Palm Sunday's Sunday/Monday Post

Happy Weekend!  Time again for the Sunday/Monday Post, where I will be linking up to:

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

Our temps went down a little this week, but it was still in the upper 80's most of the week, which is unusually high.  Not that I'm complaining.  I much prefer warmer weather to colder weather.

Saturday was quite the day.  I spent the day down in Orange County.  I headed down there for the Muddy Dash.  Yep, another mud run.  It was held on a spot where I've done many mud runs over the years, and it was great to be back on the property.  I got good and muddy, too.  Cleanup wasn't quite as great as I would have liked, but I managed to get cleaned up.

Which was good since I then went to visit some family friends who live in the area.  It meant I got home in the evening, but it was so worth it to catch up with them.  But I will sleep well tonight.  (Yes, I'm typing this up having just gotten home.)

Joke of the Week:

In honor of baseball starting up again this week:

Why are zebras bad at baseball?

Three stripes and they're out!

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - TV Show Review: The Traitors - Season 4

Tuesday - Book Review: Birth of the Black Orchids by M. R. Dimond

Wednesday - Movie Review: Tremors 5 - Bloodlines

Thursday - Book Review: Broken Trust by Liz Milliron

Friday - Friday Post featuring Vengeance in Venice

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Frozen Stiff Drink by James J. Cudney

Tuesday - Book Review: Vengeance in Venice by Erica Ruth Neubauer

Wednesday - March Reading Summary

Thursday - Book Review: The Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman

Friday - Friday Post featuring Murder, Local Style

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I've got five books on my haul this week.

Up first is My Nightmare is Yours, the thirteenth Madison Night Mystery from Diane Vallere.  The book is out at the end of May, but I have an ARC, so I'll be reading it in a couple of months.  I'm very much a fan of this author, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in this mystery.

Next up is Welcome to Cozy Town, a novella (or maybe a short story) from Marla Cooper.  It is designed to be a spoof of cozy mysteries.  I loved Marla's two cozy mysteries, and I'm thrilled to see she is writing again.  And this just looks like something I am going to really enjoy.  Hopefully, I get a chance to read it soon.

I also snagged Call In for Murder by Tammy Barker.  This is her first novel, and it introduces us to a radio call in host in Las Vegas.

Someone I respect recommended Seven for a Secret Never to be Told by Derek Wheeless back when it came out last fall.  It sounds like something I will probably enjoy, so I finally got it.

Finally, I got Murder at the Karaoke Bar.  I know of three series that call themselves the Bucket List Mysteries, but this is the series by father/daughter duo who write as Elizabeth Perona.  It's the fifth and final book in the series.  While I wasn't a fan of book four, I am curious how they are going to wrap things up.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I feel kind of ashamed to get to this part of the post since this is a rare day when I read absolutely nothing.  (If you need to be reminded why, go back and look at all the fun I had today.  So, I'm not too ashamed).  Well, that isn't completely true.  I finished up Fair Warning by Michael Connelly, the audio book I was talking about last week.

But the book I didn't get to today is Sovereign Sieged, the eighth Court of Mystery novel from Sarah E. Burr.  I am about a third of the way into the book, and I'm enjoying it, although I'm ready for the main plot to kick in.

Maybe I should go see if I can get a chapter in before I fall asleep.

Have a great week everyone!

March 28th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wild Cards – Undercover episodes always make me a bit nervous, and this one was no exception.  But overall, I enjoyed it.  Especially the twist on the death.  And I really enjoyed seeing Erica Durance.  I also appreciated how the two stories played into the same theme, something they don’t always do.

RJ Decker – This show is really growing on me each week.  The twists were pretty impressive in the first half.  It got a little predictable in the middle there somewhere, but then there was a good twist at the end again.  Still not completely sure how I feel about all the supporting characters, but for now, I’m enjoying the ride.

Survivor – Darn it!  I was really hoping we’d get to see the end of Rizzo.  He’s so egotistical, and I’m ready to see him get voted out.  Yes, I came around last season, but he’s irritating me again.  Plus, I like Charlie.  Loved seeing Angelica leaving her jacket behind for her tribe.  I’m surprised it took them this long to get to voting two people off.  We’ve still got a long way to go, so I’m sure it will happen again.  Happy the merge is happening next week.  Can’t wait to see the new dynamic.

March 27th's Friday Post

Welcome to this week's Friday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

For the first three, my quotes will be coming from Vengeance in Venice by Erica Ruth Neubauer.

This is book seven in the Jane Wunderly series.  This book finds Jane and her husband Redvers on a belated honeymoon.  Of course, murder is an uninvited companion.  Anyway, here's how the book begins:

With a salt breeze ruffling my bobbed hair and a gondolier crooning in a language I didn't understand as he piloted us toward a piazza where Redvers and I were about to have a quiet, romantic dinner, I was in heaven.

Such a nice start.  And Jane and Redvers are still oblivious to what is about to come.

Meanwhile, on page 56, we find this:

Redvers didn't have a chance to answer before a pounding on our door interrupted us.
We exchanged a look, and I sighed again. I already knew who it was, without so much as opening that door.

The book comes out Tuesday, and I hope you'll come back that day since I'll have my review up.

Now, let's jump over to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question of the week is:

What’s your favorite bookish scent, and why does it appeal to you?

I think it's that new book smell.  The promise of adventure to come is pretty intoxicating.  Old paperback smell is right behind it.  Again, I think it's the promise of fun and adventure to come.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Broken Trust by Liz Milliron (Laurel Highlands Mysteries #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Jim and Sally’s relationship and a good mystery

Cons: A couple of niggles, but nothing major

The Bottom Line:

 On different sides

Will case divide Jim, Sally?

A strong mystery

Will Jim and Sally’s Relationship Survive This Case?

While I know I won’t catch up completely on Liz Milliron’s Laurel Highlands Mysteries this year, I’m hoping to make significant progress toward that goal. So, I picked up Broken Trust, the third in the series. As expected, I enjoyed it. 

The series follows Pennsylvania State Trooper Jim Duncan and Fayette County Assistant Public Defender Sally Castle.  Despite the fact that they might be on opposite sides of the aisle in the court room, they’ve formed a friendship that is inching toward something more. You can follow their personal story just fine if you jump in here, but it’s always more fun to start from the beginning. 

This book finds Jim called to the scene of a murder in the office of a local mining company. The victim is Lonnie Butler, a friend of his – in fact he and Sally helped Lonnie get the job just a few months ago. Despite the fact that Jim’s sister and her two kids are coming for a visit, Jim can’t help but keep investigating. Unfortunately, one of Sally’s current clients has come up as a suspect in the case. She doesn’t feel she can share what she knows without crossing ethical lines, so she starts trying to figure out what really happened to Lonnie. Will the case come between them? Will they still be able to find Lonnie’s killer?

Since this book is a police procedural, it does contain a bit more than the cozies I often read. But there isn’t too much. In fact, some of that is written around, which I appreciated. As long as you expect that when you pick up this book, you’ll be fine. 

The mystery was solid. While I started to suspect where things were going, the red herrings did a good job of keeping me distracted. And there was plenty else there to keep me engaged. The characters introduced here, aka the suspects, were memorable. Everything came together for a logical and satisfying climax. 

Equally important here was what the case was doing to Jim and Sally’s relationship. I will say, a couple of things that impacted their relationship felt a little immature to me, but they weren’t issues for too long. However, the main issue of their relationship was wonderfully done. I appreciated that we could see the issue from both of their perspectives and neither was completely right or completely wrong. Their friends kept calling them both out on their behavior, too. I’m sure it helps that this book alternates from their points of view. In lesser hands, I could see this storyline favoring either side, but this really took the more mature, and realistic, approach. 

I do want to be clear that the mystery got more time than the relationship, but the relationship issues were a strong subplot. For me, they worked well together to hook me and make it hard to put the book down. 

I also appreciated that Sally got a new friend here. I hadn’t realized how much we needed that to help round out her character until we got it. Meanwhile, Jim’s sister visiting showed us a different side of his character. 

I’m glad I’m working on catching up on this series. I’m looking forward to seeing where Jim and Sally’s relationship goes. If you haven’t read Broken Trust yet, you are in for a treat. Trust me. 

Enjoy the rest of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries.

Movie Review: Tremors 5 - Bloodlines

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: A few cool moments

Cons: Familiar plot, characters we mostly don’t care about

The Bottom Line:

African danger

Graboids are back in action

Only for the fans

“Everything’s Bigger in Africa.”

After taking a trip back in time in the fourth installment, it was time to return to the present with Tremors 5: Bloodlines.  Actually, I’m sure most fans were surprised that this movie happened at all since it had been 11 years since the fourth installment.

When the film opens, we see Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) making a video to demonstrate his survival skills.  However, the video is interrupted by the arrival of Travis B. Welker (Jamie Kennedy) and a man from South Africa claiming that they have graboids there.  Burt is skeptical at first since he’s only ever heard of them in the western hemisphere.  But soon he is headed to Africa with Travis as his side kick.

When the pair arrive, they realize that, sure enough, they are dealing with graboids.  Unfortunately, some people are wanting to capture them alive.  Even worse, they have once again developed some new skills.  Can Burt figure out how to kill them?

Honestly, if you are a fan of the franchise, you pretty much know what to expect that this point.  And yes, that includes graboids with slightly different abilities to kill you.  After all, it would get boring of they all acted the same, right?  Honestly, the biggest change just made me roll my eyes.  Don’t get me wrong, it was cool to watch, but at this point, it’s like they are forgetting all the rules of the franchise.  On the other hand, there was a part of their behavior here that did make perfect sense to me.

My bigger issue with the movie is that we don’t really get to know any of the new characters that well.  Granted, some are just there to feed the graboids, but still, a little development would have been nice.  Even a trio who gets a lot of screen time doesn’t get that much real development.  The exception is Travis, but that makes sense because he spends the most time around Burt.  None of this is the actors’ faults.  It’s the fact that the script didn’t give them that much to do.

These movies have always been a bit raw in their humor, but this one seemed to push that envelop as well, which I didn’t appreciate.

The movie has upped the special effects game here, which was nice to see.  I’m sure the fact that it’s been eleven years since the previous movie helped with that.  Meanwhile, they also filmed this one is South Africa, which is the first time the franchise went super far for filming.

By the time a franchise has hit a fifth movie, it’s probably only the diehard fans who are excited anyway.  And they are the only ones I think will enjoy Tremors 5: Bloodlines.

Book Review: Birth of the Black Orchids by M. R. Dimond (Black Orchid Enterprises #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters I already love

Cons: The mysteries are after thoughts

The Bottom Line:

Meet trio of friends

Enjoyable to visit

But plots are not strong

Two Cozy Stories Introduce Us to a Fun New Trio

Every so often, it’s fun to dig around and see just what you might uncover from your to be read pile. That’s how I picked Birth of the Black Orchids. While this wasn’t what I was hoping for, I can see how others would enjoy it. 

This book is really two separate longish short stories that introduce us to JD Thomas and his friends Dianne Cortez and Johnny Ly. They have moved into a mansion in the town of Beauchamp, Texas. They have separate rooms upstairs and are opening businesses downstairs, lawyer, accountant, and vet. Days before Christmas, they hold an open house to show off the renovations and promote their businesses. Might something go wrong? Then, a couple of weeks later, a neighbor they are supposed to be helping vanishes. Where might she have gone?

Let me be perfectly clear. I really like this trio. They are fun, and their dynamic is great. While we don’t get the full background on them, you can feel the bonds between them. I enjoyed spending time with them. 

However, neither story had much going on in it. This is especially true of the first story, but even the second was uneven. Yes, there is a crime that the trio is able to solve both times, but it felt more like an after through than a main focus. 

But again, if you are looking for cozy vibes, you’ll find this book perfectly draws you in. And the Christmas setting of the first story helps add to the charm. 

So, if you are looking for a book light on the mystery but strong on the cozy, you’ll be glad you picked up Birth of the Black Orchids. 

TV Show Review: The Traitors - Season 4

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Compelling fourth season of this reality contest

Cons: A couple of niggles, but nothing major

The Bottom Line:

Fourth trip to castle

This season is compelling

Good competition

“Maybe I Should Have Been Murdered.”

January brought us another season of lies, betrayal, and murder.  That’s when season 4 of The Traitors premiered on Peacock.  And I once again enjoyed every second of it.

The set up is the almost the same as always.  Twenty-three contestants, mostly from the world of reality TV, are bought to a castle in Scottland.  Host Alan Cumming picks a small portion of them to be traitors, whose job is to “kill” one contestant each night.  During the day, everyone competes in an over-the-top challenge to win money for the pot.  Then, all the contestants meet at the round table and vote on who they think is a traitor to banish from the game.  Really, it’s a game of Mafia, but spread out over several days and with bigger stakes.

The contestants this year are the usual mix of reality franchises.  There are several from Survivor and Real Housewives.  Mark Ballas from Dancing with the Stars was here as were figure skating commentators Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski.  The one civilian (aka person with very little TV/media experience) included was Donna Kelce, soon to be mother-in-law to Taylor Swift.  And then there were a lot of people I wasn’t familiar with until I started watching this season.

The show really only tried one new thing format wise.  It was an interesting idea, and I hope they try it again.  But the pay off here didn’t quite work out the way they wanted it to.

On the other hand, I did enjoy the dynamic between the traitors this season.  And one was absolutely brilliant.  I got caught up in watching what would unfold each week.

And yes, I did watch it every week.  Unlike previous seasons when I binged it near the end of the season, I watched week to week.  I’m happy to say that I didn’t find the cliffhangers as annoying as I thought I would.  Will I watch this way going forward?  We’ll see.

Unlike season 3, where the swearing was out of control, here, it wasn’t as extreme.  It still happened, and still felt gratuitous, but it wasn’t so over-the-top, which I appreciated.

One aspect of the ending didn’t sit quite right with me.  But we’ve seen in in a couple of previous seasons, so I guess I shouldn’t be that upset by it at this point.

Overall, I really enjoyed season 4 of The Traitors.  I still need to make the time to watch other iterations of the show.  If you haven’t watched it yet, you’ll find yourself caught up in events unfolding as well.

March 22nd'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?

Fairly quiet week around here.  Went to work.  Came home.  That was about it.

It was very hot.  Like upper 90's all week.  As much as I am a summer/warm weather guy, I wasn't quite ready for it yet.  I would have preferred to have some spring weather first.  But I'm sure it will cool back down to upper 70's or low 80's here soon.  That's the sweet spot for me.

Joke of the Week:

Why did the turtle break up with the giraffe?  They never saw eye to eye.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 38

Tuesday - Book Review: Death at Tidal Creek by Caleb Wygal

Wednesday - Movie Review: Nelly Knows Mystery - All Manners of Murder

Thursday - Book Review: Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien

Friday - Friday Post featuring Broken Trust

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - TV Show Review: The Traitors - Season 4

Tuesday - Book Review: Birth of the Black Orchids by M. R. Dimond

Wednesday - Movie Review: Tremors 5 - Bloodlines

Thursday - Book Review: Broken Trust by Liz Milliron

Friday - Friday Post featuring Vengeance in Venice

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I've got four books to tell you about this week.

Up first, is an audio book.  It's been a while since I listened to one, so I got Fair Warning by Michael Connelly.

I also got a finished copy of Vengeance in Venice by Erica Ruth Neubauer.

I was thinking that Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips came out this coming week, so I was surprised when my preorder shipped.  Yeah, it came out this past Tuesday.  It's the first book, and it won a publishing contest - one that a couple of authors I've really enjoyed previously won.  The main character is a new dad and a new PI trying to juggle the two.  It sounds fun, so I'm hoping to get to it...soon.

Finally, I got a comic strip book.  Been a while since I've bought one of those.  But I've become a huge fan of Strange Planet, a comic from Nathan W. Pyle.  I think between his social media posts and the page a day calendars I've had last year and this year, I've probably seen them all, but I still decided to get this collection of the strip.

What I'm Currently Reading:

You'll notice, I didn't say much about those first two books.  That's because I'm currently working on them.  So I saved talking about them for this part of the post.

Fair Warning is the third book Michael Connelly has written about reporter Jack McEvoy.  I'm about a quarter of the way into the book, and I'm definitely interested in seeing where it is going to go.  It's got a crazy connection, but I also really like that connection.  It's going to make for an interesting ride seeing how it plays out.

Vengeance in Venice is the seventh Jane Wunderly mystery from Erica Ruth Neubauer.  In this book, Jane and her new husband are taking a long delayed honeymoon in Venice, but they've gotten involved in murder.  It's set in 1927.  I always enjoy Jane's adventures.  I'm about a third of the way into this one.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

March 21st's Weekly TV Thoughts

RJ Decker – I shouldn’t have been surprised by who the victim was, but it still hit me hard.  Interesting case, and I enjoyed the twists.  Overall, I’m enjoying the show, still.  Definitely planning to stick it out through the end of this first season.

Survivor – How is it that Emily sticks around?  At this point, you know you can’t trust her.  And again, they are voting out the people who can best help them in a challenge.  We’re back to my question on why you don’t keep those people around so you don’t have to go to tribal.  I’ve only wondered this for 50 seasons, so I guess I just don’t understand the strategy.  It must be something you would only understand by playing the game.

Happy’s Place – I’m a little surprised we got to meet Gabi’s mother.  I figured she’d be an off-screen character.  But I’m liking her, at least so far.  And I feel she is living up to the legend.  Some great laughs, too.  I like how they played with what was true or not.

March 20th's Friday Post

Welcome to this week's 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 Broken Trust by Liz Milliron.

This is book three in her Laurel Highlands Mysteries.  They lean more traditional than what I typically read, but I really enjoy them.

Anyway, here's how this particular book begins:

Pennsylvania State Trooper Jim Duncan climbed out of his cruiser to see the EMT crew walking, almost strolling, toward the parked ambulance. The blue bar lights were still on, but there was no gurney. No frenzy. No shouted words.

That doesn't sound good.  But at the beginning of a murder mystery, is it really that surprising?  And yes, that's how quickly we jump into the mystery.

On page 56, we are in the head of our other viewpoint character, Sally.  She and Jim are working toward starting a relationship.  With that context, here's the quote:

No reason to trouble Jim, especially with his family in town. Begin on vacation, he most likely would never hear about Ethan Haverton. Why stir things up unnecessarily?

How much do you want to bet that isn't true?

I enjoyed this book.  I hope you'll come back Thursday to see my full review.

Meanwhile, it's time to jump over to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question is:

If you could write the sequel to a classic book, which one would it be? What new characters or plot twists would you bring in? 

That is an excellent question.  I'm not sure I've read enough of the classics to really have a good answer.  Most of the ones I'm thinking of immediately really don't need a sequel.  Maybe a follow up to Lord of the Flies exploring how the boys' lives are impacted when they return to England.  Although it's been so long since I read the book, that might not be a feasible sequel.

Have a great weekend!