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The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee, #1)
The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee, #1)
Tony Hillerman | 1970 | Mystery
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting Debut
Anthropology professor Bergen McKee is going to spend the summer on the Navajo Reservation working on his book on witches in the Navajo culture. That means reconnecting with his college friend Joe Leaphorn, who is a Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant. Leaphorn is trying to track down a young man who is hiding on the reservation, and he uses taking McKee around to try to learn the man’s location. Then the young man turns up dead miles from here Leaphorn thought he was. Meanwhile, McKee finds danger he never imagined while conducting his research. Is everything connected?

I’d been interested in starting this series for a while, and I’m glad I finally did. It took a bit to get fully immersed in the book, especially since it didn’t unfold like I thought it would. McKee is more of the main character and the better developed of the two, although I did like Leaphorn and want to learn more about him. The plot also seemed a little disjointed at first, although it came into focus before too much time had passed. Once I did get invested, I was truly hooked with plenty of suspense to keep me interested. I enjoyed learning a bit more about Navajo culture. While definitely a cross between a police procedural and a thriller, it still doesn’t have much of the content I would associate with the genres. The book came out in 1970, so keep that in mind when you go to start it. I’m glad I finally started the series, and I’m looking forward to getting to know Leaphorn better as the series goes along.
  
Adnan's Story
Adnan's Story
Rabia Chaudry | 2016 | Biography
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gripping, more explosive claims after Serial
First of all, you must listen to Serial before attempting to listen to this otherwise it makes absolutely no sense. This is an extension from the original podcast and even an expansion in terms of all the claims.

While the author obviously has vested interests in this and there are times of bias, it makes Adnan's story even more personable and the potential allegations of police corruption even more harrowing.

In Serial, the creator briefly mentions Rabia so it's interesting to see her perspective and also how she felt Adnan and the wider community including his family were wronged. She also brings in the social aspect and how the Muslim community as a whole were portrayed in a negative light. Gripping for true crime fans.
  
TH
The Headmaster's Wager
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won this book awhile back on goodreads. I finally got around to reading it & have to say that I wasn't overly impressed. The book got off to a slow start. It got more interesting but not until I was into the second half of the novel.
The characters are very well written. I had a hard time connecting with Percival the Manu character however. The setting alternated between China & Vietnam in the time period of the Cultural Revolution & the Vietnam War. The story didn't really flow until Percival's son was arrested by the silent police for staging a "protest" in an attempt to impress his father who was headmaster of an American school in Cholon.
The book was well written, don't get me wrong! I just couldn't get into the story itself.
  
Someone Else's Skin
Someone Else's Skin
Sarah Hilary | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Concept interesting but seems to be lacking
While I totally support the author's concept into revealing domestic violence from the other side (making sure people understand that the statistics are still very one sided) - there seems to be a lack of conclusion to the story. We don't know what happens to the main culprit or victims.

My favourite part is when one of the girls, who is being held against her will in an honour crime, has to take the initiative to help herself, which reinstates the problem with police in dealing with these kinds of issues and thinking of it as a secondary offence when it is just as serious, if not more. I can see that the author was attempting to break down taboos and stereotypes but doesn't quite get there
  
Tales From the Hood (1995)
Tales From the Hood (1995)
1995 | Horror
8
7.2 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Tales From The Hood is a horror anthology made up of four short stories as well as a into and ending sequence.

The stories are:
Welcome to My Mortuary
Rogue Cop Revelation
Boys Do Get Bruised
KKK Comeuppance
Hard-Core Convert

Welcome to My Mortuary (ending)



I grew up watching this movie and even as a kid I always enjoyed it but as the older I got I really grew to understand that it is not just a horror movie in the sense that is deals with zombies, monsters, living dolls, and ghost but that it is a horror movie in the sense that it deals with real life horrors such as police brutality, abuse, racism, and gang violence all of which still hold extreme relevant 22 years after the movie was released.
  
40x40

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Gone Girl in Books

May 10, 2018  
Gone Girl
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.7 (142 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was one of the most twisted and disturbing stories I have ever read. And it makes me want to read more!

It's Nick & Amy's 5th year wedding anniversary. Amy is up early making crepes and she has prepared their annual treasure hunt. After Nick arrives at work, he receives an unusual call from his neighbor; the front door to his house is open and Amy appears to be gone.

The police investigation turns up blood all over the kitchen floor and overturned furniture in the living room. But there is something very strange about this "crime scene."

After weeks of searching, there is still no sign of Amy. Where is Amy? Who took her and why? The search will turn up lots of interesting and strange information about this couple.
  
book description:

All it took was one scone. When the hot-tempered (and widely hated) hobbyist Yvonne Gaynor eats a tainted pastry at Kiki's scrapbooking crop party, it triggers an allergy that leads to Yvonne's death. Even worse, the police suspect foul play when they realize that someone tampered with the treats and swiped the victim's allergy medication.

An expert at stealing design ideas, Yvonne had enough enemies to fill a memory album. Soon, the scrapbooking community pins her murder on Kiki's friends and our ace scrapper finds herself dealing with anti-Semitic threats at the shop, a quarrelsome pre-teen daughter at home, a meddlesome mother-in-law, and constant financial pressure. Despite help from the handsome yet annoyingly coy Detective Detweiler, Kiki has her work cut out for her in solving the crime.
  
The Thin Blue Line
The Thin Blue Line
1995 | Classics, Comedy, Crime
9
7.7 (40 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
I have just recently started to rewatch thin blue line, the comedy in this tv series is mild but classic, it has a silliness to the program but still funny different from today comedy (1 more)
Roman Atkinson plays a police Sargent with a girlfriend whom complains about their boring sex life or lack there of. They often role play ideas which become very out there and Ridiculous
The second series is slightly less funny than the first but still funny, I guess this is why there was only two series, if they could of kept up the same comedy from first series, making a third (1 more)
Series would of been nice to see but I feel as the second series didn’t take off as much that’s why it stop at two.
Golden oldies