live in a...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2379 KP) rated Murder in the Mountains in Books
Feb 2, 2022
High Altitude Homicide
It’s murder and mayhem in the mountains in this collection of nine short stories. We get mountains from all over the world and stories set in every season, not just ski season. From a deadly hike or two to a hot chocolate contest with a dead body, there is plenty to keep you entertained.
Each story is from a different author, and each story is fun. A couple are filled with enough other things going on that the mysteries are short changed, but those are the exceptions. Many of these characters have appeared elsewhere, but that doesn’t truly matter as each story introduces you to the characters. These stories are on the long side for short stories; they averaged about 45 minutes each for me to read, so there is plenty here to keep you entertained. If you are missing a mountain vacation, this collection is perfect for you. Personally, I’m going to stay home where it is safe and pick up another book.
Each story is from a different author, and each story is fun. A couple are filled with enough other things going on that the mysteries are short changed, but those are the exceptions. Many of these characters have appeared elsewhere, but that doesn’t truly matter as each story introduces you to the characters. These stories are on the long side for short stories; they averaged about 45 minutes each for me to read, so there is plenty here to keep you entertained. If you are missing a mountain vacation, this collection is perfect for you. Personally, I’m going to stay home where it is safe and pick up another book.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde in Books
May 21, 2022
88 of 230
Book
The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde
By Eve Chase
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to spend the summer, all is clearly not well.
They find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their only daughter, five years before. No one seems any closer to finding out the truth.
Why did Audrey vanish? Who is keeping her fate secret?
As the sisters are lured into the mystery of their missing cousin, the stifling summer takes a shocking, deadly turn.
One which will leave blood on their hands, and put another girl in danger decades later . . .
______
This was good! So well written and such a sad story I love the setting just on the turn from 50s to 60s. I liked how it all tied together at the end and the characters got some closure. I’d definitely read more from this author.
Book
The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde
By Eve Chase
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to spend the summer, all is clearly not well.
They find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their only daughter, five years before. No one seems any closer to finding out the truth.
Why did Audrey vanish? Who is keeping her fate secret?
As the sisters are lured into the mystery of their missing cousin, the stifling summer takes a shocking, deadly turn.
One which will leave blood on their hands, and put another girl in danger decades later . . .
______
This was good! So well written and such a sad story I love the setting just on the turn from 50s to 60s. I liked how it all tied together at the end and the characters got some closure. I’d definitely read more from this author.
David McK (3576 KP) rated Hancock (2008) in Movies
Apr 11, 2021 (Updated Jul 11, 2022)
"Good job" / "no, you did a good job"
You know that bit in Superman 3 (I think) where Superman goes bad?
Straightening the leaning tower of Pisa, blowing out the Olympic torch, drinking, etc?
That's pretty much how this film starts, with Will Smith's Hancock a hard-drinking, hard-living (and miserably lonely) 'superhero' more concerned about his next drink than saving the day.
However, when he recues publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Hancock soon becomes convinced to change his way of life, voluntarily surrendering himself to the authorities (who are sick of the damage he has caused and the ensuing financial implications of the same) and going to prison until the public starts missing him and the police need his help.
There is a real surprise in the third Act of the film, which does take it in a totally different direction that it had been going up to that point.
Straightening the leaning tower of Pisa, blowing out the Olympic torch, drinking, etc?
That's pretty much how this film starts, with Will Smith's Hancock a hard-drinking, hard-living (and miserably lonely) 'superhero' more concerned about his next drink than saving the day.
However, when he recues publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Hancock soon becomes convinced to change his way of life, voluntarily surrendering himself to the authorities (who are sick of the damage he has caused and the ensuing financial implications of the same) and going to prison until the public starts missing him and the police need his help.
There is a real surprise in the third Act of the film, which does take it in a totally different direction that it had been going up to that point.
The Stories We Tell
8.0
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Book
It's December 1942 and Betty Ahern is enjoying her fledgling career as a private detective,...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Silver Road in Books
Jun 5, 2022
100 of 230
Book
The Silver Road
By Stina Jackson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Three years ago, Lelle's daughter went missing in a remote part of Northern Sweden. Lelle has spent the intervening summers driving the Silver Road under the midnight sun, frantically searching for his lost daughter, for himself and for redemption.
Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Meja arrives in town hoping for a fresh start. She is the same age as Lelle's daughter was - a girl on the brink of adulthood. But for Meja, there are dangers to be found in this isolated place.
As autumn's darkness slowly creeps in, Lelle and Meja's lives are intertwined in ways, both haunting and tragic, that they could never have imagined.
I couldn’t put this down! It was just so heartbreaking and so chilling! So well written it just kept you turning the page. I think this is all parents worse nightmare having their child disappear without any leads. Truly heartbreaking story of two lives being brought together.
Book
The Silver Road
By Stina Jackson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Three years ago, Lelle's daughter went missing in a remote part of Northern Sweden. Lelle has spent the intervening summers driving the Silver Road under the midnight sun, frantically searching for his lost daughter, for himself and for redemption.
Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Meja arrives in town hoping for a fresh start. She is the same age as Lelle's daughter was - a girl on the brink of adulthood. But for Meja, there are dangers to be found in this isolated place.
As autumn's darkness slowly creeps in, Lelle and Meja's lives are intertwined in ways, both haunting and tragic, that they could never have imagined.
I couldn’t put this down! It was just so heartbreaking and so chilling! So well written it just kept you turning the page. I think this is all parents worse nightmare having their child disappear without any leads. Truly heartbreaking story of two lives being brought together.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Dead Simple (Roy Grace book 1) in Books
May 23, 2023
66 of 235
Book
Dead Simple ( Roy Grace 1)
By Peter James
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead, and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace - a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife - is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancee, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ought to know Michael Harrison's whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot to gain - more than anyone realizes. For one man's disaster is another man's fortune ...
I really enjoyed this and didn’t take long at all! A gritty crime and a few bits that had me feeling claustrophobic! Grace is an easy character to like too!
It may have been a bit to easy to work out the who done it though.
Book
Dead Simple ( Roy Grace 1)
By Peter James
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead, and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace - a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife - is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancee, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ought to know Michael Harrison's whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot to gain - more than anyone realizes. For one man's disaster is another man's fortune ...
I really enjoyed this and didn’t take long at all! A gritty crime and a few bits that had me feeling claustrophobic! Grace is an easy character to like too!
It may have been a bit to easy to work out the who done it though.
Mist Revealed (Elemental Desire #1)
10.0
Rate It
Book
An ancient vampire. A bookish woman. And an explosive bond neither expected. Rune awakens into the...
Paranormal Romance
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Bell Chime in Books
Dec 29, 2023
207 of 235
Kindle
The Bell Chime
By Mona Kabbani
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Can you hear the bell chime?"
A girl suffering from paralyzing night terrors finds a missing poster hanging from the door of her apartment building. On that poster is a photograph of a frighteningly familiar face.
It’s her.
Only, she’s never seen this photo before and something about its grin scares her. How its eyes seem to follow her no matter where she finds herself in the room.
Over a series of strange events to follow—events that will make her question whether her sanity is still there or fleeting—she must discover:
What is real and what is the nightmare?
This was eerily sad in so many ways. As someone who deals with psychosis and depression it struck home so hard! The question in the the foreword is thought provoking what exactly would you give up for peace of mind or happiness? Really well written.
Kindle
The Bell Chime
By Mona Kabbani
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Can you hear the bell chime?"
A girl suffering from paralyzing night terrors finds a missing poster hanging from the door of her apartment building. On that poster is a photograph of a frighteningly familiar face.
It’s her.
Only, she’s never seen this photo before and something about its grin scares her. How its eyes seem to follow her no matter where she finds herself in the room.
Over a series of strange events to follow—events that will make her question whether her sanity is still there or fleeting—she must discover:
What is real and what is the nightmare?
This was eerily sad in so many ways. As someone who deals with psychosis and depression it struck home so hard! The question in the the foreword is thought provoking what exactly would you give up for peace of mind or happiness? Really well written.