Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

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 ...