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The Devil Inside (The Lachlan Maclean Thriller Series # 2)
The Devil Inside (The Lachlan Maclean Thriller Series # 2)
Alex Breck | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not having read the first in this series, I really wasn't sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised.

This book is full of strong characters that grow on you as the story develops. They are a disparate bunch of people from various walks of life but they work well together. It did take me a while to get to grips with the story; it was quite confusing to begin with but I think that's because I haven't read the first in the series however, I stuck with it and found it quite absorbing the more it developed.

Full of action and tension, this is a good read and I look forward to reading more in the series so thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
See how they run (2022)
See how they run (2022)
2022 | Comedy, Crime
6
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Despite a miscast Sam Rockwell - it works well...enough
The British Comedy/Murder Mystery SEE HOW THEY RUN came and went in movie theaters (at least in the U.S.) pretty quickly last fall and, consequently, most folks missed that this was even a thing.

The good news is that it is now streaming on multiple streaming services so as people gather for the Holidays there is a fun, family friendly (but good for adults) film that young and old alike could gather around the TV to watch together.

Written by Mark Chappell and Directed by Tom George (both of whom who have quite a few BBC TV Series under their belts, but it looks like this is the Major Motion Picture debut for them both), SEE HOW THEY RUN is a comedic look at the British Murder Mystery with a frumpy detective, a victim who “deserved it” and a plethora of potential suspects who are all brought into a room by the Detective on a “dark and stormy” night to reveal “whodunnit”.

Normally, with these types of films, it comes down to the casting and while there are some very good - and fun - actors in many of the roles, one of the roles is terribly miscast and that brings down the quality of this film quite a bit.

So, let’s start with what works - the central murder mystery is clever…enough…(for this sort of thing) and is wonderfully constructed around the London Stage debut of the long-running Agatha Christie murder mystery play THE MOUSETRAP in the 1950’s and, thus, this film is a period piece and that atmosphere adds - in a positive way - to the look and feel of this movie.

Saoirse Ronan, as always, is very good as the young Policewoman who is brought in to aide the main detective and proves out to be quite the Detective herself. She really holds this film together tightly in the middle. Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo and Harris Dickinson all bring something to the film in their characters (and suspects) that add color and life to the central mystery.

Unfortunately, the usually good Sam Rockwell is miscast as the lead sleuth on this case. His frumpy, disheveled Detective was reminiscent of Columbo and just didn’t fit in this British Murder Mystery. While this performance is not a distraction to this film, it doesn’t elevate or lift this movie either, and - in a murder mystery - the detective solving the mystery is a major cog in the movie machine and this cog just isn’t that interesting.

Rockwell is not helped by a green Director and Writer who are looking to make the leap from television to film and this film feels more like a made for TV film, than a major motion picture.

Which is why this film is a good one to catch on one of the streaming services it is currently on. It is a fun enough film that will entertain young and old alike over the Holidays.

Letter Grade: B-

6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)