Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

Action packed, to say the least. Lizzy is being stalked by the serial killer. His signature is leaving beetles with the dead bodies, sometimes in the dead bodies. Hayley is under house arrest at Lizzy's, but she's managed to get free from her ankle bracelet.  Her mother's abusive boyfriend is back. Her mother is headed to a shelter. Violence, alcohol  . . . and the serial murderer has made it in the house. Jessica on surveillance. She thinks it's a simple:  Is this guy a womanizer or not? job for a woman contemplating marriage.  Could be (Is!) more.  Perhaps connected to the serial killer. Extremely well-written.  The quotes that begin each chapter from various serial killers are chilling.

This was fine 3.5 out of 5, but not as good as A Perfect Lie.  Almost a Shakespearean comedy ending--All's Well That Ends Well. Too neat, too tidy for my taste.  The plot turns on industrial crime.  The cubicle manufacturers were cutting corners.  Fire. Death of employee.  Simon, the man with the daughter with leukemia, had warned of shoddy work.  He didn't know about the fire--it took place in a state outside his territory. The really bad guys murder a semi-bad guy and make it look like Simon did it. The plan is to get Simon convicted before he can learn about the fire. Our two lawyers figure it out. They are then kidnapped by the bad guys and nearly killed at a remote hunting cabin.  Through talk and courage, they defeat the bad guys.  Turns out that the head of the firm, a slick schmoozer who pretended to be too far up to know what was happening, did know.  So he's arrested too. Simon's daughter gets donor (Bennie, the lawyer). Mary turns out to be pregnant.

Nice conflicts.  Firm that fired the man with ill daughter won't settle.  The law firm must break up in order for one partner to be on opposite side of the case as the other partner.  The firm fires the partner.  The two partners both would like to hire lawyer three, an associate.  The partners are doing all this (so far) amicably. Is the father of the ill girl a liar?  That would be quite a twist.  Or is there other nefarious doings with the firm. Very enjoyable

Hackman is PI who is hired to bring back runaway 16 year old.  Mom (minor actress still slightly connected to films) doesn't really care about her daughter who is sexually precocious. Hackman follows her to Florida Keys.  Couple living there (stepfather and new girlfriend) have allowed 16 year old to stay with them.  James Woods is mechanic who works on vehicles for stunts in movies.  Plane discovered (crashed) underwater in Keys.  Girl goes back with Hackman.  16 year old dies in car crash. Whole plot revolves around smuggled Aztec art.  Hackman uncovers plot after 16 year old dies.  Florida Keys couple are smugglers.  Hackman in Keys going in circles after the smuggling is uncovered, there is a plane crash, etc. Plot isn't as good as the interactions among the characters.  Deception, unhappiness, greed. Liked it.

Nice conflict. Lawyers, partners.  One has a friend who was just fired because 1) his work quality was falling or 2) his daughter (leukemia) was driving up the cost of insurance for the company.  The other partner has the parent firm as her main client.  Partner 2 would like Partner 1 to drop the case (conflict of interest), but #1 learns this is not always required.  Interesting law and conflict.

Liked this very much.  Detective with a past (parents died in fire). Brother has different feel for parents (brother is gay--Dad beat him). Brother alcoholic--is he the serial murderer?  Street urchin, librarian, side kick from a lower social stratum, all the threads brought together at the end. Nice feel for Edinburgh.  Really well done.  Not quite a cozy mystery; not a violent mystery. Old fashioned in a good way

Vincent Price is terrific as scientist investigating fear. Tingler is physical manifestation of fear: microscopic, then grows, then shrinks away with screaming.  Movie theater owner hears all this, then decides to kill his mute wife who cannot scream. It works. Tingler captured, crawls around attacking people in a theater. Price has a slut wife who tries to kill him with the Tingler and then takes off when the plan fails.  Sister-in-law is the good girl and Vincent makes it so she can marry.  Wonderfully wacky.

Strangler loose in Edinburgh. Also operated in France.  Ian, our detective, had parents burned to death in arson fire.  He is scarred. Murderer has homosexual undercurrent motive working; detective Ian might be suppressed homosexual as well.  Street urchin, Derek, helping as is a lower class copper.  Murderer passages with brother suggest murderer was abused by father. Pretty good so far . . . nice descriptions of the Royal Mile and Edinburgh in general.

Film Noir ending works pretty well--I did like the beginning of the book more than the end.  Fifty fewer pages would have improved the novel. Richard Ruen sees that Suzy's daughter makes it safely out of Vegas with money.  He meets up one final time with Son.  The fight, nearly kill one another, then Ruen is rescued by Son's son (Junior). House is burnt to the ground--with Son and Happy inside.  (Son had killed Happy.)  The sons release Ruen--they don't need him anymore.  "Don't ever come back to Vegas."  Suzy/Hong missing at the end, and her daughter is gone too, after honorably leaving half of the money for Ruen. It's a tough world out there.

Still enjoying this very much, but I suspect it would have been better were it shorter--like the film noirs which it recalls.  Suzy, it turns out, had a child--a daughter--whom she deserted. Son, whom she marries in Vegas, was in the same refugee camp as she was.  Tough guy, criminal in Vegas, henchmen.  Suzy's daughter is also in Vegas, unaware of her mother, but found out by Robert.  All the pieces in place.  Gangsters, missing daughter now found, found mother now missing, detective.   So, I'd like to fly to the ending, but the book is taking its sweet time.  I'll know in a couple of days if the extra pages are worth it. 

Great start. Feels like an LA film noir.  Our main character is a cop who falls for Vietnamese woman (Hong/Suzy). Stormy marriage.  She leaves him for a Vietnamese Las Vegas (probable) criminal.  He goes back to get some revenge, though he doesn't kill anyone.  Returns.  Now the Vegas Vietnamese are after him --Lucy has disappeared.  They want the cop to help them find her.

Felt too much like a lecture to me.  In the end, boy (son of Home Secretary) and girl are blown up (jihadists strap belt around the boy) in a Pakistani cemetery.  Girl has kept the body of her twin brother under ice for days, hoping to get a return to UK for a proper burial.  Antigone is a tough act to follow.

A retelling of the Antigone story, with a Pakistani boy who foolishly joins ISIS and gets himself killed.  Twin sister, in love with the son of the Home Secretary, wants her dead brother brought back to England for burial.  The son, deeply in love, agrees.  Other sister . . . not so much.  Weakness here is that it's hard to see why devoted twin would keep her dead brother on ice in Pakistan in order to bring him back. A stretch.  The other problem, for those familiar with Antigone, is that from early on it's pretty clear what's going to happen.  Brother joins ISIS . . . he must die.  Sisters must argue . . . Father must be stubborn . . . Just feels fated. Author:  Hmmm.  The best writer in every creative writing class she ever took.  Very literary, very talented . . . but almost too smart for her own good.  I'm guessing future books -- less schematic -- will be better.

Plot:  Missing childhood friend, presumed murdered by older brother who disappears . . . Lorna returns home after death of mother . . . bodies are found on her land . . . young men, including the older brother . . . serial killer of young men--gay bar . . . Private I on scene. . . Lorna smitten . . . nice uncovering of plot . . . suspicion falls on Fritz, who is gay and lives in closet in community. . . police check his house . . . evidence found . . . but wait!  . . . not Fritz but his brother Mike . . . Lorna nearly killed . . . saves herself by hiding until P.I. shows up and kills Mike. So, sort of a romance thriller.  Interesting in that it is not PC at all. Our female CPA protagonist hides until her man saves her.  Realistic, and in a way points out the problem with PC books. Well written, but this is probably my first and last Mariah Stewart book.  Definitely a female target audience!

So far--very good. Prologue--little girl with abusive mother disappears.  General feeling is brother probably killed her.  Brother disappears also.  Chapter one:  Woman (friend of little girl) returns to bury her mother. While she's home, the police uncover bones on her property.  Not her friend--but the brother.  Who killed the brother?  Mom?  She's arrested so she can't be the one.  The past will yield its secrets.

This is a book whose parts are better than the whole.  The good:  characters, language, metaphors, action, humor, and a fantastic reader on audible. The not-so-good.  SPOILERS FOLLOW The denouement is a little clunky.  IQ and Dotson take out the hit man in a parking lot with the help of a roll of tar paper (?). The villain in the inner circle was the most obvious from the beginning, and his henchman was someone I barely remembered.  The final 15 pages were a bit of a yawner, and the hit-and-run killer of Marcus isn't tracked down, which is an odd loose thread.  I'd read another by Joe Ide.

Weaving various stories together.  IQ & Dotson as teenagers.  Dotson trying to pull a job on his own after he sells stolen goods without consulting IQ. Skip/IQ  battle of wits.  IQ wanting to kidnap Skip's massive pit; Skip trying to kill IQ. Cal still depressed and unable to perform--who among his posse is the traitor. Enjoying this.  Plot is the weakest link--characters, settings--terrific

70% Skip is the hitman, so there's no drama there.  Ide takes us back to IQ at 17 with Dotson using a battering ram to rob stores.  Nearly captured by cops. Dotson being willing (maybe) to kill the cop to escape jail.  Now Skip is in IQ's apartment, hiding in his room, ready to kill.  My guess: IQ will defeat him with his brain, not his brawn.  Inventive metaphors, witty, but a bit clunky with exposition at times.

Listened today in car.  IQ using inductive reasoning to track down the owner of the pit bull that attacked Cal.  Good sections on pit bulls and the history of the breed.  IQ and Dotson becoming a team, different strengths.  IQ searching for hit-run murderer of his brother. Funny/pathetic descriptions of the life (excesses and misery) of rap star who is the target of the pit bull attack.

Initials of Isaiah, black sorta detective.  His history as teenager and now on the case of rap singer, Cal, who was nearly murdered by a pit bull sent through his doggy door in his house to attack him. Tremendous Audible reader.  Some very funny moments. 

These strike me as modern day Chekhov stories. Great observations of character. Quiet lives are nevertheless filled with drama. Liked them very much. I listened to audio tapes, and I was a little put off by the reader. A bit too laconic. I think I'd have enjoyed these even more had I read them on the page.

Sea Oak:  Main character is a male who works in a sleazy sex restaurant (Joysticks) as a waiter. He lives in a miserable place with a dysfunctional family just able to make ends meet. "Sea Oak's not safe"  Brass knuckles, crackhouse, shots fired.Then his aunt Bernie dies.  She's lived a bland life, but in death -- whoa!  She digs her way out of her grave, returns to her home, decomposes, falls apart, foul mouth. She missed out, and in her second coming, she continues to miss out. The whole family misses out. Maybe the whole world misses out. Grim

A "little" man goes to a self-help seminar where he learns how to become a forceful man.  He's thrilled . . .  what he needs to do is throw his sister out! Then he'll find Inner Peace. Saunders wonderfully captures/parodies the self-help jargon and milieu. Our "hero" returns home, determined to begin his new forceful life, and immediately upon seeing his poor sister returns to the person he was and always will be.  Interestingly, it would have been sadder had he thrown his sister out.

Liked this a lot.  Two ordinary guys caught up in a national security thriller because a senator lost her laptop at the airport. Both of the main characters (Tanner & Will) are wonderfully ordinary, and author Finder does a great job of ratcheting up the stakes as the novel moves along.  And that's another thing--this novel really moves.  One action packed sequence after another.  It would make an excellent movie and I suspect the book would be an easy switch to a screenplay.  80 chapters . . . 80 one or two minute scenes. Definitely will read another Finder novel soon.  What a pleasure to find him!

Excellent thriller/mystery. Semi-cozy.  Tanner, a coffee entrepreneur, accidentally picks up the laptop of a senator. The laptop contains top secret info on a govt. Big Brother spying operation.  Tanner brings it to a reporter friend who is promptly dead (suicide, but we suspect murder). The senator's chief of staff, Will, wants the laptop back and will do anything to get it. Interesting in that NONE of the characters are stock villains or heroes.  Both grow into their roles.  Will becomes more ruthless; Tanner more resourceful.  Chase scenes, hit-and-run, marriage and baby problems.  Really a different mystery.

I liked this very much and found the ending satisfying.  The final section is the daughter's.  As with Rev. Steven Drew's section, she reveals herself to be an unreliable narrator . . . or at least an unreliable witness when speaking to our prosecutor. I noticed that this has lower ratings than other Bohjalian books.  Not sure why--maybe not as suspenseful in the traditional way, but I found the characters to be quite believable, and the depiction of spousal abuse convincing. Maybe that's why it's not as popular--it's too good.

Nearing the end of "Angel" woman's narration. Discover that Reverend Drew seems to know more than he should.  Winter nightgown during summer. Gun kept in bin where clothes are stored.  CB is building up more and more evidence that Drew is the murderer, so I'm pretty sure he isn't.  Which leaves?  "Angel" woman?  Seems unlikely--it would mean that Alice reached out to her, that she then visited the house, found Angel dead, somehow got a gun and shot Hubby.  Unlikely.  Daughter?  Even more unlikely.  I'll be interested as to how this is resolved.  I like that Bohjalian is able to have the "Angel" lady narrate without lampooning her.  She believes, she's not stupid, so her -- crazy -- belief in Angels is not incoherent.  Really good writing to pull this off.

Finished with the prosecutor. She's frustrated.  George did not kill himself, that's clear.  She believes Reverend Drew, but she's got no real proof.  She thinks "Angel Woman" is a loon and weirdly attracted to the murder, but that doesn't make her a murderer either.  Interestingly, as a reader none of the "suspects" seem plausible. Definitely a different sort of mystery in that we don't have one suspect, let alone a handful.  Next narrator is Angel Woman.

Prosecutor continues to narrate.  Rev. Drew went to Adirondacks with Heather, "explaining" his failure to return calls. (No cell reception.) She's unimpressed.  Interview includes questions regarding Alice perhaps having an affair.  Drew denies any knowledge, realizes he's getting himself into trouble, hires a lawyer. Medical examiner concludes Alice's husband murdered her (DNA under fingernails) but also concludes that George (husband) did not kill himself. Too drunk (o.37)  So who did? Nice description of interview with teenager daughter who is vague in a teenage way. Hopeful for reconciliation of parents even up to the day of the murder. So the mystery is:  Who killed the husband? Suspects are Reverend Drew (but he's so obvious) and daughter (but that's too far-fetched.) No clue.

Got a nice note from Bohjalian thanking me for commenting on his book--what a good guy! Finished (at least for a while) with narrator 1, the minister. Really well done--he slowly reveals himself to be an unreliable narrator (a man of the cloth with a strong sex drive), but is he unreliable when it comes to the murder?  He leaves his small town quickly after the funeral because (he says) of a crisis of faith.  He also rather quickly beds Heather, the "Angel" author who he visits in NYC. Just started Narrator Two.  I should know whether she's a DA or a detective, but listening in the car does that to you. Anyway, she definitely is throwing suspicion on our reverend.  Maybe not a murder/suicide. Maybe a murder/murder. Why did the good reverend beat it out of town so quickly?  Pathologist is skeptical, too. Plot thickens as characters develop--what more could I want? (Audible reader of the Reverend section was terrific. Just a little defensive tone in his voice on occa

Abusive father murders wife/kills self in rural Vermont.  Narrator (Reverend) is crushed. Crisis of faith and -- we learn offhandedly -- he was having an affair with the murdered wife.  15 year old daughter survives.  A writer of a book entitled Angels & Auras visits him.  Flake, publicity hound, he thinks--but it emerges that her father killed her mother and himself when she was 15, so her interest is understandable. Main character decides to leave the community and maybe give up his calling as a minister.  Funeral.  Writer shows up.  Bohjalian is terrific.  Character, plot, description, building a plot.  Suspect that reverend will become a suspect.  His sexual interest in the dead wife is clear, and he seems attracted to 15 year old as well.  Likely to get complicated.

Depiction of British campaign from the regular soldier's viewpoint at the end of WWII in Burma.  This was a remarkable book. It feels honest all the way through, which must be one of the hardest things to do. Interesting topics discussed:  Hiroshima--just or unjust (yes) Minor battles--no such thing to soldier Cumbrian fighting man, inner strength and toughness Virtues of not talking about everything Not feeling guilty about killing in war I'm not coming close to giving this book justice.  Short, memorable.  I'll definitely reread in a few years.

The middle 80% of this book was terrific, but the ending -- like the beginning -- didn't work for me. Plot: Danny makes yet another deal, this time by saving the city from a race by getting an iPhone video of a cop murdering a black teenager in exchange for no charges.  Of course, the deal goes entirely to hell, and the book ends up with a series of bloodbaths.  You need a scorecard to keep track of all the bodies.  In fact, there are so many at various points I'd find myself thinking:  Okay, which gang?  Dominicans, Mafia, Black, or maybe a rogue cop. Final scene, Danny trying to undo the evil he has done -- and somewhat succeeding -- was better than the twenty pages that led to it. Apparently this is going to be a film.  I hope they combine characters and tidy up the plot.  Both would have made the book better.

Levin goes in first on drug raid, instead of Malone, and is killed. (They were set up--gangsters thought Malone would be first.)  Wild shootout, Monty shot. Malone hadn't called for backup, trying to take out gangsters who knew the dirt on him. Bloodbath.  He has to turn in his badge. Common knowledge that he is the rat.  He goes to Russo's house. Wife screams at him. Russo comes down and tells him to get out.  Next day Malone discovers that Russo has turned on him, and that now Malone's testimony isn't needed.  He's going away for a long time. Russo says -- we do what we have to do. Flashback follows describing events leading up to murder of Piña. Starts from good motive--Piña had murdered entire family including three children. Revenge starts Danny down the slippery path. Finish tomorrow.

All Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop. He is “the King of Manhattan North,” a, highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant and the real leader of “Da Force.” Malone and his crew are the smartest, the toughest, the quickest, the bravest, and the baddest, an elite special unit given unrestricted authority to wage war on gangs, drugs and guns. Every day and every night for the eighteen years he’s spent on the Job, Malone has served on the front lines, witnessing the hurt, the dead, the victims, the perps. He’s done whatever it takes to serve and protect in a city built by ambition and corruption, where no one is clean—including Malone himself. What only a few know is that Denny Malone is dirty: he and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash in the wake of the biggest heroin bust in the city’s history. Now Malone is caught in a trap and being squeezed by the Feds, and he must walk the thin line between betraying his brothers and partners, the Job, his family,

George MacDonald Fraser—beloved for his series of Flashman historical novels—offers an action-packed memoir of his experiences in Burma during World War II. Fraser offers a firsthand glimpse at the camaraderie, danger, and satisfactions of service. A substantial epilogue, occasioned by the fiftieth anniversary of V-J Day in 1995, adds poignancy to a volume that eminent military historian John Keegan described as “one of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War.” In this rattling-good memoir, novelist, historian, and screenwriter Fraser vividly recounts the nerve-racking frontline action he saw while serving as a nineteen-year-old soldier during what turned out to be the last great land campaign of World War II—the British army’s ferocious campaign against the Japanese in Burma. The realism of his story, combined with the skills of a talented novelist, create a book of sentiment and excitement. This is unforgettable reading, both for fans of Fraser’s novels and for anyone inte

Not liking this much as I thought I would.  Slow start, and Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint don't have much in the way of chemistry. It's all so cool and sophisticated.  Eva says she's 26 (she was 35), and Cary Grant was 55 when the film was made.  James Mason is excellent as the villain.

Danny wears a wire to July 4th party with his team.  Russo and Monty, experienced cops, sense he's flipped on them.  "Get in the pool!" they shout, and he ends up fleeing the party.  They meet later at Morningside Park.  Monty is thinking about killing Danny (who can't deny he's a rat, but won't confirm it either.)  Then Danny's phone rings. A guy from Internal Affairs.  On speaker, with Russo and Monty listening, the IAB guy identifies Levin as the rat.  Danny reprieved, for a moment, but Monty is not convinced. (Danny turns when the Feds tell him that they can jail his wife as well because she won't be able to explain her spending, the size of her bank accounts, etc.  Tax evasion charges at the minimum.)

So, Malone is betrayed by the Feds.  The Internal Affairs Bureau is corrupt. City Hall is corrupt. The mob wants to kill him. The Dominicans want to kill him. He sells the heroin he stole for $4 million which he will split with his partners.  He's trying to stay alive, not give up his partners, get out of town somehow.  Very exciting

Malone rats out Torrez who then kills himself.  Malone struggling to hold it all together. Feds on him; his obligations to his team; Claudette. Monty wants to retire and move to the Carolinas.  Levin is brand new.  Malone could end up sending them all to jail.  What's an Irish cop to do?  Enjoyable

Malone in serious trouble with the Feds. They have him on tape accepting money from a lawyer and then passing it on to an asst. D.A. to get a client off.  Now, the guy who hates rats must rat out somebody or go to jail. He's trying to keep his honor by ratting out only lawyers and judges, but the Feds want cops, too.  His girlfriend, C., lapses back into heroin use.  M. threatens to kill her supplier.  Unsure where this is going as I'm only half done. Maybe the "ending" that started the book isn't the ending.  Maybe M. works himself out of trouble.  Liking this okay, but still find the "hard-boiled" tone a bit tough to swallow. Unremitting.

Liking it more, though the cynicism seems forced to me.  Black humor about shooting corpses how pop back to life. Dead cop who took viagra just before a heart attack at a brothel and has an erection when his wife identifies the body.  She's happy to know he went out a tiger.  That sort of thing. Malone gets a new member of the team. Levin. They quickly initiate him. He goes from boy scout to implicated in a series of "dirty cop" escapades in one day. Good passages on what it means to be black in America. The mystery is:  how does Malone end up in jail.

Finding this a bit overwrought.  Adjective upon adjective--hard-boiled, cynical, flashy.  Cop in NYC in Harlem. Fighting the bad guys but not unlike the bad guys.  Corrupt, but with honor.  Book begins with him in jail, so no suspense there.  Book describes how he gets there. 

VERY STRONG ENDING All the mysteries are nicely resolved.  It's a good ghost story, too, but the revelation comes all in a piece and pretty much explains everything.  A village with a secret. Since it's a short book, maybe the strong ending saves the whole thing.  I'll have to think about that. Spoilers:  The mother who was forced to give up her baby returns and lives near the child, as an aunt.  Child loves her; she loves child.  Boy goes out one day; mists come up; coach & child & nanny & driver all drown in marsh. Mother--angry and bitter about being forced to give up the child--dies later of heart failure, but comes back to haunt the village.  Whenever she is seen, a child dies. Our narrator learns that no child has died since his sighting . . . has the cycle ended? NO! In a very nice twist, even though reader could see it coming, it is his own firstborn child who dies.  The child is in a coach in London.  The ghost steps out from under a tree, spook

Great atmosphere. Interesting characters. Slender, slender plot. Eel House is haunted by the woman in black. There also is ghostly death of a young child in a coach that is sucked up by quicksand.  Our hero, alone in Eel House, reads of a child years ago taken from a mother and adopted by relatives--no doubt the drowned child.  And that's it for plot, other than the locals all being reluctant to go near Eel House or discuss it or admit to seeing the Woman in Black.  Too bad the plot is so thin as the rest is very good.

Ghost story, but I'm 50% into it and so far I have all atmosphere and very little plot.  Perhaps there is going to be something about the drowning in quicksand of a child and an adult.  Woman who lives in creepy, but intriguing, old house has died. Lawyer goes out to clean up the estate.  The house can only be reached at certain low tides, so he needs to stay there. Woman in Black at the funeral, but only lawyer sees her. Child going down in quicksand, but lawyer believes (after a while) that this is also a ghost. Townspeople seem to expect him to see ghosts.  No one goes near the old lady's house. No one attends her funeral.  There is a story here  Problem is it's taking a long time to get to the story.

Very good. The most exciting part was when Ballard and her lawyer meet with Feltzer.  F. thinks he has the goods on her, but she has filmed F. with the LA Times reporter.  He's broken the law by leaking about investigation. Everything turns. The revelation of the cop-murderer at the restaurant is okay. Alivez and Ballard work together (they're sworn enemies because he has sexually harassed her) to bring him down. All in all.  It's almost as if Connelly is afraid to make Ballard less than perfect for fear he'll be labeled sexist.  She doesn't do anything wrong in the entire book.  I'll read another, figuring he'll relax a bit in book two.

One plot seems to have come to an end.  Tom Trent stalks Ballard, captures her, brings her to his upside-down house (the same house where he tortured Ramon Romana.)  He plans on torturing, raping, killing Ballard.  He discovers she has a key to his house, figures out his ex-wife must have given the key to Ballard. He goes off to kidnap the ex-wife. Ballard escapes from her bonds and kills him (broom, stick sharp as a knife) when he returns. But . . . someone on the force has it in for her and leaks to the LA Times the possibility that she killed Trent unnecessarily. So, she's worried for her job and worried that someone would betray her.  more at: https://deukerreading.blogspot.com/2017/10/late-show-75.html Restaurant murder still unsolved. Olivez still on the force. Two hours left.

Getting better.  Ballard's old partner is murdered.  She speaks with a lawyer for one of the restaurant victims and learns that he was about to be arrested but was contemplating turning in a dirty cop for a reduced sentence.  Could the restaurant murderer be that cop?  Olivez (I'm listening on audio so am unsure of spelling) is the obvious suspect, so it's not he. Ramon Ramona beaten by Thomas Trent.  Ballard talks to his ex-wife porn star, producer and director who confirms her suspicions of Trent.  How do these two plots fit? Or do they.

Ballard spends this day working on the first crime in the book--the credit card theft.  She, with help from a call center in Mumbai, tracks perp (Nettles) to a motel room and busts him. She does not follow procedures to the letter and is criticized by another cop.  After that, she sleeps with the parole officer who has come out because Nettles is on parole.  She awakens in his apt and gets a call from Jenkins, her partner.  Her old partner, Chastain, has been murdered. (Chastain did not tell the truth when she complained about sexual harassment from Olivez.) She drives out to Chastain's place but Olivez sends her away. There is a suggestion that Chastain's murder is connected to the murders in the restaurant.  Murder was execution style.

Liz as "easy" dress model who was abused as a child "and loved it!" by her mother's boyfriend.  She seems to be truly in love with Laurence Harvey, but he can't quite break from his wife. Liz is sure he won't really forget her promiscuity. Eddie Fisher is Liz's childhood friend who somehow is able to resist her sexual advances even though he's single and alone all night in a room with her, and she's eager.  What a guy!  Ends tragically .  .   .  if you were engrossed. Liz races away from Harvey. He follows. Car crash. Dead Liz. She apparently hated the movie but was forced to make it by the studio.  She'd just "stolen" Eddie Fisher from Debbie Reynolds, so the Fisher role in the movie is weird. A soap opera, but Liz is by far the best thing in the movie.  She puts on a great performance.

Didn't read much today.  Ballard gets herself assigned to the restaurant murder case for the weekend.  She calls parents of killed waitress--learns of druggie boyfriend. Ballard was harassed by police sergeant and then not supported by her partner which is how she ended up on night shift. Ballard paddle boards during the day and sleeps in tent on beach (homeless cop, essentially).

Just started. New detective, female,  Renee Ballard. I don't have much feel for her yet.  Murder at restaurant. Man kills four companions, then kills waitress on way out the door. The waitress seems peripheral to the main crime, but . . . Also, drag queen is murdered brutally the same night. Two crimes seem unrelated, but . . .

Very satisfying ending. The two sisters are reconciled . . . to a degree. Nora is nasty to Teresa at the wake, but she visits her at her Ramada Inn before Teresa returns to her cloister. Both sisters ask forgiveness of the other; both receive it. Terrific book. Characters: Nora, older sister, pragmatic no-nonsense mother after being a timid adolescent. Truth is not a necessary fact of life for her. She adapts truth to fit her concept of family and a proper life. Charlie:  Her husband. Not clear if he loved her, but it's definitely a marriage that grows into mutual respect that is a form of love.  He accepts Patrick as his own son. Patrick:  Teresa's son, doesn't know it.  Wild. Blinded a boy in a fight as an early teen while protecting a friend.  Family moves away from Dorchester because of it. Owns a bar . . . dies in car crash after night of heavy drinking connected to the return from the past of the story of the boy he blinded.  John: Brother. Of the family but

The wake for Patrick.  Nora decides it's time to tell her children that Patrick isn't her son, but her sister Teresa's son.  So, she tell them that she has a sister (news to them) and that she is a nun and will be at the wake.  The wake is busy with people; she doesn't get time to tell more--though it's unclear if she wants to tell more. Brigitte, her gay daughter, wants to tell Nora that her lover Natalie intends to have (an artificially inseminated) baby, but doesn't get the chance.  Just when it looks like Teresa won't show up . . . she shows up. Brian brings a "date," to the wake.  Ashley, who is dressed inappropriately.  John and Julia stop to get a special holy medal that Teresa gave Patrick at birth. Nora wants this medallion on Patrick in his grave. Mauve, their adopted Chinese-born daughter, is surly. Holy cards and prayers. Good book

All about Brigette joining the convent, her attraction to the cloistered life, what she gains and what she (finally) doesn't miss.  A final meeting with her son Patrick.  Yawn for me.

The themes are better developed in the Patricia Highsmith novel. Psychology is better, characters better.  But the movie has some wonderful cinematic moments.  Tennis match with Bruno staring straight ahead at Guy as everyone else follows the ball.  Amusement park . . . shadows of couples kissing are ominous . . . Tunnel of Love is dark, scary . . . wild final scene on the carousel when Bruno dies. 

Christopher Orr, the Atlantic Like Villeneuve’s recent films  Sicario  and  Prisoners , the movie is at once evocative and mysterious. As events unspool, we can sense that—like Louise with the heptapods—we do not entirely comprehend them. (We are correct in this.) As she and Ian try to decode the creatures’ language, they are constrained in their efforts by Colonel Weber and, especially, a CIA agent named Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg). Until we know more of the aliens’ intentions—conquest? tourism? cup of sugar?—Weber and Halpern are greatly concerned that we do not accidentally teach them more about ourselves than we learn about them. Moreover, there are geopolitics to consider. Eleven other craft hover elsewhere on Earth: Shanghai, Siberia, Sudan, Sierre Leone, and even a few places not starting with “s.” What if China or Russia makes a breakthrough with the aliens first and uses what it learns against the United States? What if shots are fired, bringing alien wrath down upon th

"Moonlight is one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching films that I have ever seen. Many users are expressing disdain or presumed it to be dull. Yet, to see it as such misses the whole point of the film. Moonlight wasn't intended to overtly wow us or give us knowledge about something we didn't already know. Rather the film allowed us to enter and follow a life that I'm sure many have never considered living. Yes, we know some about poverty, queerness, masculinity, and Blackness individually, but to see the conflict of it all so succinctly woven together allowed the complexity of some folks lives to be seen in an unadulterated way. Moonlight wasn't supposed to give us some grandiose finale or even answers, but simply present a narrative that we often don't see. And that's what makes it so simple, painful, yet outstandingly beautiful." from review on Imdb Pretty much agree with the reviewer. Thought performances were excellent.  Gave insigh

Nora adopts Theresa's baby, Patrick.  Nora, surprising herself, comes to love the baby. Theresa leaves, unable to watch Nora raise her baby, and goes to teach in Queens.  The night of Patrick (adult) death is described.  A bit of a mystery. He's drinking the night he dies, but denies it. Won't take a ride from his brother Brian. Nora sees Charlie in a new light--he adopts the baby and loves it. Nice scene with Charlie giving baby Patrick a bottle of milk and "chatting" with him. Nora finally (two years into their marriage) has sex with Charlie.  Second son John born two years later.

Teresa has her son (Patrick) raised by Nora, but only at the expense of a broken heart. Teresa enters cloistered convent.  Nora's children:  John, successful campaign advisors, but for REPUBLICANS. Unthinkable for Catholics.  Daughter Rachel (or is it Bridget) is gay and wants to bear a child. Brian, youngest, works at Patrick's bar.  Patrick gets the bar after having the great good fortune of having a container take off two of his toes at the docks.  Settlement is for $200,000, which he uses to buy the bar.  Charlie dies of cancer.  John's daughter is adopted from China, and as a teenager doesn't talk to either John or his wife. Good Irish family stuff--quick tempers, quick forgiveness. Talking over one another, finishing each other's stories, repeating stories at every family meeting, family tiffs and rivalries, Mom more impressed with Patrick's bar than John's success as campaign manager.

Listening on Audible. Hoping to get book from library. Nora and Teresa are headed from Ireland to the USA. Nora is to marry Charlie, whom she is somehow engaged to though she doesn't love. He's from her town and has gone ahead to get things ready. Teresa is the younger sister, the fair-haired child. Prettier, smarter, livelier. Nice start--Catholic Church looms in the background. Example.  Priest/teacher feels up the prettiest girl in school while the other girls are commanded to stare at their texts. Girls report to one another, but not to parents.  They are sure the parents would blame them, not the priest. St. Francis in 1960's. Brother Donald known to rub legs of kids in his class. Kids talked to one another. To my knowledge, no one ever reported him.

The resolution of the mystery is not strong.  In essence, Blake discovers that the bureaucrat he thought responsible was, instead, simply mistaken in his persecution of the thugges, not evil.  However, another bureaucrat was downright evil.  Really, as a reader, which bureaucrat is to blame isn't compelling.  Blake and Avery also agree to keep their discoveries and the facts around the murder of Mountstuart semi-hushed up . . . again, not dramatic. However . . . the creation of the feel of India was great.  Both Avery and Blake were well-rounded.  The afterward helps in understanding the historical context and the controversy over the "thugs."  Did they even exist.  An example of the subtlety:  Avery ends the book with the plan to marry his sweetheart.  Blake congratulates him, then says something to the effect of:  "But you know, my young friend, your eyes have been opened to the corruption at the core of the English domination of India.  Can you really be a good

More of an action thriller recently than a mystery.  Blake and Avery are captured, escape with Mountstuart through a series of caves, go into disguise as they trek with little food across India, are attacked and nearly killed, but kill the bad guys.  Mountstuart dies, and now they are trying to set things right. Should finish tomorrow.

from Wikipedia To take advantage of their victims, the Thugs would join travellers and  gain their confidence ; this would allow them to surprise and strangle the travellers with a handkerchief or noose. They would then rob and bury their victims. This led to the Thugs being called  Phansigar (English: "using a  noose "), a term more commonly used in southern India. [4]  During the 1830s, the Thugs were targeted for eradication by  Governor-General of India ,  William Bentinck  and his chief captain,  William Henry Sleeman . The Thuggee cult was apparently destroyed by this effort. [1] [5] Strangler Vine questions whether "Thugs" existed or were a creation of the English. Avery and Blake continue to have an interesting relationship. They have found Mountstuart (sp? I'm listening on audio) because they've been captured by the same brigands who captured Mountstuart. So now they need to escape. Very enjoyable.

Historical crime fiction. Avery, young and very English, teams up with Blake, nearly gone native. They spar, irritate one another, but slowly come to appreciate one another. Interesting look at India in 1840.  Thugges, bandits, poverty, colonial. Like the book.

I guess I just don't like wise books.

This is a "wise" book, with all the virtues and vices of the genre.  Simplicity, a good heart, live in the moment--all true, I suppose, but you have to wonder if anyone, ever, actually managed to live that way. Boy, Andalusian shepherd, is told by "seer" that his fortune is waiting for him at the pyramids. He sells his sheep and sets out.  Tea salesman in Tangiers, then on a caravan.  Oasis stopover . . .  he sees two hawks fighting and warns the warriors at the oasis that they are about to be attacked.  He meets the Alchemist, learns of the Philosopher's Stone.

Really good plot, but I found the ending to be too much exposition and not enough action. I'll read another, though, as much of this was extremely good.  Spoilers follow Hammer Man is Raj's father, Patel. Joey is Raj's (unknown to him) half-brother\ Joey's father is Mr. O'Toole Patel murdered Mr. O'Toole and family after learning of pregnancy of his wife.  (He stopped having sex with her during the time of her affair because she'd cut her hair short--she couldn't pass Joey off as their child." Mrs. Patel learns of Joey's death--shoots and kills her husband. Lydia is somewhat reconciled with her father but breaks with her boyfriend, David.  Headed toward Raj as new beau.

Two plots converge. Joey, the suicide, knew Lydia's father when Dad was a prison guard.  Dad shared photos of Lydia with Joey.  Joey also was seeking his biological parents. Lydia discovers that the lead detective in Hammer Man case believes her father is the murderer, and he has good reasons.  Lydia is contacted by dad. She feels a push pull. She wants info from Dad but she is repelled by him. Turns out David, Lydia's boyfriend, has known about Lydia's past for years and has been talking to Dad without Lydia's knowledge. Exciting!

So, Joey was cutting up one book and making windows to slide other books inside, and now Lydia is decoding all this and showing it to Lyle. The plot is pushing "the willing suspension of disbelief" aspect of reading to the limits, but I'm hanging in there. Raj has returned. Dad/Lydia estranged. Dad living in mountains after murders of Carol and her family during Lydia's sleepover. Some connection between murder of that family and Joey's suicide?

Lydia's terrifying sleep-over at Carol's house when she is 10. (Hammer Man; cabinet under the sink). Suicide in the book store leaves grown-up Lydia his books--they have cut-out windows and (the used books) have labels from her new book store.  Some sort of code?  Lydia's beau, David, thinks so and wants to work the code out. Raj, Lydia's childhood boyfriend of sorts, shows up.    Exciting.

I really liked this book.  I found all of the "history" of each of the characters very believable.  The section where Joe weeps while watching The Glass Menagerie was magnificent.  Not many thrillers match this one for story, plot, character and theme.  Terrific!

Great start Main character is son of alcoholic, abusive/neglectful mother. He is around 21, living independently, but can't escape Mom because he has a severely autistic brother.  When  Mom gets completely drunk/arrested/jailed, it's up to our protagonist to take care of his brother.  Good stuff. Protagonist is in college.  English assignment is to do a biography.  He decides to visit an old folks home and find a subject.  He is directed to Carl Iverson, a convicted murder/rapist, who is dying of cancer. Protagonist hears Carl's story, investigate the trial, hears of Carl's experiences in Vietnam (hero, and ethical). Plot:  Investigation of the trial and conviction.  Interaction of main character with mom and with his brother. Interaction of main character with Lila, a neighbor, who becomes involved in the case. Is Carl a monster?  A victim?  Who killed the 14 year-old girl. Vietnam lurking in the background.

This was a real page-turner.  Our hero has to sort out a plot against the US government and also save the lives of players on his baseball team. Everything is compressed into about one week's time.  Characterization is quite good.  Two boys (Raz and Jordan) are distinct personalities.  Evan a little less so. The mothers of all three are well developed.  Chris/Curt is a bit too perfect, but he is the hero. Spoilers follow! Plot: Chris goes undercover at a HS because it seems one of the boys on the baseball team in buying fertilizer for a bomb.  Anniversary of OKC bombing is coming up.  But which boy?  Jordan is quiet, but his father has died recently and his older brother has a gun in his room.  Least likely.  Raz is crazier and is a good suspect, throwing his bat in a game, genuinely unhappy. Evan has everything, but that makes him suspicious, too. Gay teacher seems to kill himself  . . . or has he been cleverly murdered? Chris is called off the case because another bomb th

Very exciting. Raz/Ryan have a gun.  Possibly considering suicide (depression after father's death.) Raz's mother realizes she needs to pull it all together.  Things looking up. Evan.  Mom finds photos of naked girlfriends on phone.  Evan got a girl pregnant. Dad/Evan paid for abortion, leaving mom out of it. She's had it with both of them.  Evan's father perhaps having another affair.  Mom is gaining strength. Abe's study checked over by Chris who is more and more certain a murder took place.  But why? And how is it connected to the bomb-making?

Great twist.  The bad guy (Chris) is actually the good guy. He's using the boys to foil a plot by some redneck to blow something up.  Chris works for ATF.  Jordan:  Dad never in picture, ascending on pitcher's mound, Chris's set-up.  Not a suspect . . . so is he a suspect.  Raz . . . out of control often. Dad committed suicide. . .  Possible suspect.  Evan . . . rich family, Dad (surgeon) probably cheating on wife.  He seems the most likely suspect. Heather has Chris's eye (Jordan's mom) Evan's mom drinks, is overweight, may be losing her husband. Raz's mom works for the mall.  Abe Y (teacher who was asking questions about Wyoming and Chris's past) hangs himself . . . or was he murdered?  Very exciting!

Great start. Chris is a fake. He pretends to be a teacher in order to befriend a high school boy whom he can manipulate.  Two boys are possible targets:  Razz and Jordan.  Absent fathers (one dead). Chris drives a wedge between the two friends.  We learn a bit about the parents.  One woman is a director of an outlet mall (which her older son robs and for which he is arrested). The other woman works (until she quits) as a waitress at the fancy country club in town.  A third boy, Evan, lurks on the outskirts. His mother is wealthy (husband is surgeon) but unhappy. Is husband cheating on her. Other plot threads:  bomb materials purchased. Truck rental planned. Abe, teaching colleague, is from Wyoming, the state Chris has picked for his cover since he's sure no one will be from there.  Abe also is talkative and pushy, making Chris nervous that his cover will be blown.

Peter is seduced by prostitute who gets him to fall off the wagon. Next morning, he gives a slurred speech interview to a radio show. Interview is supposed to further his campaign, but instead destroys it. Behind all this is Francis who wants Peter to fail. Francis's wife, Claire, is off having affair with NYC photographer Peter tries to get in touch with kids, is shunned. He wants to follow AA advice and make a clean breast of everything. This would totally screw Francis's plans, so Francis drives Peter to his garage, waits till Peter falls asleep, closes garage door. Goodbye Peter Francis's grands scheme is to have the unhappy Veep quit to become governor of PA. Then Francis is appointed new Veep. Then, after president's two terms, Francis runs for president and wins. The clever bastard is now a murderer. Breaks up with rodent Zoe who becomes a little more human.

Very good book--interesting main character.  Woman learning that she is strong, not reliant on a man . . . sounds cliched, but Rachel Caine makes it work.  Setting: Tennessee, by Stillhouse Lake Characters: Mom, Gwen/Gina, trying to protect her kids from the effects of her serial murderer husband who is in prison, but who still has tentacles out. Suspects: Javier, gun range manager and part-time cop Sam:  Brother of one of her husband's victims who has tracked Gwen down. Lancel: Cop with boys who bully Gwen's son. Gwen gets help from Absalom, a computer whiz who helps her keep track of trolls on the Internet. Local police are suspicious of Gwen, believing she must have known her husband was a murderer (or at least should have known). Gwen was tried as an accomplice but acquitted. Kids, Lanny (girl) and Connor (boy) are good characters as well. Very believable. I'd definitely read another by Rachel Caine Spoilers follow: Murderer is Lancel. He's obsessed with Gwen&

Russo blows his chance to become governor.  Seduced by prostitute paid by Francis.  Goes back on bottle. Drunk during radio interview.  Did he kill himself?  Find out tonight. Francis and Claire are having trouble. Claire sort of betrays him on a crucial vote after he makes it clear that her career is less important than his.  Claire is now in NYC with her photographer ex-lover and maybe a lesbian lover as well. Zoe . . . oh, Zoe.  She's still an ambitious rodent but she's rather mysteriously decided to shack up with Nathan.

What a page-turner. Gwen/Gina can't trust anyone.  New dead bodies floating up right outside her deck on Stillhouse Lake.  Sam a stalker turned friend. (His sister was a victim.)  How is Melvin Royal orchestrating all this from prison.  Did he have an accomplice the whole time?  Exciting plot and most of Gwen's self reflection is very interesting and believable.  Terrific.

Gwen/Gina bares her soul to Sam, her neighbor.  She is put off by his cool response.  Her husband is on to her and is making her life hell.  Specifically, he has the police investigating whether she has killed a young girl and drowned her in the lake.  My guess is that the girl will have been "buried in a watery grave" in a way that is similar to how her husband handled his corpses.  Very good book.

Very little in this movie is dated.  Characters are three-dimensional, acting is terrific, bad guys have a point regarding the range.  Some beautiful shots as well.  Terrific!

Majestic Bay Southern heist movie . . . Coca Cola 600.  Logans are unlucky, but this time they pull it off.  One-armed bartender.  Ex-football star. Daniel Craig (James Bond) as bomb maker.  They break him out of jail to blow the bank vault then return him to jail before he's missed. Just a no go.  Not funny enough, not clever enough. One good moment:  Little girl singing West Virginia in talent show. Audience joins in.  Terrific, but it seemed like it was from another movie.

Well-plotted, paced, just the right amount of tension.  A murder occurs on the lake.  Lanny (daughter) tells investigator that she heard something.  Mom realizes that this might bring Internet stalkers back on her trail.  She thinks about rushing away, but decides to make this her stand. Son goes missing for a time.  Panic. Returned by neighbor who becomes romantic interest . . . but is he safe.  Liking it

Perfect family, only Dad is a serial murderer.  Wife discovers only when car smashes into garage revealing murdered girl.  Now mother and children are trying to live peacefully away from their past, but Internet stalkers are after them--stalkers believe Mom helped Dad.  Daughter is acting out as Goth; son is introvert.  Son's phone is "lost" for a bit, but then returned. Are stalkers onto him?Good start.

One of four. Not sure of the title.  Man murders his wife because she wants to sell his farm and move to Omaha.  He gets his son to help. Gruesome murder; thrown in the well; rats eating her body. Nice.  Ghost story coming.

Wonderful book. Reversal of fortunes forces a liberal white family to face the implications of their employment of July, a black man who manages their home in Johannesburg. They are forced by civil war to move to July's village. Now they are the ones who don't know, don't understand, don't quite fit in. July holds the power and knowledge. Very subtle book.

"Troubles" in South Africa force Bam and Margaret to go into hiding in the village of their servant, July.  World reverses on them; now they are dependent, lack basic knowledge of their environment, are weak.  It took me a bit of time to get in the flow, but I'm in it now and am greatly enjoying the book.

Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis Really solid remake of the Vincent Price movie.  Goldblum is terrific, as are the special effects.  Geena Davis is able to make this into a reverse Beauty and the Beast.  He starts out as the Beauty whom she loves and descends into a beast. Liked it.  David Cronenburg

I'll start with the weaknesses. The resolution of the plot (as I've found before with TF) isn't heart-stopping. Some of the characters seem (to this Irish lad) a bit over the top.<br /><br />But that's it. TF's writing ability is second to none. She gives you a book and a half--this is not a writer who ever cheats her reader. No shortcuts. Vivid dialogue, great descriptions (almost too good, as our first person narrator is a male who doesn't seem that he'd be all that perceptive).<br /><br />I realized when I was nit-picking this a bit in my mind that I would be 100% delighted if every murder mystery I read were 75% as good as Tana French's. I'm going to go back and make sure I gave her five stars on all my reviews. <br/><br/> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6046104-carl">View all my reviews</a>

All female cast. Norma Shearer's husband is having an affair with Joan Crawford.  Norma's "friends" love the intrigue, love to gossip.  End result--divorce.  Of course husband comes to regret his entanglement with a shopkeeper (Crawford), and all ends well with Norma getting him back and forgiving him.  If a man wrote the screenplay today, he'd be roasted alive. Movie was made in 1939.  Depression still going, though not at its peak. Absolute excess and money with all the main characters. I won't be watching this one again.

Rosie's body discovered twenty years after she disappeared.  Francis, who was supposed to run off with her but thought he was stood up, is now a cop (undercover) and he can't keep from investigating.  Major suspects are:  His father, his brother Shay, Rosie's father.  Francis is estranged from his family--alcohol, physical abuse, etc.  His brother Shay resents his reentry into the family. Shay has dealt with alcoholic father and nasty mother all these years; Francis should just stay away. Then Francis's younger brother Kevin dies from a fall out a window.  Kevin is a suspect of convenience in the death of Rosie.  If Kevin killed himself in remorse, then all is solved.  Of course Francis doesn't buy it. Nasty family. Nasty "hero" in Francis. He's manipulative with everyone. Tana French doesn't scrimp on the details.  I'd say this is my least favorite so far, but 100 pages to go.

A reluctant murderer--not her first plan--but when Phillip persists in being a pest. Ambrose, who we think of as reliable, is suspicious of her. The locked up laburnum seeds did it for me.  A gardener wouldn't collect seeds of a plant she already has in Italy; she'd want something new.  And we keep hearing repeatedly about her herbal tea and her skill with herbs.  Yes, she saves Phillip. Yes, she decides to kill Phillip. Contradictory, but that's what makes the book intriguing. Points against the murder . . . She could have just let him die when he had meningitis. She returns the jewelry to the bank. Beginning and end . . . guilty men hang at the crossroads.  Phillip throws a stone at the hanging man . . . is he throwing a stone at himself?

Mysterious ending. Many signs pointing to Rachel as conniving devil; many signs pointing to her being greedy/impulsive; some signs pointing to her being basically okay. Phillip, though, is convinced that she killed Ambrose and is after him as well. He's got good reasons, most having to do with laburnum. Construction around the house  . . . They made a movie of this which didn't do well. I can see why. Many scenes involve reading letters or talking to lawyers.  Not really much in the way of action. Not as good as the Go-Between, though Phillip in his naivete reminded me of the main character of that.  Vertigo?  Infatuation is similar.  I preferred Rebecca, but I'll certainly give Jamaica Inn a try. Du Maurier writes beautifully.

Odd--not the famous trial of Goebbels, etc., but a later trial of ordinary Germans (judges, for example) involved in day-to-day Nazi life.  Nice premise, but it's BORING. It looks like there will be a series of guest appearances.  Tonight we saw Montgomery Clift. Judy Garland is also a co-star.  Too much talking; not enough action. And the main ideas are no longer controversial--yes, ordinary Germans were implicated. This one is getting the hook.  Three hours . . . which is twice as long as it needs to be.

So, Rachel has the $ and doesn't want to marry Phillip. Or was Phillip always mistaken in thinking she'd agreed. Illness, but Rachel doesn't run off. Instead, she nurses him back to health.  Louise, though, thinks R. is a thorough cad. (Is that an appropriate word for a female?) And now we learn that laburnum seeds are poisonous--didn't know that--and that Ambrose had a laburnum outside his window. Rachel the poisoner? Nice movement back and forth with Rachel, a blend of good and evil. Phillip reminds me a bit of the MC in The Go-Between.

Pakistani/American male, southern white girl. Romance fraught with problems. He can't bring himself to tell his parents about his non-Muslim girlfriend . . . then, she gets sick. Nice play of comedy (that's his profession) versus tragedy.  It almost seems that we're headed to an unhappy ending . . . but no! Based on true story of main character's romance with his wife.  Pretty good, all in all. Adult-onset  Still's disease  (AOSD) is a form of  Still's disease , a rare systemic autoinflammatory  disease characterized by the classic triad of persistent high spiking fevers, joint pain, and a distinctive salmon-colored bumpy rash. The  disease  is considered a diagnosis of exclusion.

"Rachel the mysterious. She sometimes seems like a gold-digger, a spendthrift who will go through Phillip's money and break his heart. Or is she just misunderstood, a European whose mode of life is so foreign to the English that they think the worst. Conflicts: the pearl necklace given and then taken back; letters is Sam's gifted jacket. Good, solid story . . . a bit of a chick book, but I'm okay with it. Hmmm

Rachel the mysterious.  Ambrose loves her, then writes saying she is ruining him.  He dies--a brain tumor? fever? or has Rachel killed him. Phillip (MC) goes to Italy only to find that A. is dead and Rachel is gone. He despises her. But . . . upon his return he learns that, although she has his books and clothes, she is making no claim on his land. She then shows up in England, writes to his guardian, and explains that she has brought all the books and clothes and wants to give them to Phillip. Phillip remains suspicious, but he does invite her to his estate. She arrives. He expects to hate her, but he is charmed.  She is 35, unpretentious, plain spoken--just the woman for him, though he doesn't quite know it yet. She has also arranged to have flowers and shrubs sent from Italy to England for Phillip's estate.  She knows just where Ambrose wanted them planted, but she of course won't be around to supervise as she is only a visitor. To be continued Book looks like it

Terrific, except for the final few minutes in which a happy ending is forced on a dark movie investigating the side effects of drugs and drug abuse in middle-America.  Mason at one point sees himself as a modern-day Abraham called upon to kill his only son.  His wife, desperately trying to stop him, points out that Isaac was spared by God in the end. Mason:   God was wrong. Wonderful moment.

Schoolteacher suffering from inflamed arteries (autoimmune disease? RA? Lupus?) is giving cortisone.  It works, but the side effects make him feel he is bigger than life. Football in the house with his boy; great PTA back-to-school night scene with parents in which he calls their children unformed gorillas.  Buying spree of clothes for wife.  Headed toward trouble -- he's doubling up on his pills.

Rider has an unsettling meal with his uncle.  He's asked which of his nieces looks older.  Then Molly, who he'd been suspected of molesting the day before, takes him down to the river to swim.  She "chicken fights" on his shoulders, but seems to be masturbating, though she's just 10, by grinding against him.  Then she deserts him.  He makes it back to the house okay and they all leave, but not before the strong hint is made that his mother and his uncle had an incestuous relationship (down by the river) when they were children.   Excellent acting, genuinely creepy feel, screenplay to my mind needed something more definite to HAPPEN. 

Great start.  Main character as little boy sees hanged man at the crossroads--the old days.  He throws a rock at the corpse, then vomits in sorrow/confusion at the scene. His uncle Ambrose raises him. Idyllic male world, but Ambrose has rheumatism. he goes to Italy for the winter, falls in love with their cousin Rachel, gives up his bachelor status, marries her, is happy, stays in Italy, sends letters indicating he is miserable, dies.  Main Character now is in Italy trying to sort all this out.  Who is Rachel?  Young? Old? Kind? A witch?  We'll find out.

Family reunion.  MC (Rider) goes off with little girl to a barn. She starts screaming and runs out of the barn with blood on her dress.  Her first period? Did Rider assault her.  Family in Nebraska is already suspicious of Rider and his family because they are the "California" relatives. Rider is not midwestern in any way, wearing too-short shorts, star sunglasses. He's also interested in art--nothing like his cousins who are suspicious, contemptuous, and mystified by him.  Rider's mother has some beef with her brother, and there is the hint that Rider's father is not actually his father.

Bombing in Saudi Arabia.  Freeh, new director, is obsessed with solving this crime and neglects coming crimes.  Freeh also is investigating Clinton, so there is no harmony between WH and FBI.  Bin Laden is gearing up, but FBI is not yet proactive.  Other cases going on: Ruby Ridge, Branch Davidians, Unabomber, first World Trade Center bombing.

Nixon leaves the FBI in turmoil.  The movement toward considering terrorism as a major aspect of the FBI.  Iran/Contra. Locherbie.    This continues to be a very balanced, thoughtful book.  It does not sugar coat the FBI's failings, nor does it revel in them.  Author makes it clear that the FBI has both infringed on rights of citizens and protected citizens.  Movement of the FBI post Hoover is in a positive direction.

More machinations.  Spacey uses his wiles to dethrone speaker of the house, outfox teachers union, get a bunch of money for his wife's charity, seduce Zoe, the reporter (who is now working for an on-line news agency). Wife is almost reseduced by Adam the photographer.  Russo, the Pennsylvania congressman with the coke/alcohol habit, sells out his district for Francis, but as a reward may become governor of PA. Soap opera, but okay.

The "Nixon" chapters are, of course, fascinating.  Nixon warns Patrick Gray "never, never, never," to trust anyone, to be ruthless, to remember the Nazis who, after a sniper killed a soldier, lined up entire villages and threatened to shoot them all if they didn't turn over the sniper.  Oh, my. FBI responsible for the fall of Nixon as they gathered the information which Mark Few and others passed on to NYT. FBI eventually has to investigate itself, to make sure that in protecting America from terrorist is isn't also taking away American's rights.  One thing I hadn't thought about:  FBI can wiretap foreigners without court approval.  They aren't citizens so the don't get the protection of the constitution.

Hoover feared Soviet suicide attacks, dirty bombs, chemical and biological warfare.  Gotta give him credit for seeing the possibilities.  Soviet spies get info on nuclear bombs.  Philby and Burgess.  Hoover actually opposes Joe McCarthy because Mc. is so extreme he hurts the fight against communism. New to me:  Truman attempted assassination by Puerto Rican nationalist. Truman disliked Hoover and called him infrequently. Thought Hoover was trying to set up a secret police.  Nixon, once vice president, call twice a day.

Academy Award winner.  We saw it and didn't like it when it came out so thought we'd give it another go.  No go.  It has high production values, which imparts to its tawdry plot an unearned high seriousness.  This is really a Roger Corman film.  One other thing.  Both of us thought that the character was based on a real murderer--again, because of the "seriousness" of the whole endeavor. But no, it's all fiction . . . ghoulish fiction.  We hooked it after one hour.  No more tries for this one

Excellent.  James Cain novel.  Veda is a great "bad seed" child.  Joan Crawford is terrific, as are all the supporting characters, particularly Jack Carson.

So far, this has been a book almost exclusively about J. Edgar Hoover, a sign of how influential he was and of how new the FBI actually is.  Most chilling aspect of the tale is the death of FDR.  Truman knew very little (he'd been VP for two months) when he became president.  He did know enough, though, to be cautious in his support of Hoover. He feared an American secret police. And for good reason.  Hoover, an anti-communist from 1919, supported round-ups of communists, believed that communists were ready to do Stalin's bidding, feared terrorist attacks using biological, chemical or nuclear weapons (he was ahead of his time on this) etc.  Hoover also opposed the formation of the CIA as it developed. He wanted an agency much smaller. Interesting book, though maybe more about the FBI than I care to know. Nixon just made his first appearance--questioning possible communists as a 34 year-old congressman.  Hoover immediately is drawn to Nixon.

Leopold, father, as incapable of submitting to authority. He realizes early on that Wolfgang and his sister are talented and that Wolfgang is a prodigy.  They will be his ticket to money. Grand tour for years showing off the child prodigy, and it doesn't fail to impress.  Mozart is so baffling that some think he is a god of sorts; others that there is some magic involved. Six cd's filled with lots of good music and about the right information on his life and death.  Amadeus, not surprisingly, is not accurate.  M. probably died as a result of rheumatic fever.  He had this as a child (his father angry because he couldn't perform) and probably had repeated bouts as an adult.  Overwork, stress, etc. The lecturer was a little annoying at times, but he was lively at all times, so all in all, good.  I wouldn't want to listen to two in a row, but I would come back to him again.

Couldn't make it.  I have a feeling that this would have been a charming book had an editor gotten to work on it.  I'd say almost every chapter so far has been at least 30% too long.  Also, the unending witticism wear on a reader--I stopped after the gay samba dance scene.  It's a good example of the need for editors.

Main character and Tully make it to Palm Springs. Dinah Shore LPGA is going on, also a lesbian celebration.  MC is hot on the trail of her niece and has a love/hate relationship with Tully. Too purposefully charming for my taste.  It feels a bit like Wodehouse but not quite. I think the probably with a book that relies so heavily on  a series of funny lines/jokes is that if the #3 is very funny and #4 is just funny, there's a disappointment.

Richard Widmark, a nobody, trying desperately to be a somebody.  He cajoles and weasels and lies his way into promoting a wrestling match between a Greco-Roman purist and a WWE-type wrestler. it would make him great money . . . but the two wrestle in the gym out of anger before the real match.  The older Greco-Roman guy dies, and his son--a promoter and mobster--wants Widmark's blood. He gets it, too. Jules Dassin.  Very "noir."

** spoiler alert **  Ending was weak. Spoilers: Anna is actually Annabelle, Charlie's twin separated at birth. (weak) Both have Marfan syndrome, weak heart and tall. Charlie dies after sprinting (weak heart, weak plot). Annabelle hates Grace because Grace was Charlie's best friend and "sister" when Annabelle should have been. So Annabelle comes back for vengeance. She seduces Grace's beau, moves in, tries to kill Grace a number of times, eventually captures Grace, chains her to a bed, captures her mother, chains her to the same bed. Then . . . Mom picks the lock and Annabelle goes to jail. Grace has a baby though she doesn't (though she may) reunite with weak boyfriend, Dan the Man. Jensen's observations as a writer are excellent. The plot was okay (though Grace seemed stupid in her failure to see through Anna). The ending . . . cover your eyes. Still, I'd read another by Jensen because of her skill as a writer and her powers of observation. This was

Self-published, then gets some notoriety, then published after death of author (her only book.) Main character attends wedding of niece.  She is on the outs with her half-sister. Niece jilts groom. Half-sister, wealthy, offers MC $50K to track down daughter and bring her back, along with various expensive items daughter has absconded with.  MC, poor, agrees.   Witty, but I suspect the witticism will wear me out.  MC also has flirted with Groom's step-father, also a rich Hollywood type.  We'll see.

Spoilers! Wow.  Anna is actually Annabelle, Charlie's twin sister. (I thought Charlie would turn out to be alive . . . not terribly far off.)  Charlie had an imaginary friend -- Belle -- who wasn't so imaginary after all.  Anna hates Grace because Grace was a "sister" to Charlie, a role that Anna should have filled.  Alexi, Annabelle and Charlie's mother, kept Charlie but put Annabelle up for adoption.  Why? Not clear yet.  Charlie dies (bizarrely) after a fall in a 200 meter race.  She'd been gone for six years, shows up in her little village, races against Grace, trips on shoelace, falls, dies!!!!! Anna tries to kill Grace by burning down her house.  Anna survives, goes to London to visit Esme.  Someone (Anna?) seems to try to kill her in London by pushing her in front of a subway.  Grace returns to her cottage, under repair, and spends the night.  Anna sneaks in and chains Grace to her bed.  Workers are coming Monday, so something will have to happen pr

Spoilers: Some nice touches.  When Anna moves in with Dan and Grace, reader expects that Anna will seduce Dan.  Dan, the whole time, is cool-to-hostile to Anna.  Turns out, Dan and Anna had an affair right after the death of Charlie.  They pretend not to know one another. Dan knows Anna isn't really Charlie's half-sister; instead, she's the girl who pours drinks at his soccer club bar hangout. More trouble for Grace NOW:  She is suspected of child neglect at the day care where she works.  A Twitter campaign (anonymous) is launched against her.  Mittens escapes while being watched by Anna.  Her daycare is vandalized and she is a suspect. She is suspended from her job. She continues to be followed by someone in a red car.  Her cottage burns down and she nearly dies Trouble for Grace THEN:  Not only is Charlie dead, but her other "friend" Shibohn dies from a heroin overdose.  Also, Dan and Charlie are hugging on New Year's Eve--Grace suspects her best friend

The "now" sectionsReads like a horror movie. Grace, our main character, invites Anna into her home because Anna is/claims-to-be the the half sister of Charlie, Grace's dead best friend. Anna is to stay with them for a few weeks while she gets a new job and a new apt.  The few weeks stretch on and on.  Anna quite obviously is sabotaging Grace both at work and at home, doing her best to destroy Grace's already Rocky marriage.  Anna nearly kills Grace by getting the hyper-allergic Grace a hazelnut chocolate.  (Anna then takes Grace's place at a business dinner for Dan, Grace's husband." Grace also is being followed by someone in a red car. Grace somehow doesn't associate any of this with Anna.  So . . . either Grace is dumb like the horror film heroine or our author has something else up her sleeve. The "then" sections concern Grace being tormented by one of her "friends.'  She receives nasty letters, a box filled with dog excremen

Struggling with this one a bit, though I admire the writing.  Grace befriends Anna through an Internet post.  Anna is Charlie's half-sister though the sisters didn't know of one another.  Turns out that Charlie's father is dead (as is Charlie). He died in a car crash (sort of) caused by Anna when she was a child.  Anna distracted Dad and Dad got in a head-on. So now Grace has Anna living with her and her husband Dan even though things are going badly with her marriage.  Seems unlikely. Anna wants to meet Lexi, Charlie's mother.  Lexi is drinking heavily (past alcoholic).  More on Grace/Dan from "then"--the chapters that describe the past.  Some sort of mystery is evolving.  Anna may not be telling the truth about her past.  Moving the story along would be nice.

Typically interesting issue.  General sense is that Trump won't do much new in foreign affairs. Iran heading to interesting time when the present Ayatollah dies.  China ascending . . . trouble in South China Sea as they try to take over various islands and make it entirely their sea.  US should challenge this takeover according to FA.

Jack Lemmon lends out his apartment to various cads where he works.  He is hoping for a promotion by being so accommodating.   Billy Wilder at his cynical best.  Good performances all around: Fred MacMurray is particularly good as a hypocritical boss.  Shirley MacLaine is the love interest.  Fred MacMurray is stringing her along.  Jack Lemmon is truly in love with her.  Lemmon, naturally, doesn't know whom MacMurray is bringing to his apartment. Not yet, at least.  1960 or so  . . . excellent so far

Reread, and glad I did.  Hints/troubles I missed:  Grace's parents -- what's the deal?  Charlie's death . . . her mother . . . Grandparents hoping to reunite Grace with her parents . . . Dan/Grace broken apart by death of Charlie . . . extremely well written.

Old classic.  The story has lots of holes in it, but the cinematography is wonderful as are some of the sets.  Creates an eerie feel through shadow, light, sound. Simon Simone is perfect in the title role.  It's about 75 minutes long, which really helps. Simple plot, lots of atmosphere.

4/5 This one was plotted better than the previous Dugoni.  Nice twist at the end that was perfectly fitting.  In character for all the characters.  Setting (Washington state, Cascade foothills) done beautifully.  Characters (Traci, Sheriff Roy, Edmund House) all well-drawn and interesting.  Only thing that keeps me from giving this a five is that sometimes the vocabulary seemed oddly formal, stilted and sometimes Dugoni explains things that he doesn't need to explain at all because his book has already shown us. Spoilers follow: House was framed for the murder of Sarah, but he is actually the murderer.  The various characters (sheriff, defense attorney, prosecuting attorney, Sarah's father) know he's guilty, know they lack evidence to convict him, so frame him.  Traci, surviving daughter and intended target, figures out House was framed but not that he was guilty.  She gets him out, he tries to kill her and everyone else involved in the frame, but she kills him first.

Liked this when it first came out, and still liked parts of it.  The knights in their armor, for example, are awkward and slow.  this time, though, I didn't like the Nigel Williamson portrayal of Merlin at all, and the special effects world made some of the "set" pieces look like a Disneyland ride.  Didn't make it through to the second hour before giving it the hook.