June 30th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to the weekend.  It's time for the Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

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

It's been a quiet week.  I'm trying to relax as much as I can while still working (from home, at least) to get this cold to go away.  Sadly, it's holding on for dear life.  It might have helped if I'd gotten more sleep this week.  I had trouble falling asleep one night and then I woke up for no good reason two other mornings.  Hoping that taking it easy this weekend will help me shake it once and for all.

In other news, we had some unexpected "fun" on Thursday when a file I needed at work didn't process properly automatically overnight.  It took a lot of the day, but we got it figured out.  Fortunately, that is a rare thing to have happen, but it adds extra excitement when it does.

Joke of the Week:

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn’t find any.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Mystery Woman - Redemption

Tuesday - Book Review: Requiem for a Mouse by Miranda James

Wednesday - Movie Review: Fast Five

Thursday - Book Review: Three Strikes - You're Dead by Various Authors

Friday - TV Show Review: Quantum Leap - Season 5

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - June Reading Summary

Tuesday - Book Review: Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson

Wednesday - Book Review: Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

Thursday - Movie Review: Camp Nowhere

Friday - Friday Post featuring Murder on Devil's Pond

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I had a plan this week.  It was only going to get two new books this week (one a pre-order).  And both are books I was planning to read in July.  What could go wrong with that?  Um, how about Kindle sales and freebees?  Yeah, I've got five new books this week.  Not super surprised.

The book I'd planned to buy was The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning by P.J. Fitzsimmons.  This is the second in a series.  I read the first in January and absolutely loved it.  I am very much looking forward to reading this one and didn't want to wait for Christmas.  But Christmas in July seemed like a great time to read it, right?  I got this one for Kindle.

The first of the Kindle sale books was Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell.  Again, I read the first earlier this year and enjoyed it.  This is actually the third in the series, but the second was on sale a couple of months back, so I snagged it then.  Now, I just need to find the time to read them.

Then there was Brushed Up on Murder by Ruth J. Hartman.  The publisher was very smart.  They sent out an email about the publication of the second in the series.  Low a behold, the first in the series was on sale for 99 cents.  It sounds cute.  The series is about a mobile cat groomer.  And I that price, I couldn't afford not giving it a try, right?  This one is still on sale.

Thursday was the season finale of It's Bookish Time, a YouTube book show.  The guest was Jann Franklin, talking about her cozy mystery series set in a small Louisiana town.  It was sounding like a lot of fun.  Low and behold, the author had set the first book, Muffalettas and Murder, to free.  Can't pass that up, right?  Looks like it is still free if you want to check it out.

Finally, there's the preorder, I mentioned - Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket, the twentieth Jaine Austen Mystery from Laura Levin.  It's the only physical book on my list for the week.

What I'm Currently Reading:

Yes, I've been reading the Jaine Austen series since it first came out.  They are always light and fun books, and I can confirm that Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket is no exception.  It arrived just as I was finishing another book, so I dropped everything to read it.  And I finished it up Saturday before I started working on this post.  Full review coming on the tenth.

Up next will be Puzzle Me a Murder, the first in a new series from Roz Noonan.  I don't know much about it, but I decided to give it a try, so we'll see what I think.  I think the puzzle theme could be a fun one for a mystery series.  The author has written other mysteries; I just haven't gotten a chance to read them yet.

That's it for me.  Hopefully, between the holidays in Canada and the States, those living in North America have an extra special week.  And I hope those who don't live here have a great week, too.

June 29th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Race to Survivor: New Zealand – As much as I liked the team that was eliminated tonight, I’m not sorry to see them go.  Watching them was hurting MY ankle.  I do like that they kept going and finished.  And I was glad to get the update on the other team from last week that they would be okay.  What amazing catches some of the teams were able to get.

The Acolyte – Definitely had the action this time around.  Of course, too much action is as bad as too little.  It needs to be going somewhere.  I found myself getting board with some of those fights as well.  They looked great, but I don’t think I was connected enough with the characters to care.  I suspect I was supposed to be given what happened.  I feel like the victims in a horror movie get better outcomes than this.  Too much too quickly.  And, also, are these Jedi worse than storm troopers?  Plus we get another random side change.  And we're supposed to believe that no one picked up on the twin swap?

TV Show Review: Quantum Leap - Season 5

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Some episodes are still fun to watch

Cons: Most of the changes the writers make don’t work well; ending

The Bottom Line:

Final leaps through time

Most of the changes don’t work

Uneven season

“People Don’t Just Jump Into Other People’s Lives.”  “Well, My Friend Does.”

When a show reaches season 5, the writers often try to shake things up.  That’s the case with the original Quantum Leap’s fifth season.  Unfortunately, not all of those attempts actually worked well for the show.

One of those changes was teased in the cliffhanger at the end of season four.  Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), who is still leaping through time into people’s lives in an attempt to change things for the better, has leaped into Lee Harvey Oswald, the first time he’s become a real person.  We see exactly what happens next in the two-part season opener.  Sorry, but this shouldn’t have been more than one episode at most.  Sam keeps leaping into various points in the man’s life, but Oswald’s personality seems to be infiltrating Sam more and more.  The result wasn’t compelling drama but more an analysis of a man who committed unspeakable evil.  Maybe it was cathartic for the Baby Boom generation as they try to understand why he did what he did, but it certainly wasn’t for me.

Over the rest of the season, Sam jumps into two more famous people.  His leap into Dr. Ruth in the 80’s is as uncomfortable for him as it is for me.  On the other hand, his leap into Elvis is a pure delight as he has to help a woman without impacting The King’s career.

Another change is that we spend more time in the “future” of 1999, you know, the time that Sam leapt from.  This does give Al (Dean Stockwell) something different to do other than the hologram that is trying to guide Sam through each leap.  I enjoyed this is in the episode when the criminal that Sam had leapt into escaped and Al had to track him down and bring him back before Sam could leap.  On the other hand, most of the time, it didn’t add anything to the episode.  Fortunately, they only did this a few times.

Then there’s the trilogy.  Sam leaps into the life of Abigail as three different people at three different times in her life.  The storylines there got repetitive, and Sam’s obsession/”love” for her as an adult got to be a bit much.  Even the twist they tried to give it at the end rang hollow given the ending of the series.

Finally, we have the Evil Leaper episodes.  The first time she showed up, the authors clearly wrote themselves into a corner and out of time since everything got magically fixed, which bugged me.  Fortunately, I thought things worked better there when they brought those characters back for two more episodes later in the season.

Yes, the majority of episodes this season are still one offs.  Some cross the line into lectures more than some of the previous seasons have been, especially the episode about women’s rights.  That episode was especially harsh coming after it did after the episode where Sam leapt into a bigamist.  That was supposed to be a funny episode, but it wasn’t.  It was just cringe.  Then there’s the episode about the vampire, which was just strange.

There were episodes I enjoyed, like the previous mentioned Elvis episode.  I also really enjoyed it when Sam became his great-grandfather during the Civil War.  And the episode about alien sightings was fun.

Which brings us to the series finale.  I will be discussing what happened, so if you don’t know and don’t want to be spoiled, skip the rest of the paragraph.  I fully sympathize with the producers who were not informed the show was going to be cancelled for sure until after they had filmed the show.  Apparently, there were several endings filmed, and the one we got was the network’s decision.  So I will blame the network.  That episode was…interesting.  They often go for something different for the season finales.  I like that Al got a happy ending, although Al without his womanizing because he’s happily married doesn’t seem right.  And we can choose to believe that Sam chose to keep leaping to help people, which was kind of what they were hinting out in the episode.  Knowing what was coming as far as the ending of the series, it didn’t hit as hard as it would have when originally aired.  But still, I would have liked to see happy endings for both of them.

The choices that I struggled with this season are all on the writers.  The acting is still top notch, with Scott Bakula doing a great job carrying every single episode and Dean Stockwell providing the comic relief.  As far as guest stars, they were uniformly great.  We had quite a few before they were famous appearances this season and some familiar at the time names as well.  Among those I recognized were Willie Garson, Brooke Shields, Jennifer Aniston, Beverley Mitchell, Melora Hardin, Megyn Price, Robyn Lively, and Neil Patrick Harris.  The Brooke Shields episode was another fun one, and a bit of type casting, as she played someone marooned on an island.

Looking at the misses in season five, it’s obvious why this was the final season of Quantum Leap.  There are enough good episodes here that fans will want to watch them.  But it’s average overall.

Reading Challenge: COYER Summer 2024

 It's summer!  I just love this time of year.  And now that summer's here, it's time for the COYER Chapter 3, which runs from July through September.

Since it's summer, all rules are off.  Format doesn't matter.  Price paid doesn't matter.  As long as it is a book, it counts.

I'll be adding lots of books to post over the next three months as I get them read.

1. Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson

2. Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

3. Murder on Devil's Pond by Ayla Rose

4. Murder Buys a One Way Ticket by Laura Levine

5. The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly

6. Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way by Donald J. Sobol

7. Joshua Tree by Sandy Dengler

8. A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron

9. One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan

10. Dream Town by Lee Goldberg

11. The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning by PJ Fitzsimmons

12. Sugarplum Dead by Carolyn Hart

13. Puzzle Me a Murder by Roz Noonan

14. Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley

15. A Voyage of Vengeance by Sarah E. Burr

16. The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver

17. Please Don't Push Up the Daisies by Diane Vallere

18. Death in St. George's by M.A. Monnin

19. Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack

20. The Jig is Up by Lisa Q. Matthews

21. In the Event of Murder by Cynthia Kuhn

22.  Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman

23. Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

24. French Quarter Fright Night by Ellen Byron

25. A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

26. A Scape Goat for Murder by Jacqueline Vick

27. The Late Show by Michael Connelly

28. Until Depths Do Us Part by K. B. Jackson

29. 26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse

30. A Slay Ride Together with You by Vicki Delany

31. Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland

32. What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley

33. The Glass Bottom Hoax by Diane Vallere

34. Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien

Book Review: Three Strikes – You're Dead! by Various Authors

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun stories connecting crime to sports

Cons: A couple didn’t quite work for me

The Bottom Line:

Crime with a sports theme

In short story collection

With some unique sports

Give This Collection a Sporting Chance

When editor Barb Goffman approached me to see if I’d be interested in a review copy of the new sports themed crime fiction anthology Three Strikes – You’re Dead!, I jokingly told her that I’d only consider it if there was a story featuring ultimate Frisbee. Imagine my surprise when I found out there was one. To be honest, I thought the collection sounded like fun, so I gladly accepted a copy to see what the authors would come up with. 

I had expected the stories to focus on the most popular sports, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Yes, we do have some stories involving baseball, but there’s nothing football or basketball related.

The collection starts out with one of the baseball stories as the hero of a playoff game winds up dead moments after scoring the winning run. We’ve got a bounty hunter who is trying to bring in an ultimate Frisbee player. A college swimming coach is found dead at practice one morning. A woman plans to avenge her brother’s death in the bull riding ring. A biathlete is kidnapped. And a tennis coach finds himself in grave danger. 

As you can see, there is a wide variety of sports and stories here. Yes, there were a couple of stories that didn’t quite work for me. The twist was too abrupt, or in one case, I didn’t feel like the story had enough of a twist. 

But the majority of them worked well. Since these are short stories, we don’t have the time for complex plots, but the authors still manage to give us some fun stories. Not all the stories involve murder, which is always a nice change of pace for this mystery reader. 

As far as I know, all of these characters were created for these stories. There are a couple I wouldn’t mind reading more about. Again, these are short stories, but I felt the characters came to life well, pulling me into each story. 

Keep in mind that I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world.  I know just a little about many sports out there, but I don't really follow any of them with any regularity.  That didn't keep me from enjoying these stories in the slightest.

All told, there are fourteen stories in this collection.  Combined, they are roughly the equivalent of a full-length book, so you are getting your money's worth.

We’ve seen crime connected to sports in real life over the years. It’s nice to see it be the focus of this anthology. I’m sure there is a sport for everyone here, so whether you are a diehard sports fan or just looking forward to the Olympics in a few weeks, you’ll be glad you picked up Three Strikes – You’re Dead! 

Note: I received a copy of this book. 

Included Stories:

“Murder at Home” by Alan Orloff

“Run for Your Life” by Smita Harish Jain

“The Ultimate Bounty Hunter” by Sherry Harris

“Punch-Drunk” by William Ade

“Running Interference” by Kathryn Prater Bomey

“Double Fault” by Adam Meyer

“Of Mice and (Murdered) Men” by Rosalie Spielman

“Eight Seconds to Live” by Robin Templeton

“Off the Beaten Trail” by Maddi Davidson

“Race to the Bottom” by Shannon Taft

“Cui Bono” by F. J. Talley

“The Last Lap Goodbye” by Lynne Ewing

“A Matter of Trust” by Barb Goffman

“And Now, an Inspiring Story of Tragedy Overcome” by Joseph S. Walker

Movie Review: Fast Five

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Amazing stunts, likeable characters

Cons: Very much over the top, we are rooting for thieves

The Bottom Line:

Action in Rio

Action and stunts reign supreme

Not believable

“This Just Want from Mission: Impossible to Mission: Freakin’ Insanity.”

I let a couple of years go between watching entries in the Fast and Furious franchise.  I really have no excuse since Fast Five has been one of the movies on my DVR for just about that entire time.  Anyway, at this point, I knew what to expect, and that’s exactly what I got.

As teased at the end of Fast & Furious, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has been sentenced to 25 years in prison due to his crimes.  However, he never makes it thanks to his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and former agent Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker).  On the run, the trio wind up in Rio, where an attempt to score some quick cash by stealing some cars from a train goes wrong.

With corrupt businessman Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) out to get them, the trio decide to take all of his money in the final job of their career.  They call in some friends, old and new, to help.  As if that weren’t enough, they also have special agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) on their tale.  Will they pull it off and escape?

I don’t typically watch movies where you are supposed to be rooting for the criminals to pull off their crime and get away with it.  And, at times, that’s been an issue for me with this franchise.  Yet I keep watching.  Here, it didn’t really bother me, probably because the man the characters was targeting was truly awful.

I think it’s also because, even though it’s been a few years between movies, I’ve really come to like these characters.  It helps that Dominic, Brian, and Mia have formed such a bond.  You can’t help but root for them to come out on top.

This is the first movie to feature Dwayne Johnson in the franchise.  Also joining things is Gal Gadot as a member of the gang that is called in to help out.

But let’s be honest, we watch these movies for the over-the-top car stunts.  And, while the movie isn’t filled with them from start to finish, it does have a couple of extremely impressive sequences.  Highly improbable, but also extremely impressive.  I was rolling my eyes at the same time I couldn’t look away because I had to know what was going to happen next.

Speaking of which, I am very curious where the franchise goes from here.  It’s the lack of a cliffhanger that really makes me wonder about that.  Honestly, given what happened to Paul Walker a couple years after this movie was filmed, I kind of wish this was the last we saw of his character.

But I’ll learn his character’s fate when I get another couple of movies into the franchise.  For now, if you want some mindless action with over-the-top stunts, you’ll enjoy Fast Five.

Book Review: Requiem for a Mouse by Miranda James (Cat in the Stacks Mysteries #16)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Characters, plot is good

Cons: Lots of things that threw me out of the book

The Bottom Line:

Quiet assistant

What secret is she hiding?

Needed good edit

Is Tara Hiding a Secret?  Or Just Hiding?

I was looking forward to Requiem for a Mouse since I enjoy Miranda James’s Cat in the Stacks Mysteries.  My anticipation was a little tempered since I had struggled some with the previous book.  Unfortunately, this book was another entry with some issues.

This is the sixteenth book in the series.  If you’ve missed it, the series stars Charlie Harris, a semi-retired librarian who works part time in the archives of the Athenia College keeping track for the rare books and rare book donations.  Charlie has a Maine Coon cat named Diesel who goes everywhere with him, and the two have become quite the sleuthing team.

The college has recently been given a large donation of books, and Charlie has hired a part time assistant to help catalogue the donation.  Tara Martin is a peculiar woman.  While she does a good job, she seems to go out of her way to alienate those around her.  When she suddenly darts out of a party with little explanation, Charlie thinks that her behavior might be an act.

Charlie’s suspicions are confirmed when tragedy strikes and Tara is run down.  While she is clinging to life, Charlie begins to investigate her life to see if he can find any clues to help the police figure out who might have wanted to hurt her.  Can he figure out what she was hiding?

The mystery as presented here is good.  Charlie’s contributions to the case actually make a lot of sense given that he worked with the victim.  He keeps finding clues.  And he has some strange encounters that might lead to answers as well.  I was curious what was really going on.  I did find things a bit repetitive in the first third, but then things pick up.

Sadly, the book needed another pass by a good editor.  There are so many things that were jarring as I was reading.  For example, Charlie talks about an appointment he has the next day, but he never goes to it or mentions it again.  He has one week that is only two days long.  Some of the other issues get into spoiler territory, so I won’t talk about them.  While the climax does wrap things up, it does lead one major question in my head, but the rest of the goings on made sense.

The characters are still in fine form, however.  Diesel is charming, as are the other animals in the series.  Charlie has a large group of family and friends, and I enjoy spending time with them as much as he does.  The suspects are mostly off page, but they still come across as real.

This has been a long running favorite series of mine.  I’m not sorry I read Requiem for a Mouse, but I do recommend it for series fans only.  Everyone else should back up to the beginning and see just why so many of us love it.

Here are the rest of the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: Mystery Woman - Redemption

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Main character’s connection; two guest stars; decent mystery

Cons: Weak writing and acting

The Bottom Line:

A customer dies

Leaving Sam mystery box

Best for diehard fans

“You Probably Just Misplaced It.”  “I Do Not Misplace Rare Books.”

I let some time go before returning for the final two Mystery Woman movies I’d recorded off the TV.  While it was nice to see another case for the characters, time didn’t make me feel any more fondly toward the franchise when I watched Redemption.

This movie finds Sam (Kellie Martin) getting involved with a customer dies.  The man (John Ratzenberger) claimed to be just passing through town, but he then left behind something he wanted Sam to pass on to his estranged daughter.  As Sam begins to investigate, she can’t help but wonder what it might have to do with his death.  Is there a connection to the recent theft at the store?  And what is the connection to the rehab program/shelter in the area?

Honestly, there is a lot going on in this film.  Probably a little too much.  Yes, it does all come into play eventually, but it was very distracting early on until I could see the pieces moving into place.  In fact, once I did, I identified the killer early on.  I just had to wait to see if I was right.

The movie was also overly ambitious in the story it was trying to tell, which goes back to when characters were fighting in Vietnam.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen that be part of the backstory, and I had to remind myself this movie originally came out in 2006, just about 20 years ago.  That makes it easier to picture.

But this just show just how far Hallmark movies have come in that time.  They might still have writing and acting issues, but some of the dialogue here was laughable.  Not to mention abrupt.  And the acting wasn’t much better.

Granted, it’s been a while since I’d watched a movie in the franchise, but I couldn’t quite understand how Chief Connors was behaving here.  It’s probably just my faulty memory, but I didn’t think he was always this hostile.

On the other hand, I did enjoy getting to see John Ratzenberger and David Lascher here.  I hadn’t looked at the guest stars before I started watching, so it was fun to see them pop up.

And I do like the relationship Sam has with her employee Philby (Clarence Williams III).  They are a great team for solving the cases they stumble into.

This isn’t a movie or franchise I’d recommend to anyone but the biggest of Hallmark fans.  If that’s you, you’ll enjoy catching Redemption.

June 23rd's Sunday/Monday Post

Hi all, and welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

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

I know, I know, I missed last week.  But I have a really good excuse.  I was out of state.  I was in Southern Illinois because I was in a college friend's wedding.  It was a really nice day.  How happy he and his bride were was heart warming.  Heck, how excited the rest of her family was to have them get married was just as great.

I got to play tourist a bit, too.  I flew in and out of St. Louis, so I got to see the Arch.  Finally.  I've always wanted to see it.  I wouldn't mind going back to really get to see the museum at the base.  Going up in the Arch itself was just okay.  I'm glad I did it, but I have no desire to do it again.  My friend and I also got to the fort where Lewis and Clark spent the winter before they took off exploring the west back in the early 1800's.

Unfortunately, I brought an unwanted souvenir back with me - a cold.  It's been pretty mild so far, but a bit annoying.  I cancelled a couple of things I was planning to do this weekend, including finally going back out on a paddle board after 13 months, because of it.  Oh well, there's next weekend, right?  I think I'll be better by then.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Podcast Review: 1 Degree of Andy

Monday - Movie Review: Marry Me in Yosemite

Tuesday - Book Review: Warped on a Moon Trek by Diane Vallere

Wednesday - Movie Review: Kingsman - The Secret Service

Thursday - Book Review: Murder at an English Seance by Jessica Ellicott

Friday - Friday Post featuring Three Strikes - You're Dead

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Mystery Woman - Redemption

Tuesday - Book Review: Requiem for a Mouse by Miranda James

Wednesday - Movie Review: Fast Five

Thursday - Book Review: Three Strikes - You're Dead by Various Authors
Friday - TV Show Review: Quantum Leap - Season 5

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

It's been two weeks.  Of course I have six books to tell you about.

Let's start with a couple of ARCs I got.  Both are from Crooked Lane and come out in August.  In the Event of Murder is the second Starlight Bookshop Mystery from Cynthia Kuhn.  It's been a couple of years (at least) since the first came out, so I'm curious to see where the series goes.  And how much I remember the characters.

The other ARC is The Jig is Up by Lisa Q. Matthews.  I loved a three book series she wrote several years ago, so I'm quite anxious to dive into this new series set around a bed and breakfast in an Irish themed tourist town.

I also snagged a couple of Kindle sales over the last couple of weeks.  It looks like A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge is no longer on sale.  This is the second book in her series about Agatha Christie's housekeeper.  I haven't read any of the books in the series yet, but I now have all three that have been published so far (book four is due out this fall).  I just need to find the time to read them.

Likewise, I snagged Double Exposure, the second in a series from Lori Roberts Herbst.  I have the first, and I haven't read it yet, but I couldn't pass up book two for 99 cents.  This one is still on sale as of my typing this Saturday night.

For better or worse, I decided to get an audio book from the library.  Not sure I really have the time to get it listened to before it is due back, but I have The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly.

I was surprised to find that my preorder of The Women of Wynton's by Donna Mumma shipped already.  I thought it was due out in a couple of weeks.  Not that I'm complaining.

What I'm Currently Reading:

Yes, I am working on The Wrong Side of Goodbye.  I've made it a quarter of the way through, so I suspect I will get through it before it is due back to the library.  I'm enjoying it and curious to see how the cases that Harry Bosch is working on are going to work out.

I'm also reading Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon.  I know, I know, I'm late to the party since everyone read it last year when it came out.  I'm enjoying it, although it is taking me longer to read it than I expected.  Since I'm reading a Kindle version, this tends to blindside me more than when I'm reading a print book.  I can general look at a print book and guess accurately how long it will take me to read it.  But  Kindle versions aren't always accurate with their page lengths, and print size in the physical copies is a factor as well.

That's it for me.  Have a great week.

June 22nd's Weekly TV Thoughts

Race to Survive: New Zealand – So sorry to see Eddie go out, especially since it looks like he just tripped over a root.  Always smart to quit instead of risking ruining your life, however, so I get it.  I hope that woman with the bad ankle doesn’t push too hard because that seems bad.  I just wish they’d given us some kind of update on Eddie.

 The Acolyte – That wasn’t quite as bad as the last episode.  Well, except for Mae’s sudden about face.  What the heck was that all about?  It made absolutely no sense to me.  The ending?  The only exciting thing, and it was a cliffhanger to get us to come back next week.

June 21st's Friday Post

It's been a few weeks.  Time to get back into the Friday Post swing of things.  As usual, I am linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

This week, I have something a little different for the first three.  I'm pulling quotes from a short story collection: Three Strikes - You're Dead.

Yes, it is a crime story collection.  Yes, all the stories also have something to do with sports.  No, not all of them have to do with baseball, but it makes a great title for the collection, right?

Having said that, the lead off story does use baseball.  Here's the opening line from "Murder at Home" by Alan Orloff:

Two outs, bottom of the fourteenth inning, score knotted at five, game seven of the National League Championship Series. Winner of this game gets their ticket punched to the World Series.

Even someone who doesn't know sports super well (that would be me) gets that this is a high pressure situation.  Where does the crime come from that?  I'm not telling.

56% of the way through the book, we are near the beginning of the story "Off the Beaten Trail" by Maddi Davidson.  There's where we get this quote:

When the car stopped, Brooke heard two doors open and close, then another door—a closer door—opened and closed too. The woman leaned over the SUV’s rear seat and threw a ratty blanket that reeked of sweat over Brooke. She stifled a gag.
“I’ve got a Smith & Wesson Forty-five,” the woman said. “Don’t move, don’t talk, or I’ll use it.”

I enjoyed this anthology.  I'll have my review up on Thursday next week, so I hope you'll come back then to see what I thought.

For now, let's get to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question of the week is:

Will society suffer in the future as a result of the younger generations' lack of reading?

If it is true that the younger generation isn't reading, then yes.  However, I'm going to question the premise.  I know plenty of young people who love to read.  I wonder if we are decrying the lost art of reading way too soon.

Of course, what you are reading is just as important as reading in general.  And what you do with what you read.

That's it for me.  Have a good weekend.

Book Review: Murder at an English Séance by Jessica Ellicott (Beryl and Edwina #8)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in an engaging story

Cons: One character seems young for his age

The Bottom Line:

Psychic comes to town

But the case leads to murder

Great visit for fans

I Foresee a Fun Book in Your Future

As much as I might enjoy the first and second book in a series, by the time we’ve reached book eight in a series, I really feel like I know the characters and visiting them again is delightful.  So I was looking forward to reading Murder at an English Séance, the latest case for Edwina and Beryl.

If you haven’t met this pair, they are live in the English village of Walmsley Parva in the 1920’s.  Edwina Davenport is a native of the village while Beryl Helliwell is an American adventuress who has come to find the small village home, much to her surprise.  The two met at finishing school years ago.  They are complete opposites, but they complement each other perfectly, which is great for the private enquiry business they’ve started.

As this book opens, the biggest news in the village (well, aside from Beryl’s latest stunt) is the arrival of the Dinsdales.    Miss Dinsdale is a psychic, or so she claims.  Beryl has had previous experiences with so called psychics, and she has her doubts right from the start.  So she is fully on board when the two friends are hired to prove Miss Dinsdale is a fake.

Naturally, that means attending a séance or two to see Miss Dinsdale in action.  What no one expects is for them to find a dead body at one of the sittings.  Edwina and Beryl quickly change the focus of their investigation.  Will they solve their latest case?

The previous book in the series took place outside of Walmsley Parva.  I get it.  There are only so many murders that can happen in a small village.  But it was wonderful to be back.  As much as I love Edwina and Beryl, I enjoyed getting to see the rest of the villagers again as well.  They made me smile with some of their antics and how Edwina and Beryl are able to get the information they need from them.  The new characters are just as entertaining.  I do have to call out one new character who seemed a bit young for the age he must be.

The mystery is strong.  There are some good sub-plots to keep us engaged, too.  I was on board the entire time I was reading and always reluctant to return to the modern area.  The story comes to a logical climax that wrapped things up well.

I mentioned earlier that Edwina and Beryl are opposites.  While they are still very different people, they have rubbed off on each other for the better, and I love seeing how they continue to grow.  It helps that we get the story from both of their points of view.  Likewise, I enjoyed seeing how their relationships with some of the locals have grown over the course of the series.  I’m  curious what is going to happen with one particular relationship next.

While this story doesn’t incorporate any specific history into the plot, it is steeped in the time and place.  I enjoyed getting a sense for what life was like back then.

If you have missed this series, I highly recommend you pick it up today.  Fans will be as delighted as I was to catch up with Edwina and Beryl in Murder at an English Séance.

 Be sure to pick up the rest of the Beryl and Edwina Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: Kingsman - The Secret Service

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Some action and comedy, over the top plot mostly works

Cons: Violence and sex played for laughs, which I didn’t appreciate

The Bottom Line:

Comedic spy film

It’s very over the top

So results are mixed

“I’ve Never Met a Tailor Before, but I Know You Ain’t One.”

I don’t remember hearing about Kingsman: The Secret Service until a friend threw it out as a film to possibly watch together.  I heard comedic spy movie, and I was in.  Like many of the movies we’ve been watching together, there were parts I enjoyed and parts I didn’t.

The movie tells the story of Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a young man who has struggled through life after his father passed away.  Things change when Harry Hart (Colin Firth) walks into his life.  Eggsy’s dad died saving Harry’s life, and Harry feels he owes Eggsy as a result.  And so Eggsy is recruited to a secret society of highly trained spies.  They’ve just had an opening, and the competition to fill that spot is fierce.

Meanwhile, tech billionaire Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) is trying to save the planet with a secret plan.  Harry’s organization has a hint that something is up, but they have no idea what.  Will they figure it out in time?  Will Eggsy complete his training in time?

This movie is clearly a loving homage to classic James Bond.  I wouldn’t say it is an outright spoof, but it is more comedy than anything else.  The characters also recognize this at times commenting on “if this were a movie.”  I really enjoyed that aspect of the film.  There are some references to other classic spy shows and franchises as well.

Some of that comedy extends to Valentine’s plans.  It’s a strange plan, but somehow, you buy it when you are watching.  This movie came out in 2014, and honestly, based on some of what has happened in the last couple of years, I feel like it was a bit prophetic.  Oh, the ultimate details were still over the top, but I feel like some of how this is playing out is infecting our society these days.

On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy all of the humor.  There were some sexually suggestion jokes that I could have done without.  Most of them were near the end, fortunately, so this wasn’t an ongoing thing.

The violence in the movie was also stylized and over the top in an effort to be funny.  Honestly, most of that didn’t work for me either.  There is one extended scene that was especially hard to watch.

I did appreciate that they picked on both sides of the political spectrum in the movie.

There are some great action sequences in the film that aren’t overly violent, and I enjoyed those.  They and the special effects worked for me.  Yes, there are definitely some special effects here.

The cast is all good.  They brought their characters to life and drew me into the film.  The character development was pretty predictable, but that’s on the writers.

As I said, Kingsman: The Secret Service was a mixed bag.  I enjoyed it enough I’d be willing to give the sequel a shot, but this isn’t anything I’m going to rush out to rewatch.

Book Review: Warped on a Moon Trek by Diane Vallere (Sylvia Stryker #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great scenes for Sylvia, lots of fun

Cons: Plot warps the brain a bit too much

The Bottom Line:

Back on the space case

Sylvia jumping through time

Loved seeing her here

Sylvia Races Through Time to Save the Day

I always enjoy reading cozies with slightly different settings.  Or, in the case of the Sylvia Stryker series, a majorly different setting.  You see, Sylvia is part alien, and her adventures take place on cruise ships that are cruising between the planets.  And she’s back for a fifth adventure with Warped on a Moon Trek.

Sylvia and her mentor, Neptune, are on the latest Moon Trek ship, which is on a test cruise just going between the Earth and Moon.  The company wants to make sure everything is working right before having passengers.  It’s a good thing they are doing this test since some of the systems aren’t working quite right, and Neptune is quick to figure out that the problem is a fault with the chip.  The best way to fix it?  Go talk to the engineer that designed it originally and get her to fix it.

So Neptune sets out to do just that, leaving Sylvia with a couple of bombshells.  The scientist?  Someone in her family.  How does Neptune plan to contact the scientist?  Go back in time through a worm hole that has opened up near the ship.  When Sylvia figures out what he is up to, she goes after him to try to prevent him from altering history.  Will she be able to?  Or will she make things worse?

You’ll notice so far, I’ve teased a familiar science fiction plot line and not much about a mystery.  That’s because, to be honest, the mystery was probably the least important part of the book.  Yes, there is a murder that Sylvia gets involved in.  But it’s not the main focus.

And I was perfectly okay with that.  I was caught up in the story from the beginning, and, as things spin more and more out of control, I was even more concern with how Sylvia would be able to fix things.  Yes, the book does leave us with a plot hole or two, and if you are familiar with the type of stories being told here, you can probably guess what they are.  Or maybe my brain got too warped to see how things worked out.  But I was enjoying the story enough that I really didn’t mind.

Part of that was because this is the fifth book with Sylvia.  It may have been a few years, but I was quickly back in her world, reconnecting with her and her friends.  As this book unfolds, she really gets some opportunities for growth.  Those scenes are very touching, and I enjoyed them.

And we had some fun along the way as well.  The situations and Sylvia’s reactions to them lead to some great laughs.

If you’ve read Sylvia’s previous adventures, you’ll definitely be glad to see her back in action.  Just go wherever Warped on a Moon Trek takes you, and you’ll have fun.

Blast off with the rest of the Sylvia Stryker Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: Marry Me in Yosemite

Stars: 1 out of 5

Pros: The scenery looks wonderful

Cons: Everything else

The Bottom Line:

Yosemite shines

Despite lackluster story

A movie to skip

Bad Movie Amidst Beautiful Scenery

I’ve noticed Hallmark has a series of National Park romances.  Since I love our National Parks, I thought these could be fun.  While the others call out that they are part of a series in their titles, Marry Me in Yosemite, which I believe is the first, flies a little more under the radar.

The story features Zoe (Cindy Busby), a photographic journalist, who is heading to Yosemite for her latest book.  She’s attempting to capture the way the park looks now, but she’s also looking for something new, including a photograph that will really capture her as an artist.

While there, she manages to get the extremely reluctant Jack (Tyler Harlow) to agree to be her guide.  He is a former climber who lives in the park year-round.  He leads her to the famous photography spots as well as some lesser known ones.  Will they find the perfect spot for her signature photo?

You’ll notice the one thing I left out of that teaser.  For a romance, this movie really forgot the romance.  Yes, we’ve got the reluctant people pushed together trope, and they do start to act like friends fairly quickly.  But the writers seem to forget that this movie is supposed to be a romance until well into the second half.  Even then, it’s a very subtle part of the movie.  And the complications they have in the second half?  Seriously, Jack was acting like a baby.

So just what does this movie fill the run time with?  Ecological lessons.  History of the region lessons.  Jack is a scientist, and the writers use this to give us lots of exposition.  We also meet a couple of Native American characters who give us the history of the region from their perspective.  The problem is, both of these things devolves into lectures that really don’t do much to advance the story.

Then there’s the fact that we seem to get a hint about something in Jack’s past, but we never find out what it is.  They sure seemed to set something up, but there was no significant payoff.

I’m placing the blame for this squarely on the writers.  I have a hard time believing someone actually greenlit this script instead of sending it back for another draft.

Not that the acting is top notch.  Granted, the actors don’t have much to work with, but there are plenty of moments that made me cringe in that department, too.

Which is a shame because there are moments that are great because the writers actually wrote something good, and the actors delivered it wonderfully.  If only those scenes weren’t the exception in the script.

The movie was filmed on location in Yosemite.  With how iconic the scenery is, it would have to be, wouldn’t it?  From what I’ve read, that helps account for the low cast count, but it also means we have some wonderful scenery.  Of course, I had to laugh at how easily the characters get the permits they need considering how far in advance you actually have to plan if you want to go to the park.

Honestly, the scenery is really about the only thing to recommend Marry Me in Yosemite.  I’m usually fairly lenient with it comes to Hallmark movies, but even by those standards, I can’t recommend this film.

Podcast Review: 1 Degree of Andy

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Interesting interviews with Christian musicians from a bygone era

Cons: Any cons are more than one degree away

The Bottom Line:

Music history

Fun, interesting stories

Listeners will love

Telling the Stories of Christian Music

I’ve been listening to Christian music all my life, but really got into it as a teenager.  It was the early 90’s when I spent the most time and money keeping up with the new releases from my favorite artists.  That’s why, as soon as I heard about the 1 Degree of Andy podcast, I knew I had to listen.

This podcast is hosted by Andy Chrisman.  If that name doesn’t sound familiar to you, he was one of the members of 4Him.  And anyone who listened to Christian music in the 1990’s and early 2000’s immediately places him since 4Him was a huge music group in the Christian market at the time.  Even if you weren’t a fan, if you were into the genre, you know who they are.

As a result of his career, Andy knows many of the players in the Christian music genre from the time.  Some better than others, obviously, but he has connections with so many of them.  And he decided to spend time interviewing them for us to learn more about what the industry was like at the time but also how God lead them into and out of their careers.

Most of the interviews of are fellow Christian artists.  Yes, the guys from 4Him have been on the pod.  In addition, we’ve had interviews with Wayne Watson, Al Denson, Geoff Moore, Susan Ashton, Eddie DeGarmo, Wes King, Steve Camp, Point of Grace, and so many more.  He’s also interviewed song writers, an A&R director, the man behind CCM Magazine, and he’s taken listener questions.  The pod focuses on the Christian music of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.

As someone who grew up listening to the music of that era, I love every second of the podcast.  Even if the artist being interviewed isn’t someone I listened to regularly, I still recognize the name and a song or two they talk about.  And I really enjoy hearing the behind the scenes stories or what life was like.  It definitely brings the reality of touring to life – like most jobs, it’s a mixed bag.

Since the artists being interviewed are Christians, I also really appreciate that aspect of their stories as well.  It is amazing how God moved them into the Christian music industry and then how He has led them after their career ended.  I find my faith encouraged as I listen.

The episodes average about an hour.  Andy and his guests tend to get sidetracked, so, while Andy has some questions ready to go, they often go off on tangents.  That helps give it the feel or friends catching up, and I find it charming.

The episodes drop each Monday, and each Monday morning, I can’t wait to see who is going to be interviewed next.

If you are a fan of that era of Christian music, you owe it to yourself to listen to 1 Degree of Andy.  You’ll find yourself listening to songs you love with a new appreciation afterwards.

June 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – We’re taking three weeks off?  With the Olympics coming to preempt the show later in the summer?  Yikes!  Okay, back to what we watched this week.  Good runs by quite a few of the contestants.  Not sure anyone stood out to me in positive or negative ways.  Always happy to see Sean Bryant do well.

The Weakest Link – They actually got further than I thought they would based on some of those rounds.  Definitely a nice chunk of changes.  I do agree that hearing he’s putting it into stocks is a little off putting since most people have plans for that much money.  Then again, if he can invest it wisely, that will pay off well for him down the road.

Race to Survivor: New Zealand – All that drama and no one really left this week.  And how many teams got stuck right before the finish line of the leg?  I think it was three over two days.  I would have been frustrated, too.  I’m over the two teams that are constantly fighting.  They can be eliminated next as far as I am concerned.  And I had to laugh at the captions.  At one point, they were saying the teams had completed race 1 when this is race 2.  Oops.

The Acolyte – Obviously, everyone and their brother has thoughts on this episode.  And I get it.  Even from someone who isn’t a super Star Wars fan, I can see how what they did here goes against the franchise.  I’m just going to focus on how poorly it was written.  Seriously, some of that dialogue!  And they tried to set up the Jedi as being evil people.  I might have understood if they had explained who these witches are and what they want.  Oh, and if Mae hadn’t tried to kill her sister.  Seriously, that was over the top.  Plus, I’m not a fan of flashback episodes.  Give me the story, and don’t interrupt your story to tell me the background I need to know.

Book Review: Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman (Leaphorn and Chee #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery, Leaphorn coming into his own

Cons: Pacing at times, usually due to tribal customs lore

The Bottom Line:

Search for missing boys

Leaphorn has stronger presence

Series progresses

Murder Crosses Tribal Lines

Since I’m finally diving into Tony Hillerman’s books, I was anxious to get back to his series and see just how it develops.  Dance Hall of the Dead is his third novel and the second in his most popular series.  And it’s a decent mystery.

This book returns us to the Navajo reservation in early December.  Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, who works for the Navajo Tribal Police, has been called to work on a case involving two missing boys.  There is a huge pool of blood at the last place they were seen.  One of them, a Navajo, was seen the next morning and is wanted as a witness, although some suspect he might be the killer.  The other is a Zuni youth, and that just complicates the case for Leaphorn since that tribe has their own police department.

As Leaphorn investigates further, he finds many things that just don’t add up for him.  Can he make sense of it, find the missing boys, and catch a killer before the killer strikes again?

Unlike the book that introduced him, Joe Leaphorn is much more of a focus this time around.  The story is mostly told from his point of view.  We still don’t see much of her personal life, something that is a staple of detective fiction today.  It’s interesting to watch not just the series evolve but also how expectations of the genre were different back in the 70’s when this was written.  We still haven’t met Jim Chee; he’ll enter the series in another couple of books.

I do find I miss seeing Leaphorn outside of work, but I still feel like I got to know him better as a character.  Much of that came from his frustrations at dealing with some of the people he met along the way along with his passion to solve the case, especially as the danger mounts.

The book has a solid mystery.  Sadly, an official description kind of spoiled part of it for me, but much of the suspense comes not from who done it, but can Leaphorn figure it out in time, so I was still on board.  A part of the climax left me unsettled, but I think it was supposed to.

For those who shy away from children being in danger, know that the boys in this book are twelve and fourteen.  You’ll have to judge for yourself where that line would be.  The crimes in this book are rather brutal, too, although we don’t spend too long on the details.

I found the discussions of tribal customs a double-edged sword.  Some of that was interesting and relevant to the plot.  Other times, it seemed to go on too long, and I was wishing there were a faster way to get back to the story.  I know, part of why this series is popular is the look into Navajo customs.  It’s not enough to turn me off, but it is something I hope is more judicially used going forward.

I listened to the audio version narrated by George Guidall.  As always, he’s a fine narrator who brings the story to life without inserting himself into it.

Dance Hall of the Dead takes us more firmly into the series, and fans old and new will find it entertaining.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Leaphorn and Chee Mysteries.

Ornament Review: Sir S'More - Noble Nutcrackers #5.5 - 2023 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun themed nutcracker

Cons: Makes me drool

The Bottom Line:

Summer camping treat

As nutcracker ornament

Delightful combo

Delicious Special Edition to the Noble Nutcrackers Series

I’ve wound up getting more of the Noble Nutcrackers Hallmark ornaments than I originally intended.  So, I pay attention every year to what the entries will be.  As soon as I saw Sir S’More, a special edition ornament for 2023, I knew that I had to get it.

As the name implies, this ornament is themed like the delicious campfire treat.  Sir S’More’s hat is multiple layers of smores with a chocolate covered marshmallow on top.  His shoulders are also chocolate covered marshmallows, and his feet look like them as well.  Most of his outfit is a chocolate brown with white decorations, but he’s standing on melted chocolate over melted marshmallow over graham crackers.  And his scepter is a stick with marshmallows with flames on them.

My first thought when looking at this ornament is YUM!.  Obviously, it’s made out of plastic, so I wouldn’t want to actually eat it.  But looking at how they worked the theme into the small details is so much fun.

Since he is standing on a graham cracker, the base is nice and flat, so you could set this one out to be displayed anywhere you want.  Since it’s a little bigger than a typical ornament, this series could be a fun addition to a nutcracker corner.

Unlike many Hallmark ornaments, this one comes with a white ribbon in the loop on the top of the ornament.  When you go to hang it on your tree, you’ll find that it hangs straight.

Okay, so I’m not sure what S’Mores have to do with Christmas.  It think of them as a camping, summer time treat.  But I’m not complaining.  This is such a fun ornament.  It does make me drool, however, if I look at it for too long.

If you enjoy S’Mores (and what’s not to love), you’ll be glad to have Sir S’More on your tree.

Here are the rest of the Noble Nutcracker ornaments.