Book Review: Death in Luxor by M. A. Monnin (Intrepid Traveler Mysteries #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun characters and travel with a good mystery

Cons: Pacing slows down a couple of times

The Bottom Line:

Some threatening notes

Start intriguing Egypt trip

Kept me entertained

Are Thieves Targeting the New Museum?

I’ve enjoyed the arm chair travel and adventure of the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, so when I found out that M. A. Monnin was writing a fourth, I couldn’t wait for it.  As expected, I enjoyed Death in Luxor.

If you haven’t found this fun series yet, it features Stefanie Adams and Thomas Burkhardt.  When we first met Stefanie, she was taking a long await vacation to Greece.  But her plans went sideways when she found herself pulled into a case involving an art heist.  That’s how her path crossed with Thomas.  The two are now partners in life and working for Interpol trying to recover stolen artifacts or prevent them from being stolen in the first place.

Which is what takes the pair to Egypt.  The brand new Grand Egyptian Museum is set to open, but they’ve been getting notes threatening one of their exhibits.  Is someone planning a theft for opening night?  The suspects are a group of Egyptian history enthusiasts who have the wealth to buy their way out of close inspection when leaving the country.  As theft and murder swirl around them, can Stefanie and Thomas figure out what is truly going on?

This series is part travelogue, part mystery, and part caper.  It’s a juggling act, but it’s rewarding.

Having said that, the plot was a little uneven since Stefanie and Thomas were spinning their wheels a couple of times.  Fortunately, it wasn’t for very long.  I did find the resolution satisfying, and there were some truly exciting moments as the story progressed.

The travel was wonderful.  We got to visit so many fantastic places all without leaving our armchair.  Of course, the travel doesn’t slow down the story, which always amazes me.  We get some great scenes in some iconic locations.  It makes me want to go visit Egypt.  Also, I enjoyed the reference to some pop culture related to Egypt.

The series doesn’t feature a large cast of recurring characters.  It’s pretty much just Stefanie and Thomas.  While they are both equally involved in the case, we get it from Stefanie’s third person point of view.  I enjoyed seeing how their relationship is continuing to grow.  They are a fantastic duo.  We get quite a collection of suspects here, and I also enjoyed getting to know them as well.

If you wish you could travel more than your budget allows, you’ll love the virtual trips you get with the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.  Death in Luxor is sure to please fans of this series.

Book more trips with the rest of the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Author Bio:

M. A. Monnin writes the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, including Agatha Best First Novel finalist DEATH IN THE AEGEAN. The fourth in the series, DEATH IN LUXOR, released in Aug 2026. Like her heroine Stefanie Adams, Mary loves the adventure of foreign travel. If there’s the chance to check out an archaeological site, so much the better for this avocational archaeologist and Air Force veteran. Mary’s short stories have appeared in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and numerous anthologies. She is the current President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Catch Up With M. A. Monnin:

www.MAMonnin.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub - @monninma
Instagram - @m.a.monnin
X - @mamonnin1
Facebook - @ma.monnin.2025

Here's are some purchase links:

• Amazon - https://pictbooks.tours/Zs7ztV1n

• Kindle - https://pictbooks.tours/wWS8IDZH

• BN - https://pictbooks.tours/DzQzEEg2

• BookShop.org - https://pictbooks.tours/NbglA9uH

• Goodreads - https://pictbooks.tours/jb4v1Ngv

• BookBub - https://pictbooks.tours/IalvThDD

I'm reviewing this book as part of a blog tour.  Check out the rest of the participants:

And be sure to enter the tour wide giveaway:

DEATH IN LUXOR by M. A. Monnin | Gift Cards

Movie Review: Urban Legend

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Decent and creative entry in the slasher genre

Cons: One performance, some logic issues, derivative of Scream

The Bottom Line:

Legends turn deadly

A lesser slasher entry

Genre fans should watch

“Don’t You Guys Get It?  It’s Just Like That Urban Legend.”

I know I saw Urban Legend back when it was originally released in the theater, but that’s been almost 30 years.  I’ve always wanted to see it again, but I finally made the time to do that.  While not the best of the late 90’s slashers, but is still fun for fans of the genre.

The movie was released in 1998 in the wake of the success of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.  It has a very 90’s cast and finds its own hook.  You see, if early slashers were around holidays, inspired by Halloween and Friday the 13^th, Urban Legend was going to copy Scream and be a self-aware movie about a killer making urban legends deadly.

The movie takes us to Pendleton, a college in New Hampshire.  When a student dies, only one person takes it hard – Natalie (Alicia Witt).  But when another student dies, she starts raising the alarm that a killer is on the loose on campus.  Will anyone take her seriously before it is too late?

Yes, I am leaving out the urban legends used so you can discover them for yourself.  They were ones I remember having heard when the movie came out, and I enjoyed seeing how they played out on screen.  Who knows of these legends are still as known today, but for the time, it they were excellent choices.

The biggest complaint about the film is that it is a low rent Scream ripoff.  I’m not going to argue with that.  While you can argue about whether some of the elements are ripoffs or standard horror/slasher tropes, you can see the similarities.  What it doesn’t have is the dialogue of Scream or quite the meta humor and commentary.

Or the suspense sequences.  There are a couple that are decent and one pretty good chase sequence, but many of the sequences don’t have the suspense that Scream does.

Like with many slashers, you just have to ignore logic.  And it starts with the opening sequence with you just know wouldn’t happen that way.  But then again, when has a slasher ever had logic or realism going for it?

Apparently, the film was originally going to be set during winter, which would help explain the killer’s costume.  Considering the red herrings all needed to have that same winter jacket, I wish they’d kept that.  But what’s done is done.

Let’s talk the cast.  As I said, it is stacked.  We’ve got horror legends Robert Englund and Danielle Harris plus Brad Dourif in an uncredited part.  I already mentioned Alicia Witt, but we also have Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Rosenbaum, Joshua Jackson, and Tara Reid plus Loretta Devine as the college’s security officer.  I did find one cast member’s performance to be rather stiff, especially the further we got into the film.  But the rest of the cast is pretty good.  And the killer is deliciously deranged when revealed.

Speaking of which, the plot is pretty well thought out.  There is a reason that things unfold the way they do, which I appreciate for a film like this.  Well, except the fact that the killer goes after everyone but the final girl, who is the true target.  But there I go expecting too much from one of these films again.

This is an R rated slasher.  While not quite as gory as some in the genre, it is still rated R for a reason, so keep that in mind before you decide to watch it.

And that final scene?  It will make you do a double take for sure.

This is not a top tear slasher.  I don’t know that I will have the need to watch it again any time soon (although I am very curious about the sequel).  But if you are a fan of the subgenre, you’ll be glad you gave Urban Legend a watch.

Book Review: Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival by Traci Hall (Macki Smith Mysteries #1)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: I loved the characters and the cozy vibes

Cons: The writing was weak and the plotting was poor

The Bottom Line:

Fall setting; cozy

Really enjoy the main cast

But plot, writing weak

Come for the Vibes Only

I’ve long had Traci Hall on my radar.  I’ve heard lots of buzz about her books and how fun and cozy they are.  When I saw she was starting a new series with Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival, I was anxious to give it a try.

This series debut takes us to Cider Falls in Washington State where Macki Smith’s family has had an apple orchard for several generations.  Macki herself has recently returned after spending several years in Seattle.  But a breakup from her jerk of a fiancé has led her back while she figures out what her life might look like next.

Every year as fall begins, her town puts on a festival.  One highlight of that is the apple pie contest, which Macki won for several years as a teen.  She’s been talked into rejoining again this year against her better judgement.  But the contest gets called when Macki finds one of the other contestants dead in her tent.  Worse yet, the murder weapon was Macki’s knife.  The police are quick to zero in on her as a suspect.  Can she prove she didn’t do it?

When I picked up the book, I felt the cozy fall vibes immediately.  Okay, so it’s technically late summer for most of the book, but that’s a minor difference.  I liked Macki and her quite large family.  Cider Falls is charming.  These are the characters and the setting I love in a cozy series and ones I look forward to visiting again and again.

However, I won’t be revisiting this series.

Let’s talk plot.  There’s the storyline I teased, but it doesn’t really get started in any meaningful way until we are a third of the way into the book.  Even then, the story moves forward in fits and starts.  There’s a massive plot hole I kept hoping would be brought up or addressed, and it never was.  And all of that ends with a weak climax.

Not to mention that the police officer that was supposed to be pulled off the case (according to the book at one point) never was.  He wasn’t the lead, but he was still very much involved.

There’s another storyline going on.  It starts before the murder and involves Macki’s parents.  I’m guessing it is going to be a continuing storyline in the series, or maybe it’s the setup for book two.  Either way, it got way too much page time here and left me unsatisfied.

Then there’s the writing in general.  It felt more like a first draft than a finished product.  We had sentences that belonged in other paragraphs, lots of repetition, and way too much detail at times.  Yes, I know I’m the one who complains when an author summarizes a conversation, but in this case, the conversations were among the things that needed some streamlining.

But the vibes.  As I say, I did enjoy the characters and the setting.  I’m sure if I could really visit Cider Falls and meet the characters, I’d enjoy my time spent with them.

That won’t be enough to bring me back for any other books in this series, and I’m not inclined to give the author another try.  Looks like others seem to be enjoying this book, but it didn’t work for me at all.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Ornament Review: Michael Myers - 2026 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great representation of a slasher icon

Cons: All cons slashed to pieces.

The Bottom Line:

This slasher icon

Becomes a collectable

His fans will enjoy

Bring Home The Shape…If You Dare

Growing up in the 1980’s, I couldn’t help but develop a fascination with slasher movies.  Not that I was watched them growing up (which is a good thing since I would have had horrible nightmares).  I’ve watched most of the movies in the major franchises as an adult, and I do have an appreciation for certain movies in the Halloween franchise.  So, when I saw that Hallmark was releasing a Michael Myers ornament this year, I took notice.  After initially planning to skip it, I wound up picking up a copy.

Obviously, Hallmark released this as part of their Halloween line of ornaments.  While I don’t collect many of them, they usually release a dozen or so every year.  And, they did release an ornament of Chucky last year (which I skipped), making this the second in an unofficial series.

The ornament says Halloween II on the box, which makes sense from an anniversary standpoint.  That movie is celebrating 45 years this year.  But, not knowing the franchise as well as others, I couldn’t tell you how this ornament ties into that movie specifically.  The ornament is just Michael Myers.  He’s standing on his two feet, wearing the blue overalls he usually wears.  He’s got a big knife in his right hand; seriously, the knife is probably about as long as his arm.  And, of course, he’s got his iconic white mask on.

See what I mean?  Maybe if I knew variations in the mask over the course of the franchise better, I’d know if any of the details tie to that first sequel.  That aside, any fan of the franchise will like this ornament.  It captures the look of The Shape (aka Michael Myers) perfectly.  Even though he’s only a few inches tall, there is still something that feels menacing about him.  Okay, so maybe I still haven’t completely outgrown my fear of these movies.

Michael’s feet are large and flat enough that you can set him out to be displayed.  He’s not perfectly steady, so a good sized bump would knock him over.

Or you can hang him.  If you choose that route, you’ll find that he hangs perfectly straight.

Not everyone is going to want an ornament of Michael Myers in their home.  But fans of the Halloween franchise will be glad they added him to their collection.

October 11th's Weekend Catch-Up

It's the weekend, so time for another Weekend Catch-Up.  I'll be linking up to:

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

Our temps are cooling down.  Could it be that autumn is finally hitting us?  That realization always makes me sad.  Yes, it was still upper 90's most of the week, but it's only going to be low 80's today and in the 60's with some rain the next couple of days.

Friday night, I went to see For King + Country in concert.  They were at the Greek Theater here in Los Angeles - a venue I haven't been to very often.  It was a great concert.  They are a Christian duo - two brothers actually.  I've only recently gotten into their music.  They aren't a favorite group of mine, but I really do like some of their songs, and they put on a fun show.  It would have been nice to closer, but I was cheap, so I sat in the nose bleeds.  Still, it was worth it.

No paddle boarding this morning.  It's game day, so I didn't figure I'd have time.  I was going to try to go to Hallmark this morning since it is Ornament Debut, the day they release most of the second half of their Christmas ornament line for the year.  But I've lazed around the condo enough I don't think that is going to happen.

In fact, shall we get on with it so I can finish getting ready to leave?

Joke of the Week:

The Earth is 70% uncarbonated water.

Therefore the Earth is flat.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Weekend Catch-Up

Monday - Book Review: Art Attack by James Ponti

Tuesday - Movie Review: Misery

Wednesday - Book Review: The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich by P.J. Fitzsimmons

Thursday - Book Review: The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories by Gigi Pandian

Friday - Friday Fun featuring Death in Luxor

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Weekend Catch-Up

Monday - Ornament Review: Michael Myers

Tuesday - Book Review: Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival by Traci Hall

Wednesday - Movie Review: Urban Legend

Thursday - Book Review: Death in Luxor by M.A. Monnin

Friday - Friday Fun

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I've got two books this week - both by the same author under different pen names.

The first is a preorder.  Lady Darling Vexes a Villain came out this week.  It's the second in a series from Colleen Gleason.  This one is set in Victorian England.  The first wasn't as good as I would have liked, but I am enjoying the author's other books I've been reading, so I wanted to give book two a try.

Speaking of other books from this author, I also got Death Down the Aisle, this time written under her pen name of Colleen Cambridge.  This is book six in the Phyllida Bright series.  Phyllida is Agatha Christie's housekeeper.  These books are set in the 1920's.  I've been working on catching up on this series this year.  The book will be out at the end of October, but I got an advanced copy, so I'll be reviewing it during release week.

What I'm Currently Reading:

As I'm typing this, I have just barely started #TreatYourself to Murder, the fifth Trending Topics Mystery from Sarah E. Burr.  As in, I've read two chapters so far.  I do enjoy this series (and the author's books in general), so I'm looking forward to diving more fully into the book soon.  We're dealing with a missing woman, an arsonist, and a dead body, so there should be plenty to keep me engaged.

Have a great week!

October 10th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Yes, I'm missing a show on the list.  And I'll explain where I was Friday night tomorrow.  But for now, here's what I watched this week.

The Marlow Murder Club – I’m enjoying this third story very much.  I have no clue where things are going, and Judith and Becks’s personal lives are adding to the fun.  Of course, I did know we were going to be left with another murder at the end of the episode.  You don’t rush to a place like that if a second victim hasn’t been found.

Marble Hall Murder – About 20 minutes in, I was trying to figure out why we hadn’t seen Pundt yet.  Then I remember how they’d left things.  With the author dead, we can’t get any more.  So I’m curious if they will be resolving that story next week.  And how they will.  I’m glad the policeman seems to be believing Susan.  But I don’t see how they are going to wrap things up in one week.

Celebrity Weakest Link – I’m impressed with how they did.  They did better than a lot of teams do.  Glad they one guy left first, he would have annoyed me had he stayed longer. 

Dancing with the Stars – Lots of improvement this week, something I always enjoy seeing.  However, it is time for Guillermo to go.  As much fun as he can be, and as much as he is trying, he’s not as good as everyone else.  He shouldn’t be taking space that others can take up.  I’m a little surprised that Ciara was the one who went home since she wasn’t at the bottom.

RJ Decker – I kind of liked the storyline with his dad.  I’m curious to see where they are going to go with it.  Will RJ wind up being disappointed?  I also liked the mystery.  Quirky and fun but logically solved.  I did love how they tricked them into “confessing.”

The Challenge – I had missed Tori saying she might go in this episode, but I have tons of respect for her in doing that.  That looked like a brutal elimination.  I am impressed with how both women did with that.  The first challenge looked harder than I first thought it would be.  But it also looked fun.  I wonder how I would have felt if I’d done it.

Survivor – Well, that was an episode.  Let’s see, someone quits.  Because, let’s be honest, that’s what it was.  Could Carter has been any dumber during the visit to the other tribe?  You don’t leave a note for others to see.  You don’t accidentally stay behind like that.  And then, during the challenge, that was quite the come from behind win.  But I do like seeing tribes alternate at tribal.  I wonder if the tribe will decide they voted the right person out or not.  I am always in favor of getting rid of the chaos makers, so that’s how my vote would have gone.

The Amazing Race – Really?  What was the point of leaving us with that cliffhanger?  Also, have I ever mentioned I hate needle in haystack challenges?  That first roadblock was brutal.  And I would have been frustrated by all the fruit falling.  Actually, I would have been frustrated by much of it.  Either I’m in a very frustrated mood or my stress meter is at its limit at the moment.  Because that detour?  I would have pushed through with the tires because there’s no way I could remember those words/phrases.

The Traitors: New Blood – Sorry to see Sheri go.  Especially since everyone who has seen the show before knows there are three traitors.  Speaking of whom, could they have been any more obvious with the fruit to commit the murder in plain sight?  Yeah, I know they didn’t have much of a choice, but still, talk about obvious.  It will be interesting to see who sticks with those suspicions.  Could they have drawn things out any more?  I feel like not much happened even though, yeah, a lot did happen.

Special Forces – I remember why I didn’t watch the show the last couple of years.  Between the boxing and the extreme trust fall, I was cringing the entire time.  The two stories the recruits told were powerful.  And no one quit!  That impressed me.

October 9th's Friday Fun

We've made it to Friday!  That means it is time for this week's Friday Fun, where I will be linking up to:

First Line Friday
Friday Book Snippets
Book Blogger Hop

My teasers for the first two will be coming from Death in Luxor by M.A. Monnin.

This is book four in her Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.  Obviously, the book is set in Egypt.  And here's now the book begins:

“I suppose you’d like an Artifact Retrieval Team ID,” René Renault said, looking Stefanie Adams up and down.

Okay, so it might not jump right into the main mystery, but it is a nice way to get reacquainted with the characters.  Why?  You'll have to read the book to find out.

Meanwhile, a little past 50% into the book, we find this:

“I saw what the man was stabbed with,” she said, loud enough for them all to hear. “A knife with the same triangular-shaped handle that we have on the Nile Princess.”

And, a bonus quote:

Dr. Amin moved to close the door behind them. He fixed them with a granite gaze. “Murder is not good for tourism,” he said.

The book is out.  I'll be reviewing it as part of a blog tour next Thursday, so I hope you'll come back to see what I thought of it.

Let's move on to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The prompt is:

Do you run more than one blog? If so, how do you manage your time?

I pretend to.  I have a blog I started 20+ years ago when people were using them as diaries of sorts.  I don't want to let it go, but I haven't posted anything other than a joke or a pun in over a year.  So, this is the only blog I really update.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories by Gigi Pandian (A Jaya Jones Short Story Collection)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Nine great locked room short stories

Cons: All cons locked behind closed doors

The Bottom Line:

Crime behind locked doors

Jaya and friends work to solve

These stories are fun

Get Ready for an Impossible Crime or Nine

Gigi Pandian’s first series was her Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries.  But the character has appeared in several short stories and novellas over the years, including some award-winning stories.  The Cambodian Curse & Other Stories collects nine of them into one volume for us.  And each story also features one of Gigi’s favorite things – a locked room mystery.

The book focuses on Jaya Jones, art history professor and finder of treasures lost to time.  While she is the star of the most of the stories, a couple do focus on her best friend, magician Sanjay.  Other characters from the series pop into some of the stories, too.  But we are introduced to everyone as they appear, so you can pick this book up to get a taste of the series.

The title story was originally written for this collection.  It involves a murder and theft at a local art museum.  In another, after being stranded in Denver due to snow, Jaya must figure out who killed an author in the hotel’s library.  She also gets involved in a theft and disappearance at a conference.  One of Sanjay’s stories finds him trying to solve a murder on an island off the coast of San Francisco.  And in the final story, Jaya must figure out who stole a valuable chess set.

Fans of Gigi’s Secret Staircase Mysteries will be interested to learn that Tempest, the main character of that series, stars in one of the stories as well.

I do promise that each story does involve those locked doors that make for the fun impossible crimes for Jaya to solve.  While I did pickup on one or two of them a little early, I still enjoyed watching Jaya figure out what was going on.  Several of them kept me guessing until the end.

Those familiar with the series will quickly pick up on the fact that these stories are not collected in chronological order.  We jump around in the series timeline.  It’s not an issue, and there aren’t any spoilers for the novels here.

I do love the characters, and it’s fun to spend time with them again.  The new characters don’t get much time to be fully developed, but they all work for the stories they are in.  My only complaint with the characters (and I’ve seen this in other collections) is that, if we met a character in a previous story, they are still fully introduced when we meet up with them again in a different story.  It’s a minor complaint but still something that bothers me.

My goal this year was to catch up on the Jaya Jones books in print so I could wrap up another series.  Then Gigi Pandian announced that she’d found a new home for Jaya’s further adventures, which makes me even happier that I caught up this year.

Whether you have read all of Jaya’s novel length adventures or haven’t yet jumped into her world, you’ll be glad you picked up this collection of stories.

Do check out more of the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries.

Book Review: The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich by P.J. Fitzsimmons (Anty Boisjoly #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Laughs and a solid mystery

Cons: I didn’t find any cons in this case

The Bottom Line:

Next case in Scotland

Plenty wacky and twisty

Grab whisky; enjoy

Whiskey, Golf, and Sheep in Scotland

It really is hard to describe the Anty Boisjoly series for the uninitiated.  They are part comedy and part locked room mystery set in the late 1920’s Europe.  But it’s a mix that works for me, and I enjoyed the sixth book, The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich.

The main character is Anty, a young man who has recently inherited from his father.  He has no need to work, which is a good thing because it means he can travel around getting involved in the most puzzling of locked room mysteries.  The only other returning character in this book is Vickers, his elderly manservant who has been serving the Boisjolys for generations.

This book finds Anty heading to Scotland where two neighboring villages compete every ten years to determine which produces the best whiskey.  The winner is the official whiskey for the next decade, so the stakes are high.  It all involves which peat is used and where the water is drawn from, you see.  Anty’s father used to be on the judging panel, so Anty is there taking his place.

But when he arrives, he learns that one of the two competing distillers has just blown himself up while attempting to make this year’s batch.  The detective assigned to the case is quick to blame the outsiders, but Anty is more focused on how the crime could have been committed.  How does the world’s hardest golf course play into things?  Can Anty get any investigating done with the flock of sheep he has following him?

I will admit, when I first started this book, I was certain that I was going to find it frustrating.  The two villages have very similar names.  The two families most involved in the feud have similar names.  Heck, the two bartenders have similar names.  I was beginning to worry that I’d need a score sheet to keep everyone straight.  Yet, as I read, I found I was able to keep the main suspects and their relationships to each other straight.  It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  Okay, so I never could remember which side of the divide a couple of the characters were on, but it didn’t wind up mattering.

As a mystery, this is a good book.  There is plenty happening to keep me engaged, which some nice red herrings and twists until I reached the logical climax.  As usual for this series, I really had no clue where things were going to wind up, but the clues had been there.

As a comedy, this is a good book.  This series has been a bit too gimmicky at times, with too much word play, not only slowing the book down but making me roll my eyes.  And, given my love of puns, that’s really saying something.  Here’s, the word play was used in the perfect amount.  It never stood out in an obnoxious way, but it did make me smile and laugh multiple times.  And there are plenty of other things to laugh at in this book.  Yes, they might be a bit out there, but somehow it works in the context of this series.  I think it does help if you are in the right mood when you pick up a book in this series.

Speaking of series, each book really does work as a standalone.  Certainly, it helps that we only have two returning characters.  So if this book appeals to you, can you jump in here.

I do think there is a continuity error, but it didn’t impact the story, and I wasn’t bothered enough to go back and double check.  I was caught up enough in the story that I didn’t care.

If you are looking to laugh while solving a puzzling mystery, you need to check out this series.  The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich is another delightfully wacky case anyone will enjoy.

Enjoy the rest of the Anty Boisjoly Mysteries.

Movie Review: Misery

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong script and acting draw you in

Cons: A few very violent scenes

The Bottom Line:

Writer and his fan

Great script and performances

In a tense thriller

“I’m Your Number One Fan.”

I’ve never been super interested in most of what Stephen King has written or the movies based on his stories.  The exception to that has always been Misery.  Probably because it isn’t the supernatural horror story that he is most famous for.  I finally watched it recently, and I enjoyed it.

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a bestselling novelist known for his insanely popular novels about a character named Misery.  However, he’s been working on something new.  As is his tradition, he’s gone to a secluded hotel in Colorado to finish the book.  On his way back to civilization with his completed manuscript, he gets caught in a blizzard and has a bad accident.

It could have been fatal if he hadn’t been rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates).  Fortunately, she’s a nurse, so she can help him recover from his injuries until the roads are opened enough to get him to the hospital.  And, she is a huge fan of his Misery books.  You might say obsessive.  Is Annie a help or not?

Yes, there are other characters in the movie, but for the majority of the run time, these two are the only ones on the screen.  And it’s a testament to both of them that we never feel the need for more characters.  Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her work here, and it is easy to see why.  James Caan is just as spellbinding.  While Kathy has to slowly let the crazy show, James has scenes by himself where his attempts to escape are riveting.  And you can see what he is thinking as his character plays along with Annie.  As I said, both of them are fantastic.

Likewise, much of the movie takes place in Paul’s bedroom in Annie’s house.  That becomes appropriately claustrophobic for Paul and us, and it makes the time we spend outside it that much more impactful.

Of course, the script and the novel it was based on, tell a compelling story.  Without the foundation of a good narrative, everything else would fall apart.  There are several tense scenes that will have you glued to the screen, and the tension ramps up as the movie goes along.  It is the reason a movie with limited characters and limited locations can work so well.

Having said all of this, this is an R rated movie.  There are several disturbing scenes.  Even a couple I knew were coming were pretty bad.  And I watched this on TV, too.  Keep that in mind before you decide to watch it.

But if you are looking for a phycological thriller, you can do much worse than Misery.  No, this hasn’t changed my mind on more of Stephen King’s work, but I’m glad I watched this one.