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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante (Maggie Hope Mystery, #5) in Books

Mar 9, 2018

Maggie Hope has returned to the US. She’s come back as part of Prime Minster Churchill’s staff during his historic meeting with President Roosevelt during December 1941. They’ve hardly arrived when Maggie gets pulled into a case involving the First Lady. Mrs. Roosevelt’s personal secretary is dead from an apparent suicide, but something seems off, and there is a clue that points to the First Lady. A scandal could derail this new alliance. Can Maggie find the truth before the lies come out?

I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series, so I was looking forward to this one. Sadly, it is extremely weak. The mystery took a back seat to watching history unfold and sub-plots that involved supporting characters. All the characters felt weak, and one devolved into someone I didn’t like. But my real problem were the lectures on everything from race to imperialism and capital punishment, which again slowed things down.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-review-mrs-roosevelts-confidante.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.

Kudos

Erika (17788 KP) rated Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators in Books

Mar 28, 2020 (Updated Mar 28, 2020)

Going into this book, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get into it or not. I haven't actually read Ronan Farrow's articles in general, so I didn't know how his writing style was. Journalistic writing is sometimes hit or miss in book form.

Honestly, now I'll read his articles. This book encompassed the Weinstein scandal, and other creeps like him. It was thorough, and engaging throughout. In the author's note, it is stated that the violence these women were subjected to was presented exactly how they told it, with all the details. My stomach hurt after reading the descriptions, and I read very violent Nordic Noir novels. I like being presented with everything, so while it made my stomach hurt, I feel like it was all completely necessary as part of this story.

I also really liked his journey to get this published, and now... honestly, I don't even want to watch NBC News (as I sit here watching Dateline).

This is, by far, one of the best books that I've read this year.

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Erika (17788 KP) rated The English Game in TV

Apr 5, 2020

The English Game

2020 | History, Sport

8.0

(2 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

So, overall, I really enjoyed this series. I was wary at first, because the Fellowes dude is the one that did Downton Abbey. I never made it past the 1st ep of that, too boring and slow.
There were two facets that attracted me, the fact it was a period piece, and the football. The show focuses on the difference of the classes and the upper class bemoaning that the sport is no longer for gentlemen. Two Scottish players are brought to play for Darwen, a team from the North. The scandal is that they're getting paid, which was against the rules at the time.
I really enjoyed watching it, and watched the last 4 episodes in a row. It couldn't have been trimmed down to a movie, or fewer episodes if the silly soap-opera romance junk was taken out. It really wasn't necessary.
To watch this, I don't think you specifically need to be into football. Maybe the soap opera stuff was in there to attract a wider audience? I don't know, but I don't think the show needed it.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Current War (2017) in Movies

Jul 30, 2019 (Updated Jul 30, 2019)

The Current War (2017)

2017 | Biography, Drama, History

7.2

(12 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Striking historical drama; unfortunate enough to get caught on the fringes of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which is why it has sat on the shelf for a couple of years since it was finished. Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse engage in a battle of wills to bring electric light to America, but will victory go to the more principled man, or the more ruthless? And who is who?

Lots of good material here for a really interesting film about, essentially, the birth of the modern world; perhaps too much. The film's problem is really that it tries to cover everything - not just the rivalry between the two men, but also incidents from Edison's private life, the development of the electric chair, and the career of the much-mythologised but enigmatic inventor Nikola Tesla. As a result everything gets covered in a somewhat cursory manner and it often feels somewhat rushed. Still, it's a handsome looking film, the performances are excellent, and the direction is sometimes as inventive as the characters. Not entirely successful by any means, but a very distinguished failure.