Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

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? Ch...

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.