Book Review: Hollywood Kills edited by Adam Meyer and Alan Orloff

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Sixteen well written stories

Cons: There is a sameness to the stories

The Bottom Line:

Stories for good cause

But feel the same by the end

Space out to enjoy

Stories for a Good Cause

While I wasn’t directly impacted by the wild fires that hit the Los Angeles area in January of 2025, I have friends who were.  So, the idea behind the Hollywood Kills short story anthology appealed to me.  The authors wrote stories, agreeing to donate their royalties to a recovery fund.  And, since I keep saying I am going to start reading the short story collections I am buying, I decided to start with this one.

This book contains sixteen stories set in and around Hollywood.  Over the course of the series, we meet just about everyone who works in the entertainment business from writers to character actors to caterers to directors to casting directors.  Unfortunately, for all of these people, they are about to find themselves playing some deadly games.  And yes, we do occasionally leave the Southern California area to find murder and mayhem on location.

I was already a fan of a couple of the authors in this anthology, and I enjoyed both Ellen Byron and Wendall Thomas’s stories.  I also found it fun that Ellen’s story features the main character from her Golden Motel series, making it a prequel.

Individually, each of these stories were good.  The plots were entertaining and kept me on edge.  The characters were fleshed out for the page time they had.  And the writing was always engaging.

The problem was, when I took the book as a whole, it started to feel the same, which took away from my enjoyment.  I haven’t run across this in the admittedly few other anthologies I’ve read.  I think it’s because this anthology was rushed out to start raising funds, and the authors were pre-selected.  I suspect some of these stories might have been left out of this book had been opened to submissions instead of asking authors to write stories and taking what they submitted.  This might have taken care of my feelings.

Now, let me be perfectly clear.  None of these stories are bad.  It’s just that, when read back-to-back, they don’t stand out.  And there are some creative stories here that broke the mold.

So, pick up Hollywood Kills.  But, instead of sitting down to read it, maybe read a story or two every week.  It will take longer to get through, but you’ll enjoy it more that way.

Book Review: My Nightmare is Yours by Diane Vallere (Madison Night #13)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Madison in another entertaining mystery

Cons: I didn’t find any nightmares - I mean cons

The Bottom Line:

Retro studio

But star client is murdered

This was dream for me

I Found This Book a Dream Not a Nightmare

One of the pluses when a series runs for a long time is that supporting characters from one book can show up again further into the series, starring for another time in the main plot. That’s what we get with My Nightmare is Yours, the thirteenth Madison Night Mystery from Diane Vallere. 

For those not familiar with the series, Madison is a decorator in the Dallas, Texas, area who specializes in mid-century modern designs. She grew into this specialty because of her lifelong love of Doris Day movies. Over the course of the series, we’ve watched her overcome quite a bit personally and professionally and build a mostly solid relationship with police captain Tex Allen. 

Several years (and many books) ago, Madison worked for Ned and his then wife, Connie, redesigning their house. While Connie and Madison have stayed friends after the divorce, Madison hasn’t had much to do with Ned. But now he is back, wanting to hire her to turn a 1950’s ranch house into a period recording studio as he hopes to transition from music promoter to music producer. Unfortunately, the morning he hires Madison, Madison and Connie find the dead body of young singing sensation Vanessa Wright, one of Ned’s two clients. With the evidence pointing at him, Madison finds herself in a unique position to find the truth. What will she uncover?

Those familiar with Doris Day’s career with notice a similarity between this book and Doris’s second movie. As always, that is intentional. I did my homework and watched My Dream is Yours before reading this book. While it isn’t necessary at all, it might help you spot an Easter egg or two hidden in the book for added fun. 

As I said at the outset, Connie and New appeared in an earlier book in the series, and Connie has popped up several other times since then. However, my memory of their earlier cases was a little rusty, but it didn’t impact my enjoyment of this book at all, so I can confidently say you can jump in here if you so desire. 

As always, we are treated to an entertaining mystery. The plot kept me guessing until we reached the logical climax. There was plenty going on here to keep my interest the entire way through with some fun new characters. 

Each book also features opportunities for Madison to grow, and this one is no exception. I really like seeing how she matures with each case. That includes her relationships with the other regulars, most noticeably Tex. We’ve got a great cast of supporting characters in the series. 

This was another winner from an author I always enjoy. When you pick up My Nightmare is Yours, you’ll find the book anything but a nightmare. 

Enjoy the rest of the Madison Night Mysteries. 

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: Jaws 3

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: A few decent scenes

Cons: Too many bad one and laughable effects

The Bottom Line:

Shark in water park

A few sequences are good

But it’s mostly bad

“Let’s Go Swimming.”  “No, I Hate the Water.”

I knew fans point to the Jaws franchise as one where quality declines all the way through, but especially in the third and fourth films.  I’ve always been curious just how far things dropped.  Having now watched Jaws 3(D), I can say they fell pretty far with this one.

While none of the actors from the first two are back, we do get two of the characters.  We catch up with the Brody Brothers in Sea World in Florida.  Mike (Dennis Quaid) is working there building the various enclosures the park needs.  He’s also dating Dr. Kathryn Morgan (Bess Armstrong), who is in charge of the animals in the park.  Sean (John Putch) wants nothing to do with the water.  In fact, he’s visiting while on break from college in Colorado.

The park is connected to the ocean, although the animals and performers are usually in a lagoon that is fences off from the ocean proper.  However, unbeknownst to everyone, a great white has gotten into the lagoon.  How long will it be before anyone realizes what has happened?

I will give the movie this.  Yes, it took a little bit of time before the characters realize they are dealing with a shark, but they weren’t dumb for long.  Yes, so they make a few dumb choices once they know, but that’s a different discussion.  But I appreciated that they didn’t drag out this early part of the story.

I do think the idea of a shark in a water park has potential.  And, it was nice to get away from Amity.  That poor island needs a break.  It also allows them to not have to bring back any of the actors, who weren’t interested in returning.  But fans of the franchise will struggle since we have nothing familiar here.  This really is a sequel in name only.  The Brodys mention a few of the events from the first two movies, but it really could be anyone.

Anyway, as I was starting to say, I did like the water park setting.  I’m a bit surprised that Sea World allowed their name and location to be used in the film.  I wouldn’t think this would be the kind of publicity the park would want.  Even saying there is no such thing as bad publicity, I wouldn’t think they’d want to be associated with this film.

But back to my main point.  The setting had some creative touches that brought some new action sequences and set pieces to the movie.  I enjoyed them for what they were.  Usually, we could see them coming, but they were still entertaining.

I will also give the cast credit.  While it appears Dennis Quaid was high the entire time they were filming (he’s admitted as much), I found the performances fine.  A couple of real-life animal handlers and trainers were in the film, which is fun.  Among the cast I haven’t mentioned already are Louis Gossett Jr. and Lea Thompson.  This is actually Lea Thompson’s debut.

So far, it’s sounding like I mostly enjoyed the film.  Sorry to mislead you, but that’s not the truth at all.  The original Jaws is famous for not showing the shark early on.  That’s a wonderful story telling choice, as long as the director knows how to handle it well.  That’s not the case here.  We get a few good sequences, but most of the time, we don’t get the buildup and tension we need to actually be in suspense.

There’s a reason I put the D in quotes earlier.  Yes, this movie was originally released in 3D back in the 1980’s, so the technology was very different from what we have today.  I watched the movie on TV, and it was converted to 2D.  Yes, we could definitely see some of the 3D shots and what they would have been.

But here’s the problem.  Some of the regular shots just don’t look good because of the conversion.  We got cloudy and out of focus scenes as a result.  It’s distracting and takes away from the film.

And some of the effects?  Even by 80’s standards, they are pretty cheesy.  I’m thinking especially of the climax, which had me laughing.  Frankly, I have several questions about how realistic most of the climax was, in fact.  Yes, I’m nitpicking over a movie about a killer great white shark.  I realize that is just crazy, but it made me roll my eyes as I was watching.

Unless you are looking for a D monster movie, there’s no reason to see Jaws 3(D).  It adds nothing to the legacy of the franchise and the couple of entertaining sequences aren’t enough to justify sitting through it.

TV Show Review: Cheers - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Laughs from an excellent cast

Cons: We have too few great comedies like this on TV any more

The Bottom Line:

A romance begins

As writing, cast get stronger

Be prepared to laugh

“Every Family Has Their White Sheep.”

It had been longer than I intended between when I first watched season 1 of Cheers for review and when I sat down to watch season 2.  I’m glad I finally did because I laughed through this season.

If you aren’t familiar with this classic sitcom from the 80’s into the mid-90’s, it is set in a Boston bar, focusing on the relationships of the staff and regular customers.  Cheers is owned by Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a former baseball pitcher.  Also bar tending is Coach (Nicholas Colasanto).  The waitresses couldn’t be any different from each other.  There’s salt of the earth Carla (Rhea Perlman) and sophisticated intellectual Diane (Shelley Long).  As far as the bar patrons go, there’s Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger).  John Ratzenberger is the only cast change this season.  After appearing in all but one episode in season one, he finally joins the opening credits cast, where he deserves to be.

This season picks up exactly where season one ended.  After a year of flirting and fighting, Sam and Diane have finally admitted their attraction for each other while in Sam’s office.  What we learn in the opener is that the rest of the bar has at least heard some of what was happening in there.  Anyway, as Sam and Diane embark on their new relationship, they find plenty of bumps in the road.  Of course, it doesn’t help when Diane decides to help her former homicidal blind date prepare for an audition.  And Diane’s best friend comes to town, causing quite a stir.  The two take a break when Sam throws out an “I love you.”  And the duo tries to set up Coach on a blind date in order to get some alone time.

While watching the season, I felt like Sam and Diane took up a lot of story time.  And, if the writers had written to that, they’d have good reason.  The two leads have amazing chemistry and play off each other so well.

But in looking back at the season, we get quite a bit for the rest of the cast.  Carla has a baby, and while she’s out on maternity leave, Cliff falls for her sister.  Norm continues to struggle to find a new job, landing one doing Sam’s taxes.  And Norm has to deal with an old rival for his wife, the unseen Vera.  Coach takes on coaching a little league team.  And Carla struggles when her ex-husband gets remarried.

The show also gets a new set this season.  After spending all of season one in the bar, we finally travel to Diane’s living room.  We are there in several episodes, but that’s the only set we visit outside of the bar.  When you think about all the stories we get from characters talking around a bar, and all the laughs, it’s pretty amazing.

And the laughs are plentiful.  Yes, sometimes, the punchlines are obvious, but the cast makes them feel fresh and get laughs out of me.  And others?  They go in a direction you never expect, eliciting laughter.  They also aren’t afraid to go for the physical humor, which is fantastic.  The writing is sharp, with the writers making the best use of the cast.

I know that I praised Ted Danson and Shelley Long earlier.  Honestly, the entire cast is fantastic together.  They play off each other perfectly, getting so many laughs.  There is no way the show could have worked this well with others as these characters.  Yes, we get some cast changes and additions coming in future seasons, but this is a fantastic start.  Notable guest stars include Dick Cavett as himself, Fred Dryer, Markie Post, Harry Anderson, and Christopher Lloyd.

Fortunately, audiences found the show this season.  Cheers was famously extremely low rated in season one.  Today, it would have been canceled by the end of season one at the latest.  But the ratings picked up this season on the way to being the juggernaut it was later in its run.

Season two consisted of twenty-two episodes and they are all part of this DVD set in their native full screen and stereo.  Nothing super fancy, but it’s in keeping with the way the show was produced and aired.  And it sounds and looks great.  Extras are just okay, however, with most of them being great moments from the season centered around specific characters.

Cheers is already firing on all cylinders in season 2.  If you haven’t watched this classic sitcom yet, you are truly missing out.  I have a feeling I will be moving on to season 3 before too much more time passes.

March 23rd's Weekly TV Thoughts

Quiz with Balls – Ralph’s bits were pretty funny when the life guards were up.  And those questions were hard!  I think I struggled with most of the categories.  Often, there are some that are easy for me, but not here.  I’m impressed anyone made it to the end, to be honest.

Survivor – I would have been okay with any of the final three winning.  Or Tiff for that matter.  Sorry, Rizzo, but you really rub me the wrong way, and calling yourself god doesn’t help.  I am happy with got some moments with others along the way, but seriously, can we get a real reunion again?  Please?  I miss those.  Happy for Aubrey.  And I laughed about the slip up with letting out the results of the fire making challenge too early.  Jeff handled that so well when he came back.

May 22nd's Friday Post

Welcome to this week's Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

My teasers for the first three this week will be coming from My Nightmare is Yours by Diane Vallere.

This is lucky number thirteen in a series from one of my favorite authors.  And Diane has lots of series she juggles, so her name is familiar if you spend any time around here.  This book is from her Madison Night series.  Madison is a decorator specializing in Mid-Century Modern decor.  And she is a huge Doris Day fan.

The quotes this week are short and sweet.  For example, here's how the book begins:

The photo was unfortunate on many levels.

That definitely caught my attention.  Meanwhile, at 56% into the book, we find this:

“What about Kingston?” I asked.
“For a blind date, he was very attentive.”

The book will be out on Tuesday, and I'll have a review then, so I hope you'll come back.

Meanwhile, let's hop on over to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question is:

What do you think about rising prices for hardcovers, paperbacks, and eBooks?

EBook prices are outrageous, especially since it is a license for the book and not actually purchasing it.  

Having said that, I do also respect that authors should be paid for their hard work.  And editors and publishers do need money as well.  I don't feel like the other book formats are rising significant above general inflation.  Still, it does hurt to see how expensive books are.  It makes me more selective at what I buy, unless I can find it on sale.

That's it for me.  Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Harm Not the Earth by Liz Milliron (Laurel Highlands Mysteries #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery and characters who are growing

Cons: Some timeline issues that bugged me

The Bottom Line:

Body near River

Inquires under radar

Characters growing

Murder of Environmental Activists

While it can be frustrating to start a series when there are already multiple books published, the joy comes from being able to revisit the characters again soon after finishing the previous entry. That’s how I felt when I sat down to enjoy Harm Not the Earth, the fourth in Liz Milliron’s Laurel Highlands Mysteries. 

The series features an unlikely duo. Jim Duncan is a Pennsylvania State Trooper who has been given the latitude to pursue some of the cases he encounters while on patrol. Meanwhile, Sally Castle is an Assistant Public Defender. Not only are the duo friends who have solved some cases together, they have also recently started dating, which can make things tricky when their personal and professional lives collide. 

As this book opens, Jim and Sally follow up on a report and find a dead body in their off hours. Since the death is outside of Jim’s normal patrol area, the man who takes on the case doesn’t welcome his help. But Jim becomes even more determined to figure out what is going on when he realizes he knew the victim, having volunteered with his environmental organization. Then a second victim turns up. Sally jumps in to help, hoping to make sure things are resolved before Jim gets into too much trouble. Can they determine what is going on?

While I didn’t know who the victim would be when I picked up the book, I wasn’t surprised when the potential motives included environmental issues. The title of the book was a pretty big clue. I was very happy with how it was handled. We didn’t get lectures, and most of the characters professed to have a balanced view of things - wanting to use resources or let others enjoy without destroying nature. Of course, some might be lying and there is disagreement over what the best ideas are. This is a mystery, after all. But, again, we don’t get lectures, and this isn’t the only motive Jim and Sally uncover. 

All this to say the plot kept me engaged. We had some good, well-developed suspects and a few good twists that took me by surprise. I’d zeroed in on the culprit a little early, but not too early, and I was still intrigued to see if I was right and how they were going to prove it. 

Unfortunately, there were some timeline snags in this book. Nothing that impacted the logic of the story, but still things that bugged this timeline guy. 

This isn’t a cozy, and the content is a little beyond that sub-genre as a result. But as long as you keep that in mind, you’ll be fine. 

Since Jim and Sally have just started dating, they are still figuring out their relationship and how their professional lives are going to impact it. I appreciated the natural progression of things here and how that built on the previous book. And they both face some professional decisions, which I also enjoyed watching them work through. 

I already have the next in this series waiting for me to pick it up. I’m looking forward to seeing where the characters go after Harm Not the Earth. 

Enjoy the rest of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries. 

Movie Review: Best Served Cold - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Creative mystery for Hannah to solve

Cons: A few low budget moments

The Bottom Line:

Missing attorney

And case of fraud at trial

In this fun movie

“Maybe It’s a Mannequin.”  “It’s Never a Mannequin”

We’ve gotten two Hannah Swensen mystery movies in fairly quick succession on Hallmark this year.  Two months after we last checked in with them, we get Best Served Cold.  And yes, this is another fun mystery in the franchise.

After a brief prologue from six weeks ago, we check in with the characters as Hannah’s boyfriend, district attorney Chad Norton (Victor Webster), has just been given a big case.  The pawn shop in town was selling fake gold coins, and he’s prosecuting the owners.  He’s taken on the case at the last minute since the attorney assigned to it, Lucas, has gone missing. 

Hannah (Alison Sweeney) thinks something fishy is going on, so she starts trying to find Lucas.  Instead, she finds a dead body.  How will it impact the case?

This book is theoretically based on Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder, one of the more recent entries in the novel series.  I say theoretically because I don’t remember any of these elements in the book.  Granted, it has been five years since I read it.  But the teasers for the book don’t sound like anything in this movie.  As an aside, I think Hannah’s opening monologue explains a lot of what went wrong the one time I tried to make the title dessert.

But that’s no criticism of the mystery we got here.  I found it very creative and different in a good way.  I was engaged the entire way through, and I loved how the movie ended.  Very creative and well done if implausible in real life.

Hannah works with her mother, Delores (Barbara Niven) several times, and she gets some scenes to shine.  The rest of the usuals get only a very supporting part here, and there are some we don’t see.  I feel like we are dealing with some budget issues with these movies at this point, but I could be wrong.  While I missed seeing more of the regulars, I did like the story we got.

Yes, this is a Hallmark movie, so we get more of the low budget issues, but they are kept to a minimum.  Most of the acting and writing are well done.  Alison Sweeney once again wrote this movie, as she’s done with the last several.  I’m sure that’s one reason the dialogue is so strong.

Best Served Cold is another hot movie in the Hannah Swensen franchise.  Fans will be delighted watching these characters back in action.

Book Review: Reckoning at the Riviera Royale by P.J. Fitzsimmons (Anty Boisjoly Mysteries #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Anty, laughs, and a puzzling mystery

Cons: Sometimes the humor could be toned down a little

The Bottom Line:

Clearing big suspect

Circus of alternatives

Laughs and clues combine

The Elephant in the Case

I juggle various series and sometimes that means I don’t get back to series as quickly as I’d like to. But when I sat down to read Reckoning at the Riviera Royale, I was already smiling. This being the fifth Anty Boisjoly Mystery from P.J. Fitzsimmons, it was exactly the fun locked room case I was expecting. 

Anty is a man in the upper classes in British society in 1929. He’s recently found himself getting involved in some rather impossible crimes and finding his way to the solution. All of that is served with a heavy dose of dry wit since these books are accurately described as a cross between P.G. Wodehouse and Dorothy L. Sayer. 

This book finds Anty off to the French Riviera at the invitation of his mother. They have a strained relationship, but Anty goes because he thinks this will be a good chance to confront his mother over a nagging question about his father’s death.

But when he arrives, he discovers there’s been a more recent death. There’s a floating circus on the island where Anty is, but the headliner has been killed, trampled to death by his elephant. The animal is set to be executed for this crime, but Anty isn’t buying it. Can he find the real culprit in time to spare the beast?

While this is the wildest case Anty has tackled yet (pun always intended), it feels perfectly at home in the series.  And, yes, the story takes the mystery completely seriously.  Anty is working to solve a real crime with real motives, no matter how outlandish the main suspect might seem.  The solution fits perfectly with this series, and I found it satisfying.

This series has very few returning characters.  In addition to Anty, there’s his valet, Vickers, who is a character all by himself.  Since this book is set in France, we don’t see the inspector that Anty has dealt with in the past, making it just these two.  The series isn’t strong on story arcs, meaning you can read the books in any order.  I pick up this series because I enjoy Anty’s antics and the way he pulls out solutions to impossible crimes.

Now, this isn’t the say the characters are bad.  They are created for their comedic abilities, but they still feel real for this universe.  And they make me care about the outcome while keeping me confused as to who might have done it.

Have you gotten the feeling that the comedy is front and center with this series?  Because it most definitely is.  At times, I do feel like it is a little too clever for its own good, but most of the time, I’m laughing at the wit and word play.

If you are looking for something that is equal parts locked room mystery and comedy, you need to give this series a try.  Reckoning at the Riviera Royale is a circus in the best way possible.

Laugh and puzzle over the rest of the Anty Boisjoly Mysteries.

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Action and acting

Cons: Pacing in mostly predictable story

The Bottom Line:

Guardians are back

Fighting to save one of them

Predictable film

Quest to Save Rocket

Somewhere along the way, I got behind on Marvel movies again (and newer movies in general).  Part of it is the cable movies I’ve been watching.  But part of it is pure laziness.  I wasn’t going to see stuff in the theater and I wasn’t even trying to catch it on streaming.  But I’m trying to catch up now.  We’ll see how long it lasts, right?

All of that to say that I finally sat down to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.  And I may have found another reason why I let myself get behind.

When this movie opens, it finds the Guardians on a planet, trying to recover from a recent, devastating loss that has hit their leader, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), especially hard.  But when an outside force attacks, leaving Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) fighting for his life, Peter and the rest jump into action to try to find a way to save him.  But the only way forward is going to put them on the radar of a truly evil man.  Will this mission cost all of them their lives?

As I was watching this movie, the biggest thing I struggled with was the fact that I didn’t care.  I mean, you know where the story is going to go, the only question is the how.  Now, I will confess that a couple of things along the way did surprise me, but most of the big questions fell into this predictability.

It also didn’t help that we had extended flashbacks finally filling us in on how Rocket became the racoon we all know and love.  I will give them this, it was definitely relevant to this story.  But I still felt like we could have gotten that same information in less time.  Considering the movie is two and a half hours long, finding something to leave on the cutting room floor would have been nice.  Then again, it wouldn’t have given Bradley Cooper as much to voice in the movie.  I feel like one purpose of these many flashback scenes was to show how truly evil the villain was, but we got that from the modern storyline.  We really didn’t need to devote as much time to the flashbacks as we got.

I think another part of the problem was that we just had too much randomness in the film.  Some of the stops along the way felt weird just to be weird.  Maybe these stops served a purpose, but it just felt like a chance to visit another alien planet.

Now, I will give the film this – the effects looked good to me.  Sadly, we can’t always say that about modern special effects.  And the acting was all good.

And this isn’t to say that the film was bad.  I did get drawn in.  I found the action scenes lots of fun.  And a few moments of humor made me smile and chuckle.  But it wasn’t enough to really make me feel like I’ve missed anything by waiting this long to watch the movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 definitely continues the struggles that Mavel has had in the post Endgame era.  It’s not that this is a bad film.  But I’m also not sorry I haven’t watched it sooner.