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Ross (3284 KP) rated Just Mercy (2019) in Movies

Jun 15, 2020  
Just Mercy (2019)
Just Mercy (2019)
2019 | Drama
9
8.3 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Superb legal drama
A very topical film at the moment, telling the true story of a man ending up on death row after a dubious murder trial with negligible evidence weighed up against copious amounts of evidence of his innocence. As usual, it is the story of the police and DA being under pressure to convict someone of the crime and finding an easy target.
Jordan plays young lawyer Bryan Stevenson who moves to Alabama to fight for justice for death row convicts. Among many cases he meets Jonny D (Foxx), who initially refuses to fight any more despite the paper-thin conviction he received. Persuaded, the pair start their fight against the system, met time and time again with prejudice, injustice and an unfair system that is unwilling to review past cases.
The irony of this unfolding in the town that is so proud to have been where Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a black man facing an unfair trial accused of crime against a young white female, was not lost on me. This wasn't made much of in the film, I would guess out of respect for the family of the actual murder victim here, and not wanting to suggest a parallel with the false crime in the book.
The film does well to portray the racial injustice, unbalanced legal system and prejudice experienced by the authorities and smalltown America, but not overdo it. This leaves the viewer to mull it on their own, which is especially important to do in the current climate.
An excellent film that gets the balance right between story, faithfulness to the facts and sewing thoughts and parallels with modern day life.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Secrets of a Serial Killer in Books

Jul 5, 2020  
Secrets of a Serial Killer
Secrets of a Serial Killer
Rosie Walker | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the chilling, creepy and unnerving story of a serial killer, his victim, her mother and 2 young children out for a bit of an adventure amongst the ruins of an old mental hospital in the north west UK city of Lancaster.

Told from multiple points of view, this is a pretty fast moving book, once the usual introductions to the various characters has been completed, and what a great cast of characters the author has created here. The author is also clearly adept at describing the eerie setting and at creating atmosphere ... I was transported to the old hospital, the derelict caravan and the woods surrounding them. The tension and fear in each of the characters is really well told and builds and builds throughout until the gripping and nail-biting conclusion.

Although I enjoyed this book, I do have a few issues that prevent this from being a 5 star read - there was next to nothing regarding the Police input or investigation and they came across as being inept and pretty useless, particularly at the end but I won't go into it here as it would be a spoiler but you will see what I mean when you read it. Also, the blog posts inserted at various points didn't really do anything for me or add to the story that much and I wonder if they were put there as a red-herring?

Despite the niggling issues, this is a creditable and decent debut and even though there are a few unanswered questions, in addition to the cliff-hanger, they are either left to the imagination of the reader or are going to be resolved in another instalment? If so, I would definitely read it.

My thanks go to HarperCollinsUK and One More Chapter via NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.