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Merissa (12771 KP) rated Through Her Eyes (Mind's Eye #4) in Books
Jun 28, 2017
Through Her Eyes (Mind's Eye #4) by Deborah Camp
I LOVE the Mind's Eye series, and Through Her Eyes is no different. The story is fast-paced, with plenty going on. There are not too many characters so that you lose track of who did what or said what and when, but enough that you get varieties of view points. Our two main characters, Levi and Trudy, both still have personal demons to battle, although I loved seeing the progress that both of them made. As a woman, and not having gone through what Levi did, it was easier to empathise with Trudy's demons, as I think most women will be able to. Still, Levi's character has changed as the books have progressed, and it was nice to see it commented on in this book by various people. He has made progress, still has a way to go, but definitely made some!
The story itself was once again a gruesome read - enough detail given that you felt the horror of it, without it being too much and putting you off your cornflakes! You also get a personal insight into just how much doing this 'job' can impact both Levi and Trudy. Trudy's strengths are coming on in leaps and bounds, and with Levi by her side, soon her self-confidence will follow.
This was exceptionally well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. A nice twist to the ending, before you get your HFN with Levi and Trudy, leaving you once again wanting more from this psychic duo. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The story itself was once again a gruesome read - enough detail given that you felt the horror of it, without it being too much and putting you off your cornflakes! You also get a personal insight into just how much doing this 'job' can impact both Levi and Trudy. Trudy's strengths are coming on in leaps and bounds, and with Levi by her side, soon her self-confidence will follow.
This was exceptionally well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. A nice twist to the ending, before you get your HFN with Levi and Trudy, leaving you once again wanting more from this psychic duo. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Lee (2222 KP) rated Ghost Stories (2018) in Movies
Apr 10, 2018 (Updated Apr 10, 2018)
Sadly I missed out on seeing Ghost Stories on stage when it played in London's West End a few years ago. By all accounts it was a hugely enjoyable and genuinely scary experience, which I would have loved!
The movie version is written by the guys behind the stage show. Jeremy Dyson (co-creator and writer of the brilliant 'League of Gentlemen' shows) and Andy Nyman (co-writer of some of Derren Brown's TV and stage shows), so if you're familiar with any of their work then you'll have an idea what you're in for.
Nyman also stars in the movie as cynical Philip Goodman, host of 'Psychic Cheats' - a TV show which sets out to debunk the con-men who prey on vulnerable people who are grieving for their lost loved ones. Goodman is now investigating three 'unexplained' cases, stories involving three men (Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther and Martin Freeman) who have all been deeply affected by an unexplained supernatural experience in their past. Nyman meets with each of them in turn, and they then recount their stories for us to enjoy.
The stories themselves work extremely well. The whole movie is set in a even drearier than usual England, and this dark and depressing setting only adds to the tension that gradually builds as each story unfolds. While the stories themselves aren't too scary, good use of sound and camera work really help to make things pretty unsettling and creepy. There are some obligatory jump scares along the way, and even some laugh out loud moments too.
Outside of the stories being told, strange things begin happening to too. This all builds to a bit of a WTF?! moment, which then begins unraveling nicely, piecing together parts of the movie and building to a very satisfying and enjoyable ending.
The movie version is written by the guys behind the stage show. Jeremy Dyson (co-creator and writer of the brilliant 'League of Gentlemen' shows) and Andy Nyman (co-writer of some of Derren Brown's TV and stage shows), so if you're familiar with any of their work then you'll have an idea what you're in for.
Nyman also stars in the movie as cynical Philip Goodman, host of 'Psychic Cheats' - a TV show which sets out to debunk the con-men who prey on vulnerable people who are grieving for their lost loved ones. Goodman is now investigating three 'unexplained' cases, stories involving three men (Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther and Martin Freeman) who have all been deeply affected by an unexplained supernatural experience in their past. Nyman meets with each of them in turn, and they then recount their stories for us to enjoy.
The stories themselves work extremely well. The whole movie is set in a even drearier than usual England, and this dark and depressing setting only adds to the tension that gradually builds as each story unfolds. While the stories themselves aren't too scary, good use of sound and camera work really help to make things pretty unsettling and creepy. There are some obligatory jump scares along the way, and even some laugh out loud moments too.
Outside of the stories being told, strange things begin happening to too. This all builds to a bit of a WTF?! moment, which then begins unraveling nicely, piecing together parts of the movie and building to a very satisfying and enjoyable ending.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2330 KP) rated Barking Mad at Murder in Books
Apr 30, 2019
Something Different, but Fun
Frankie Chandler makes her living as a pet psychic in a small town in Arizona. There’s just one problem – she’s a fake. She really uses cues from her knowledge of human and animal behavior and fakes her visions to help pet owners with their pets’ behavior. So, you can imagine how surprised Frankie is when a dog named Sandy actually gets through and gives her a vision of a murder. She’s willing to write off the entire thing as a bad dream until a body matching the victim in the vision turns up in the desert. Can Frankie figure out what really happened? Does Sandy know more than Frankie got in the first vision?
This is definitely a step away from my normal cozy choices, but I picked it up after chatting with the author for most of the day at an event. I’m glad I took a chance on it. With Frankie just developing her powers, this book had some fun exploring that and what it meant for her. The mystery was good. There were occasional pacing issues, but for the most part it kept me engaged until the wonderful climax. A solid sub-plot helped keep me interested as well. A couple of the supporting characters have room to grow as the series develops, but for the most part the cast is solid, and I certainly hope to see more of many of them in later books. The book kept me grinning as I read as Frankie gets into some pretty fun situations over the course of the story. This is a solid series debut anyone looking for a light, fun read will enjoy.
This is definitely a step away from my normal cozy choices, but I picked it up after chatting with the author for most of the day at an event. I’m glad I took a chance on it. With Frankie just developing her powers, this book had some fun exploring that and what it meant for her. The mystery was good. There were occasional pacing issues, but for the most part it kept me engaged until the wonderful climax. A solid sub-plot helped keep me interested as well. A couple of the supporting characters have room to grow as the series develops, but for the most part the cast is solid, and I certainly hope to see more of many of them in later books. The book kept me grinning as I read as Frankie gets into some pretty fun situations over the course of the story. This is a solid series debut anyone looking for a light, fun read will enjoy.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Ashley Bell in Books
Feb 19, 2018
This was the best Dean Koontz novel I've read since the first Odd Thomas. I loved Bibi, and there was a great cast of supporting characters, including her parents, her best pal Pogo, and her fiance, a Navy Seal named Pax. Not everyone was on Bibi's side, however, and once again Mr. Koontz proves that sometimes the scariest monsters are those who wear human faces.
This is one of those stories that is very hard to talk about without giving too much away, and I would not want to ruin the surprises for anyone who might choose to read the book. With that said, here's what I can tell you without spoiling anything.... The novel starts out with Bibi, a novelist, discovering that she has brain cancer. After hearing that she has less then a year to live, she surprises everyone (except maybe herself) by waking completely cancer free the next morning. As a celebratory gift, her parents send a psychic to Bibi, and during her reading, she discovers that her life was spared so that she could save someone named Ashley Bell. The journey that Bibi has to make in her quest to locate Ashley forces her to revisit places and experiences from her own past that she has long since forgotten.
The buildup in this novel started out slow but constant, and once it got moving I couldn't put it down. Any Dean Koontz fan, or any thriller fan for that matter, will love this one. While Dean Koontz may be thought of as a horror writer, and there are some paranormal elements to this story, non-horror fans should enjoy this one also.
<i>Note: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest </i>review.
This is one of those stories that is very hard to talk about without giving too much away, and I would not want to ruin the surprises for anyone who might choose to read the book. With that said, here's what I can tell you without spoiling anything.... The novel starts out with Bibi, a novelist, discovering that she has brain cancer. After hearing that she has less then a year to live, she surprises everyone (except maybe herself) by waking completely cancer free the next morning. As a celebratory gift, her parents send a psychic to Bibi, and during her reading, she discovers that her life was spared so that she could save someone named Ashley Bell. The journey that Bibi has to make in her quest to locate Ashley forces her to revisit places and experiences from her own past that she has long since forgotten.
The buildup in this novel started out slow but constant, and once it got moving I couldn't put it down. Any Dean Koontz fan, or any thriller fan for that matter, will love this one. While Dean Koontz may be thought of as a horror writer, and there are some paranormal elements to this story, non-horror fans should enjoy this one also.
<i>Note: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest </i>review.
Steve Fearon (84 KP) rated Thir13en Ghosts (2001) in Movies
Sep 5, 2018
The ghosts aren't the only thing that we can see through...
Contains spoilers, click to show
As part of a 'rewatching films from the 90's and 2000's' theme that me and the missus are going through at the moment, we came to a film i remembered fairly fondly, the remake of Thirteen Ghosts!
Unlike a lot of films from this period, this wasn't as terrible to rewatch as some, though it still reeks of some of the tropes of that period, including the casting of Shannon Elizabeth, the evil uncle and the corporate Lawyer baddie as well as the kids that can't help but run towards trouble at every opportunity.
Lets be honest, this film isn't really a scary one, it has some nice creepy elements, but it is largely a safe horror entry for people that shy away from the more intense/gory side of the genre.
Matthew Lillard chews all the scenery he can, and is largely very entertaining as a psychic with powers that they touch on without really explaining, but thats ok, its not the sort of film where it matters all that much.
Better than some, worse than others, this is a film for a rainy sunday evening, where it doesn't matter too much if you talk over the miles and miles of exposition, and where you can happily pull apart the plot holes and confusing character motives to your hearts content.
Unlike a lot of films from this period, this wasn't as terrible to rewatch as some, though it still reeks of some of the tropes of that period, including the casting of Shannon Elizabeth, the evil uncle and the corporate Lawyer baddie as well as the kids that can't help but run towards trouble at every opportunity.
Lets be honest, this film isn't really a scary one, it has some nice creepy elements, but it is largely a safe horror entry for people that shy away from the more intense/gory side of the genre.
Matthew Lillard chews all the scenery he can, and is largely very entertaining as a psychic with powers that they touch on without really explaining, but thats ok, its not the sort of film where it matters all that much.
Better than some, worse than others, this is a film for a rainy sunday evening, where it doesn't matter too much if you talk over the miles and miles of exposition, and where you can happily pull apart the plot holes and confusing character motives to your hearts content.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Black Christmas (1974) in Movies
Dec 11, 2019
Answer The Phone
With anethor remake coming out this friday, and that i already reviewed the 2006 remake. In going back to the oringal, were it alll started from. So lets take a little trip back to 1974.
Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.
The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.
Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).
Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.
The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.
Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).
Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
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