Monday, March 18, 2024

Movie Review: Killer Clutch - A Crime of Fashion Mystery

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Good mystery, great leads
Cons: Heavy French accents required more concentration
The Bottom Line:
Paris fashion week
With body at fashion show
Fashionable fun




“I Can Assure You This Has Nothing to Do with a Crime of Fashion.”

When I saw who was starring in Hallmark’s newest mystery movie franchise, I was very excited since I was familiar with both of the leads.  It was fun watching them in Killer Clutch, the first Crimes of Fashion Mystery.

Lauren Elliott (Brooke D’Orsay) is a psychologist who specializes in working with the fashion industry.  After her best friend, Charlotte (Paloma Coquant) brings her in to help with a designer, Lauren finds herself hired to help out with fashion week – in Paris.  She’s never been, so she is excited.

However, the first fashion show Lauren works ends in tragedy when Charlotte discovers a dead body.  Worse yet, Charlotte also becomes the prime suspect.  Lauren knows that her friend didn’t do it, so she starts investigating herself, much to the annoyance of Inspector André Duvreuil (Gilles Marini).  Can Lauren prove her friend innocent?

I was a huge Royal Pains fan, and I loved Brooke’s character on that show, so it was fantastic to see her in something else.  I’ll admit I only knew Gilles Marini from his time on Dancing with the Stars, so I was happy to see him acting in something.  Both of them did a great job of bringing their characters to life.  You could feel the chemistry between them, and his slow thawing to her character was perfectly played.

The rest of the cast was good, as well.  However, my biggest issue with this movie did come into play with the rest of the cast.  This is a movie set in Paris, so most of the actors have French accents, which makes sense.  That meant you really had to concentrate to understand some of them.  Also, I’m not sure if some of the actors that seemed a little stiff were because of my issue with the accents, because of how they chose to play the character, or something else.  I’ll choose to blame myself for it.

The mystery was good.  We got some nice twists, and plenty of complications along the way to the climax.  Unfortunately, the climax was weaker than it could have been.  The ending made sense, which is always nice.

I do have to call out their use of my least favorite storytelling technique, however.  I will never understand why writers seem to think they need to start with a suspenseful scene from the climax and then flashback to how the story begins.  Sorry, it’s just lazy.

I’m not that into fashion, but I did mostly enjoy the styles.  There were one or two that were over the top, but they were supposed to be.  I also enjoyed the locations for the movie, which was filmed at least partially in Paris.

If Hallmark decides to go forward with more Crimes of Fashion, I will definitely be back to see where the characters go from here.  If you are a fan of their mystery movies, you’ll be glad you watched Killer Clutch.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Candy Review: Easter Sundae M&M's

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Pleasant sweet flavor
Cons: Doesn’t really taste like a hot fudge sundae
The Bottom Line:
Attempted flavor
Candies are enjoyable
But nothing special




Pleasantly Sweet, but Still Lacking

I was wandering down the Easter candy aisle recently (big mistake) when I spotted the new seasonal Easter Sundae flavor of M&M’s.  I was intrigued, so I picked up a bag.

As the name and the picture of a hot fudge sundae on the front implies, these candies are designed to invoke a classic ice cream sundae.  The candies themselves are a white chocolate center with a dark chocolate layer all inside a classic candy coating.  And the colors are a red, brown, and light tan.

When you grab a handful and eat them, you’ll find they taste pleasantly sweet.  Please hear me out, they taste good.  But they don’t have any ice cream sundae flavor to me.  They definitely don’t have a hot fudge sundae flavor to them.  If anything, I’d say they taste a bit more like marshmallow.  I like marshmallows, so I’m not complaining.  But they aren’t what I was expecting from the name or picture.

And I do have to question what a sundae has to do with Easter.  Obviously, they were just going for the pun.  As a lover of puns, I can’t complain, but it isn’t anything I’ve ever had to celebrate Easter.

So I’m not sorry I gave the Easter Sundae M&M’s a try.  But I won’t be buying a second bag.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

March 16th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Night Court – Obviously, I don’t have the history with the guest stars that I should have if I were familiar with the original series.  But I still found it pretty fun.  The stories flowed well together.  The jokes weren’t so out there it felt forced.  I did see the ending with Dan coming from a mile away, but it was still good overall.

Extended Family – As episodes of the show go, that was decent.  I actually liked the resolution of both storylines, and I do like how they are building the relationships with the characters.  I often find people lying to impress others cringe worthy, but they managed to make it funny here.  And Trey’s actions were pretty funny.

Wild Cards – Hostage episodes always get my blood bumping.  Even when I know everyone will be okay, like I figured here, it was very hard to watch without my adrenalin pumping.  Not surprised that they are finding a way to extend the premise.  But that cliffhanger?  Definitely curious what that’s all about.

Survivor – I always hate to see someone pulled from the game for medical reasons.  But I get why they did it.  And I was happy with the update that he is healthy.  I was really hoping the one tribe would pull out the win at the challenge.  I feel so sorry for the guy who thought he was going home.  That would be me if I were ever on the show.  Which is why I enjoy it from my living room.

The Amazing Race – My broadcast fritzed, so I really want to know how the siblings got out of the parking job they’d done with their car.  I think we’ve got some low hanging fruit with some other teams that seemed to get very lost.  Glad the pilot came back after they got themselves lost.  And, honestly, they needed it.  Their early bragging was bothering me, and I want to root for them.  So far, none of the teams are too annoying.  We’ll see how the season progresses.

Friday, March 15, 2024

March 15th's Friday Post

We've made it to Friday!  This week, that means another Friday Post.  I'll be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

My teasers for the first three will be coming from Stark Raving Mod by Diane Vallere.


This is book 13 in her Samantha Kidd series, which has a fashion theme.  Of course, they are mysteries.  I mean, this is me, after all.

I just love how this particular book opens:

There’s nothing quite as exciting as a padlocked trunk.

Isn't that a great opening?  It definitely made me want to read more.

At 56% into the book, we get this exchange.  Samantha is talking to Detective Loncar, the retired police homicide inspector who is now working as a PI.  She's sort of hired him/working with him at this point in the book.  She starts off this snippet by saying:

“I know you want me to leave, but we need to talk about last night. While you were polishing off a flight of whiskey, I was chasing a lead, fending off an attack, getting you out of there safely, and discovering a new clue.”
“I’m on the edge of my seat.”

That pretty much captures their relationship.

I enjoyed the book as always.  I'll be reviewing it next Thursday.

Meanwhile, here's this week's Book Blogger Hop:

On average, how long do you spend writing a review?

For a book review, I figure an hour on the writing of the review itself.  If I sit down and really truly focus, I can get it done in less than that.  But I get distracted, and that's about how long it takes me to draft the review when you factor in that.  Fortunately, my reread to edit only takes a few minutes, as does my scheduling of the review.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Book Review: Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X #9)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Strong story; growth for Evan and Joey
Cons: Joey a bit much at times; excessive language; slow start to story
The Bottom Line:
Evan hunts for dog
Finds unexpected danger
Overcomes slow start




A Missing Dog Leads to…an Assassin?

While I tend to stick to the lighter side of the cozy spectrum, I always look forward to sitting down with some of the authors I read who writer darker books.  That’s true of Gregg Hurwitz and his Orphan X novels.  Lone Wolf just came out in February, and fans who haven’t read it yet are in for a treat.

If you’ve missed the backstory, a quick recap.  As a young teen, Evan Smoak was taken out of the foster system and trained as an operative in the Orphan Program, a black ops US government program for trained assassins.  After doing this for years, he left to become the Nowhere Man, a shadowy figure who lives off the radar and helps those so desperate that they no one else would have the skill set to help them.

This book opens finding Evan dealing with the emotional aftermath of the previous book’s cliffhanger (and no, I’m not going to spoil any more than that).  He gets a call on his phone, but it’s not a new client, at least not in the usual sense.  Instead, it’s a pre-teen girl whom he barely knows, asking for help.  Her dog got away, and she desperately wants him back.

Obviously, this isn’t the type of case that Evan gets involved in, but he takes it because of who this young girl is.  His protégé/tech guru Joey is able to figure out who has the dog, but when Evan shows up at the man’s house, he walks into something completely unexpected.  If he can escape, can he set things right?

If you are thinking this set up sounds weird for the series, you’re right.  And the book is a little slow at the start as a result.  We get hints that something else is going on, but it’s a while before things really kick off.

But when they do, it is with a bang.  There is an extended action scene in this book that is fantastic.  And goes on for a long time.  From there, the book’s pace stays fairly steady and Evan must figure out what is going on so he can stop it.  Throw in a couple of subplots, and you’ve got a book that is hard to put down, which is just what you want from a thriller.

I mentioned Joey earlier.  I must admit, I have a love/hate relationship with this character, and this book is a perfect example of why.  She goes out of her way (at least that’s how it feels that times) to push Evan’s buttons.  Some of that is funny.  Too much and it becomes annoying.  She gets a lot of page time in this book, so we definitely crossed to the annoying side of things here a few times.  However, some of the scenes that really allowed us to see her vulnerable side were great.  Not to mention what it allowed Evan to learn.

Speaking of Evan, he really grew here.  It felt like a natural product of the story, and I loved it.  He’s always been a very complex man, and that’s the case once again.  It’s fascinating watching him balance his attempts at a normal life with what he does.  This would also be the main reason to read the books in order, although you get enough backstory in the books that you can enjoy this book on its own.

There series has very few recurring characters, and my two favorites weren’t around for this book.  I missed them, but that’s a minor point.  We got some interesting new characters, who helped pull me into the main story.  And there is a hilarious subplot involving Evan’s neighbors that really help lighten things up.

Parts of the book bump into AI and social media.  Given the conversation we’ve had even in the few weeks since this book came out, it is both timely and a bit scary how predictive it is.  I do wonder if it will be dated in a few years.  But that’s just a reason to read the series now.

As with most thrillers, this book has more language and violence than in the books I typically pick up.  In fact, the language felt excessive at times.  Maybe it’s just that I’ve forgotten how much there is in these books.

Overall, the writing in these books is lyrical.  I can’t help but marvel at how descriptions are handled and some of the phrases used even as I’m racing to the next heart stopping scene.

There’s a reason I can’t get enough of the Orphan X books.  Lone Wolf will keep you turning pages until you come to the last one.  I’ll definitely be back for more.

And do check out the rest of the Orphan X books.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Ornament Review: Hermione, Hagrid, and Snape Miniature Ornament Set - 2023 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Good mini versions of three Harry Potter characters
Cons: Faces a little plain, weird trio for me to start a collection with
The Bottom Line:
These three characters
Make nice ornament trio
That fans will enjoy




A Trio of Magical Friends

When I was looking at the Hallmark ornaments last year in the store, I made an impulsive decision to buy the Hermione, Hagrid, and Snape mini ornament set.  While I like them, I do now feel like my collection is missing some key Harry Potter figures.

When I bought them, I was thinking that I must have missed some ornaments from the previous year that included Harry and Ron.  Yes, and no.  In looking back at what was released last year, I realized they were part of a set Hallmark released that included a themed mini tree, tree topper, and tree skirt.  I didn’t want all of that.  I still don’t.  But I do wish those ornaments had come out on their own.  I definitely would have bought them if they did.

But that’s not what we are here to talk about today.  Let’s talk about this ornament set.  Naturally, Hagrid is the largest ornament, but Snape isn’t that much smaller than Hagrid.  Hermione is just a little smaller than Snape.  She’s probably an inch and a quarter tall, and the others are closer to an inch and a half.  Hagrid’s size comes more from his width, so he does not look significantly taller than the others.  They look like you’d picture the characters.  Hermione even has a wand in her hand.

While the ornaments do look good, their faces are a little plain.  Yes, I know I’m asking for a lot from my mini ornaments, but I feel like they could have done better, especially for Snape.

If you are careful, you can set all three of them out to be displayed.  That’s a bit rare for a mini ornament.  None of them are super stable, so you’ll want to be very careful if you choose to do that, but it is an option.

Or you can hang them on a tree.  I enjoyed them on my mini trees this year.  They looked great and all hung straight.

If you love Harry Potter, you’ll want to consider getting these ornaments.  It is a little weird to start a character collection with this trio, but that’s what I’ve done.  We’ll see how I decide to supplement them in the future.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Book Review: In Sunshine or in Shadow by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles (Molly Murphy #20)

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Strong mystery and characters
Cons: All cons hidden in shadow
The Bottom Line:
Catskills mystery
With a murder in the woods
Strong number twenty




Not So Restful Time in the Catskills

I was a bit surprised when I saw that In Sunshine or in Shadow is the twentieth Molly Murphy Mystery.  It makes sense when I stop and think about how long I’ve been reading about the cases this Irish immigrant solves.  But twenty books is quite the milestone.  And it is a milestone that fans of the series will enjoy.

If you haven’t met Molly yet, we first journeyed with her to New York City in 1901 as she immigrated to the US, feeling a bad situation in Ireland.  Over the books, we’ve watched her make friends, get married, and have a child.  Now, it is the summer of 1908, and she is expecting her second child.  Since the typhoid outbreak in the city is worse than normal and unpredictable, she reluctantly heads to Westchester where her mother-in-law lives out in the country.

After she’s been there long enough to begin to get bored, she decides to go visit her friends Sid and Gus who went further from the city into the Catskills.  They’ve reluctantly gone to visit Sid’s family who own some land out there.  But the reunion is dampened by murder.  With the police not willing to let anyone leave until they’ve caught the killer, Molly knows she needs to get to the bottom of what actually happened.  Can she do it?

The authors do a good job of getting Molly and the other characters to the new location fairly quickly and then they spend some time introducing us to the victim and suspects before the murder happens.  The result is a book where the body might drop a little later than normal for the books I read, but I didn’t feel like any of the time was wasted.

Once the murder does take place, we are off and running with plenty of suspects to keep Molly guessing and us engaged.  The book does weave in multiple directions before we hit the logical solution.  And what a great climax!

This is set just as the Catskills was beginning to become a summer resort area.  While I grew up on the west coast and wasn’t familiar with that era or local history, I still found it interesting to watch people try to get in at the very beginning.

Meanwhile, prejudice plays a part in the book.  Many of the characters are Jewish.  It makes me sad to see how they were treated by a few of the characters.  Fortunately, it isn’t all of them, which makes me happy.  Molly’s reactions make it clear how she feels about it without any need to lecture us, too, which was great.

Molly, Sid, and Gus are the only series regulars who get serious page time, but that’s not an issue for me.  They are the core of the series, and I love getting to spend time with them.  That also allows us to really get to know the suspects, which was great.  Daniel, Molly’s husband, manages to be pretty great when he is on the page, which I enjoyed.  He can be a great character when he lets himself be one.

As I said, fans will be rewarded with In Sunshine or in Shadow.  If you haven’t started this series yet, you are in for a treat with these trips back in time.

Enjoy the rest of the Molly Murphy books.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Monday, March 11, 2024

TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 35

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Old school Amazing Race is back!
Cons: None
The Bottom Line:
Time to race old school
Visit some great locations
Arm chair traveling




Racing Back to Normal

Covid impacted so much of our world the last few years, it hardly needs to be said.  But in the world of entertainment, I feel like it impacted The Amazing Race a bit more than some other shows.  It makes sense.  When you have a show that is all about interacting with people all over the world, you are going to have to make adjustments.  But season 35 was a return to The Amazing Race of old, and it was wonderful as a result.

The premise of the show is that thirteen teams of two, all of whom have a pre-existing relationship, set off on a race around the world.  They have to follow clues to pre-selected locations, completing tasks along the way.  At the end of each leg, one team is eliminated until the final leg, when three teams race to the finish line.

The last few seasons have found the teams using chartered flights to get them to each new country, and have kept the locations to a smaller geographic area.  This season saw the return of a truly around the world race.  The teams started in Los Angeles and flew to Thailand, Vietnam, and India before landing in Europe where they visited Slovenia for the first time.  All of this while navigating commercial flights, public transportation, and rental cars.  In other words, it was back to normal.

Part of the joy of the series is the arm chair travel.  And we get some great locations this season.  Slovenia wasn’t on my travel radar, but now I’m dying to go.  And I would have enjoyed any of the place they visit.

And I really enjoyed getting to watch the teams deal with the struggles of figuring out not only their transportation but also their directions.  Both have always been elements of the race, and it was great to see them back in full force here.  The previous seasons, as fun as they were, didn’t allow for teams to change places in the rankings as often.  Here, we saw some big swings, for better or worse.

Yes, I always find teams I’m rooting for or against.  Mainly, I like rooting for the teams that seam nice and get along with each other.  Teams that are constantly sniping at each other or other teams get on my nerves very quickly.  That happened here, as it always does, but there are some truly great teams that it is easy to root for.  And this season proves that you should never give up until you’ve ended a leg.

The strikes of 2023 did impact this season.  Because CBS was looking to fill in its schedule, they decided to air 90 minute episodes of the show.  I know some fans didn’t enjoy this, but I thought it was wonderful.  We got to see more of each location and spend more time getting to know the teams.  This season was put into production after that decision was made, and the producers did a good job of giving the teams enough tasks that I never felt like I was watching filler.

All of this combined to make season 35 of The Amazing Race a great season.  While it is hard to have a bad season of this show, some really stand out more than others.  This is one of those seasons that fans will love and, if you haven’t watched it before, would be a great season to jump in and watch.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

March 10th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  I'll be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
Mailbox Monday
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Sunday night, I wound up going into urgent care.  While they didn't do any testing to see what specifically I had (cold or something like flu or COVID), they focused very much on my eye.  Yep, I had pink eye in one eye.  By the time I got up Monday morning, I had it in both eyes.  Fortunately, the eye drops they gave me have done a great job of knocking it out.

As to the rest, I'm still a little congested, but it's getting a little better every day.  My fever finally went away.  I'd completely lost my voice Wednesday and Thursday, but it seem to be back now.

And, yes, I kept working all week.  As much as I love working from home, this is a downside.  But it was quarter end, and there was just too much to do.  Fortunately, I think the worst of it is behind us, although I'm expecting some questions about the extra reporting this coming week.

Friday was my birthday.  Between work and getting over being sick, it was a very quiet day.  I talked to my family, and opened some cards and presents.  You'll hear more about the presents in a few minutes.  It's like the people giving me presents know me or something.

This Past Week on the Blog:


This Coming Week on the Blog:


Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post
Monday - TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 35
Tuesday - Book Review: In Sunshine or in Shadow by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles
Wednesday - Ornament Review: Hermione, Hagrid, and Snape
Thursday - Book Review: Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz
Friday - Friday Post featuring Stark Raving Mod
Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

As I mentioned earlier, I got books for my birthday.  Plus, I got a preorder, a couple of books for review, and an audiobook from the library.  You know those low count weeks I've had recently?  Yeah, this week made up for them.

Let's start with the birthday books.

I don't remember how The Bloody Black Flag by Steve Goble crossed my radar, but it's a mystery involving pirates in the 1700's.  I think it will be very far from my normal cozy choices, but I very much can't wait to read it.  I think it would be a lot of fun.

Also on the historical front, I got A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair.  For this one, it's just after World War II in England, and the main characters have set up a match making service.  I read the first book last year, and I really enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in this one.

Staying in Europe but moving to the present day, I also got Murder in Trastevere by Jen Collins Moore.  The action here is set in Italy.  It's the second in a series, and I enjoyed the first, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to the characters here.

Rounding out my birthday haul is The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper by Sally Carpenter.  The author is a So Cal resident, so it's been on my radar for a while.  The main character is a former teen idol trying to make a comeback, which sounds like fun.

Let's move on to review copies, shall we?

The first of those is The Witless Protection Program by Maria DiRico.  This is the fifth and, sadly, final in the Catering Hall Mysteries.  This book comes out in just a couple of weeks, so I'll be reading it very soon.

My second is an ARC for A Murder Most French, the second in the American in Paris Mysteries from Colleen Cambridge,  The main character is friends and neighbors with Julia Child in 1950 Paris.  I enjoyed the first when I read it a few months ago, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens here.

I'm not quite sure why it took so long for Kingdom Keepers Inheritance: Villain's Realm to show up but it did.  It actually came out the end of February, but shipped a couple of days later and then showed up early this week.  Anyway, it is the newest from Ridley Pearson.  If you aren't familiar with the Kingdom Keepers, this is a middle grade series about teens who have to fight Disney villains and keep them from taking over the Disney theme parks.  As a DisNerd, I enjoy them, so I'm curious to see what happens here.

All of these are physical books, too.

Finally comes the one electronic book of the week (so I'll throw the cover on the image with what I'm currently reading).  It's about time for another audio book.  I snagged The Fly on the Wall by Tony Hillerman from the library.  This is a stand alone and not part of his famous Leaphorn and Chee series.  For that reason alone, I'm curious about it.  Plus, I'm happy to get back to his books.

With all of these books, I'd better get reading!

What I'm Currently Reading:


I'm about 40% of the way into Stark Raving Mod by Diane Vallere at the moment.  This is the thirteenth book in her Samantha Kidd series.  In it, Samantha won a mysterious trunk at auction, and she got it for a steal.  However, now people want to buy it from her for quite a bit of money, and someone has died.  I'm having a lot of fun with it, and I'm hoping to finish it up on Sunday.

Which means Monday, I'll be starting on Secrets of a Scottish Isle by Erica Ruth Neubauer.  This is the newest Jane Wunderly mystery.  I'm looking forward to getting lost in the story and seeing what Jane is up to in 1927.

That's it for me.  Hope you all have a great week.

Saturday, March 9, 2024

March 9th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Tracker – A pretty good episode.  Nice twists in the first half that lead to a great thriller in the second.  And I appreciated how well lit everything was even though so much of the last part took place in the dark.  I could actually follow what was going on.

Night Court – Yes, I get how the ending of the episode was funny.  But with all the balls still in the machine, she had plenty of time to pick one of them up for the win.  Some good lines, although it was just so busy it was hard to get into the laughs, as usual.

Extended Family – Not a bad episode.  Pretty predictable at times, but some of the complications were pretty fun.  Laughed at some of them.  I do like how they are building a family out of them despite the awkwardness we’d have in real life.  Unrealistic, but nice to see.

Wild Cards – The set up with rather predictable.  I get that the two don’t get along that well, but their sniping was so much worse than normal, even if you didn’t know anything about the episode, you’d know it was a therapy themed episode.  Also, I guessed the anchorman was under hypnosis.  But that didn’t keep me from enjoying the rest of it.  They even used therapy to let us know more about the characters.  And I didn’t see the killer coming until they figured it out.

The Challenge – For all their hype about Michelle walking off stage, what she did it over was actually pretty funny.  Still, so much drama.  I’m glad to have that show in my rear view mirror.  Won’t be watching again unless they put it on CBS like they did the last couple of summers.

Survivor – The team describing the next challenge (the one they were making up at camp) was so funny.  I wonder how many seasons it will be before we actually see it.  And the actual challenge?  Wow!  That was just so massive.  I thought they were putting the only challenge into the episode way too early, but it took so long, and then the fallout from it on several tribes.  As to the losers, I can’t remember seeing a team this down this early before.  Normally, I’m all about rooting for the underdog, but I don’t know that I see them advancing very far period.  Even if teams get switched up, I feel like they won’t get very far.  It will be interesting to see if I’m right or not.