Movie Review: Forrest Gump

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Historical moments, Tom Hank’s performance, effects

Cons: Depressing, Forrest’s relationship with Jenny

The Bottom Line:

Trip through history

It’s more tragic than it’s fun

Once and done for me

Dramatic Trip Though History

Despite hearing about Forrest Gump for years, I’d never actually seen the movie.  What I knew about the movie didn’t sound like something I’d enjoy, but I’ve heard so much about it over the years, I was still curious about it.  I finally broke down and watched it, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as so many people seem to.

The movie tells the story of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks).  His intelligence is just below the normal range.  Despite that, his mother (Sally Fields) manages to get him into regular schools.  When people discover how fast he can run, he gets a football scholarship to college.  After that, he joins the army and heads to Vietnam.

But what sets him apart is the way his story keeps intersecting history.  He meets several Presidents and is present for other big historical events.  And his path keeps intersecting that of Jenny (Robin Wright), his childhood friend.

Tom Hanks was praised for his portrayal of Forrest, and it is well deserved.  He makes us care for the man, makes him real, and makes him relatable.  He plays Forrest’s mental issues without ever crossing the line.  If you doubt that Tom Hanks is a great actor (and who does?), this movie will change your mind.  The rest of the cast rises to the occasion, so all the performances are strong.

Even so, this movie is hard to watch.  I kept cringing expecting Forrest to say or do something inappropriate.  For the most part, those moments are rare and are actually pretty funny.

I certainly enjoyed seeing how Forrest interacted with history and even changed or influenced it a few times.  You never quite know when something like that is going to pop up, and it is fun.

On the other hand, the story is more tragic than fun.  It didn’t help that I was not in an upbeat mood when I watched this movie, but it is more depressing than inspirational.

And I hated Forrest’s relationship with Jenny.  We were supposed to be rooting for them to finally get together, but I was actually rooting for them to stay apart.  Yes, their relationship felt realistic, but that was part of the tragedy, as far as I was concerned.  It certainly wasn’t a healthy relationship.

When the film came out in the 1990’s, computer effects were just beginning to be widely used.  They used those to have Forrest interact with various historical figures and even recreate film footage.  These effects are phenomenal even today.

While there were moments I enjoyed, I didn’t enjoy Forrest Gump overall.  I realize this puts me in the minority.  I’m glad I watched the movie because I’d been curious about it, but this isn’t a movie I’ll be revisiting any time soon.

Book Review: Playing it Safe by Ashley Weaver (Electra McDonnell #3)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Ellie, new characters, interesting history

Cons: Too much to the plot, too much on the romance

The Bottom Line:

Mission out of town

Book does a little too much

Series fans only

Ellie Finds an Out of Town Mission Anything but Safe

I always like it when I find a series with a new premise. That was the case with the first Electra McDonnell book. Set in England in 1940, it features a safe cracker who winds up putting her skills to use for the government during the war. Playing It Safe is the third book in the series, and it was a mixed bag. 

This book opens in October and the Blitz is here. Ellie is getting used to the nightly bombing raids, although it doesn’t make it any easier when the bombs start falling. She is happy when Major Ramsey contacts her again with a new job. She’s supposed to head to the port city of Sunderland under an assumed name and then await further instructions. While the lack of details doesn’t surprise her, it does frustrate her. The only clue she has is a book on birds. 

When Ellie arrives, she is shocked when a man she has just met dies outside her boarding house. She is sure his death was anything but natural. But does it relate to her mission - whatever it is?

There were several things that went wrong with this book. The first is the story itself. It tries to do too much with so many plot points to take up page time and for us to remember. The result is an ending that rushes things to wrap things up. Yes, the end does make sense.

Obviously, since most of the book takes place out of Ellie’s native London, we don’t see as much of the rest of the cast. That’s a disappointment since I really like them. We do get some updates, including a big update on an ongoing storyline that has me anxious to read the next one. 

Then, there’s the romantic triangle. With Ellie and Major Ramsey out of town on this mission, she spends a lot of time thinking about her feelings for him. Since I am decidedly not on team Ramsey (although I’m sure I’m on the losing side), this did not make me happy. Plus, there’s another guy that captures her attention. Enough already!

All this isn’t to say the book was bad. It was interesting to get another view of life in England in the early part of World War II. The new characters we meet are interesting, although there are so many of them we don’t get to fully know them. And there are parts of the story that are entertaining even if it could have been stronger overall. 

The next in the series just came out in paperback, and I got it, so I will be moving on. Hopefully, it is stronger than Playing It Safe. Fans of the series will still be glad they read this, but if you are new to the series, start with book one. 

Here are the rest of the Electra McDonnell Mysteries. 

Ornament Review: Sandal the Sandman Special Edition - 2024 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun paddle boarding ornament

Cons: Not a fan of how the bird looks, slight tip when hung

The Bottom Line:

A unique hobby

Sandal goes paddle boarding

Thrilled with bonus piece

Paddle on, Sandal

So far, Sandal the Sandman has spent his time doing Christmassy things with a beach flair.  But for 2024’s special edition to the series, he branched out and actually did a beach thing.  And I couldn’t have been happier.

You see, for this ornament, Sandal is paddle boarding.  And I paddle board.  Okay, I haven’t done it in a while since I hurt my shoulder (at a mud run), but I’m hoping to get back to it in 2025.  So, that made the ornament so much more special for me.  I got to put one of my hobbies on my tree.

The ornament itself finds Sandal on a teal paddle board (just like what my friend has).  He’s wearing his beach hat, and has his beach towel around his neck.  On the front of his board, he has a new friend, a bird.  I’m sure it’s supposed to be a seagull, but it’s completely white, so it’s hard to tell for sure.

That bird is my only gripe with the ornament.  As with the other animals we’ve met in the series, they are very cartoony, and I just don’t like that.  However, I love what the rest of the ornament represents, and how it looks.

For example, if you turn the ornament over, you’ll see that the paddle board has a tropical pattern on it, just like some paddle boards do in real life.  It’s those little touches that I love.

As I mentioned, this is a special edition, or bonus, ornament, and not an official ornament in the Sandal the Sandman series.  As a result, there’s no series marker on the ornament.

If you try to set the ornament out, you’ll find that it tips slightly to the side.  That’s because Sandal’s paddle is below the board (almost like it’s in the invisible water), and the board has a fin on the bottom.  I appreciate the realism of the design, so it doesn’t bother me that it doesn’t sit straight.  I also wouldn’t set this out for very long like this so the plastic the ornament is resting on doesn’t get broken.

When you go to hang Sandal, you’ll find that he still tips slightly to the right.  It’s not noticeable unless you are looking for it, so it will be easy to disguise with some well-placed tree branches.  Maybe he’s just shifting positions a bit, and that’s why the board is wobbling.

My complaints are minor.  Overall, I’m thrilled to add a paddle boarding ornament to my tree, and I hope that they find ways to add some other types of sports to their line in the future.  Fans of the Sandal the Sandman series will enjoy this bonus ornament.  And any other paddle boarder will love it as well.

Do check out the rest of the Sandal the Sandman Ornaments.

Book Review: Thrown for a Scoop by Dana Mentink (Shake Shop Mysteries #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun characters in another great mystery

Cons: Some continuity issues missed in the editing, but minor overall

The Bottom Line:

Podcaster in town

Is his death tied to cold case?

Fun to revisit

Is the Solution to an Old Mystery Here in Town?

When the publisher ended the Shake Shop Mysteries at book three, I thought the series was over. And the ending of book three would have been a nice farewell to the characters. But the author decided to self-publish one more entry - Thrown for a Scoop. 

This series is set in the town of Upper Sprocket in the eastern part of Oregon and features Trinidad Jones, who has opened the Shimmy and Shake Shop in town.  As this book begins, it’s been about six months since we last checked in with her, and Upper Sprocket is gearing up to celebrate its centennial.  Naturally, Trinidad has created a special freak shake for the occasion that she is hoping will sell well with the locals and the tourists alike.

But things take a turn when a stranger walks into Trinidad’s shop asking questions.  It turns out that he is a true crime podcaster who is certain that the answer to a fifty-year-old hijacking is somewhere in town.  Even worse, he thinks that Trinidad’s fiancé’s brother holds a clue.  Doug has some special needs, so Trinidad knows a stranger demanding answers from him won’t go over well.  But when the podcaster is killed on the brothers’ nut farm, all the evidence seems to point to Doug.  Trinidad swears she won’t get involved again, but she can’t seem to help it.  Can she figure out what really happened to the podcaster?  Was he on to something with this old mystery?

The book doesn’t waste time at the beginning.  It reminds us of the characters and updates us on their lives and sets the mystery in motion very quickly.  From there, we get some great moments as Trinidad goes about gathering information.  It kept me confused up until the end, but once Trinidad figured everything out, it all made sense.

I will say that there were some rather annoying continuity errors early on in the copy I read.  Either I stopped noticing them later in the book or they weren’t an issue.  They felt like the result of some changes between drafts that weren’t completely caught after the changes were made.  As annoying as they were, none of them impacted the story at all.

It was great to visit the characters again.  The cast of supporting characters is quite colorful, and I love spending time with them.  Fans will be happy with some of the updates we get for the characters here.  The suspects were good and kept us guessing up until the end.

If you have a weakness for ice cream (and who doesn’t), this book will leave you drooling quite a bit.  And I’m very curious what exactly is in the breakfast ice cream that is the subject of a subplot.  Sadly, there aren’t any recipes at the end of the book, so I’ll have to try to come up with ideas on my own.

I mentioned at the beginning feeling happy with where the characters had been at the end of book three.  Yes, they are in a good place again at the end of this book.

It was nice to get another case for Trinidad.  Fans should scoop up this book.  While the author has moved on to other things now, if she were to revisit these characters, I’d gladly return to Upper Sprocket.

Here’s the scoop on the rest of the Shake Shop Mysteries.

Movie Review: Diagnosis: Murder - The House on Sycamore Street

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: More focused mystery movie

Cons: Mystery still a little complex for the film

The Bottom Line:

A former student

Suicide? Was he murdered?

Better second film

“You Do Have Something Else to Do, Right?”  “Swamped!  We’re Just Swamped Around Here.”

I’m continuing with my look at the Diagnosis; Murder movies.  Up next is the second movie that aired before the series kicked off – The House on Sycamore Street.

This movie originally aired in May of 1992, so a little over a year before the series premiered.  Everything I said about the cast and location in my review of the first movie still holds true, so I won’t repeat myself and will instead focus on this movie.

We meet Dr. Zach Drummond (Peter Scolari), a former student of Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke).  He’s become a successful plastic surgeon, but something is troubling him.  After he calls Mark in the middle of the night, the two agree to meet for lunch.  However, Mark gets delayed, and by the time he arrives, Zach has leapt to his death from the top of the restaurant where they were planning to meet.  Mark doesn’t believe it was suicide, however.  Can he prove it?

Dr. Amanda Bentley (Cynthia Gibb) and Dr. Jack Parker (Stephen Caffrey) have larger roles in this movie than they did the first.  I enjoyed getting to know these versions of the characters a bit more.  Steve Sloan (Barry Van Dyke) isn’t quite as strong a presence as he’d have in the series, but he still makes a strong impression in his scenes.  It’s a bit weird that he and Mark aren’t living together, but so much of these movies are weird to fans of the series you just have to let it go.

The mystery was stronger than in the first one.  The medical subplot didn’t take up as much screen time, and it started a little sooner.  Even with the better focus, I felt like that story took some leaps, especially at the end.  But things did make sense when Mark pieced them all together. 

An early scene allowed Dick Van Dyke to be Dick Van Dyke.  It finds Dr. Sloan rapping in class.  When I saw where it was going, I started to cringe just a bit, but I need not have worried – Dick Van Dyke pulled it off easily.  I also appreciated that they kept some continuity with his car not being reliable in this movie.

This second Diagnosis: Murder film is definitely a step up from the first.  While it still feels different from the series, fans will enjoy seeing where their favorite doctor detective came from.  If you can find a way to watch The House on Sycamore Street, do so.

You can find the movie in the Diagnosis: Murder Television Movie Collection DVD set.

Father's Day's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  As always, I will be linking up to:

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

Not much going on around here.  It was slightly less crazy at work since I got the majority of our extra work done last week.  I'm where I want to be, which is always a nice feeling.

Our AC went out in the office on Tuesday.  As much as I complain about the over air conditioning, I noticed it when it was out.  But they had it fixed by Wednesday.  Which is a good thing since we are supposed to hit the upper 90's this coming week.  Yes, summer is here!

Saturday is my friends' monthly game day.  I'll be heading over there in a bit and always look forward to it.  But I've got to get this finished and some reading done first.

Joke of the Week:

A guy goes in for a job interview and the manager says, “We’re looking for someone who is responsible.”

“Well, I’m your man,” the guy replies.  “In my last job, whenever anything went wrong, they said I was responsible.”

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Higher Ground

Tuesday - Book Review: Murder Italian Style by Diane Vallere

Wednesday - Book Review: Big Fat F@!k-Up by Lawrence Allan

Thursday - Book Review: Throne of Threats by Sarah E. Burr

Friday - Friday Post featuring Thrown for a Scoop

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Diagnosis: Murder - The House on Sycamore Street

Tuesday - Book Review: Thrown for a Scoop by Dana Mentink

Wednesday - Ornament Review: Sandal the Sandman Special Edition

Thursday - Book Review: Playing It Safe by Ashley Weaver

Friday - Movie Review: Forrest Gump

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

After my big hauls the last couple of weeks, I only have two books to talk about this week.  Yes, I'm proud of myself.

I'd spotted Groucho Marx, Master Detective by Ron Goulart a while ago.  A mystery set in old Hollywood featuring Groucho Marx?  Yes, please!  The ebook when on sale, so I snagged it.  It looks like it is back to regular price at this point.  Hopefully, it is a fun as it sounds.

My other book is a physical book.  Music City Mayhem is a mystery set in Nashville and written by Billy Sprague, who is a singer and song writer.  It sounded good when I heard about it, so hopefully, I'll enjoy it when I get a chance to read it.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm about half way through Nemesis, the latest Orphan X book from Gregg Hurwitz.  I really enjoyed the first few books, but I feel like things are getting stale now.  And the politics he's thrown into the mix aren't helping things in this book.  As is the fact that, for a thriller, things to have stalled.  Partially because of the politics.  But I'll keep going.  I'm hoping to finish up on Monday.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

June 14th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – I’m never a big fan of their ad nights like this one, but this seemed to be extra forced to me.  Or maybe I was just extra grumpy.  We saw an impressive number of saves on the rolling logs.  With my lack of balance, I’m not sure how anyone survives those balance obstacles.  Tough to see a couple of favs go out early.  But some very inspiring runs as well.

Lego Masters – Not being the biggest fan of Wicked, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do with this theme.  But it was pretty impressive.  I agree that the team with the golden brick didn’t need to use it, but I get the worry about needing to.  If the sisters hadn’t had the issue with their power function, they might have.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter – I was expecting us to wind up in the graveyard, but not quite like that.  And I was laughing pretty hard at Vicrum’s reaction to the Eiffel Tower.  Decent moral, too.

The Quiz with Balls – I was happy to see teams do well.  With the way they set it up, it really could have been either team down to the end.  I would have done pretty well with the Tom Hanks category, too, although I would have had to guess on the song on.  Might have gotten it, but not completely sure.  Either way, it was nice to see someone win it all.  With all the correct answers, I was happy to see how things could play out since we don’t see that very often.

The Snake – Interesting show.  Yes, it’s got some serious Survivor vibes in the social aspect.  I think the animal stunts are going to make me cringe.  But I will be interested to see how the various aspects of the show play out going forward.  And I am rooting for the pastor to go.  Yes, I get it is a game.  But still, you shouldn’t be manipulating people in a game like this and claim to be a pastor.  Just rubs me the wrong way.

Destination X – Once again, someone trying to be helpful, and they wind up getting the person kicked off the bus.  And then she goes about lying?  That’s going to come back to bite her.  I’m wondering why she did because getting the advantage from someone is no big deal.  Or at least, I would have thought so.  Curious how having these two new reality TV veterans will play out.

June 13th's Friday Post

Happy Friday the 13th!  Let's celebrate with a Friday Post.  I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

My teaser for the first three will be coming from Thrown for a Scoop by Dana Mentink.

This is book four in her Shake Shop Mysteries.  And here's how it begins:

Trinidad Jones delivered two bowls of freshly churned ice cream to a patio table, mint chip for Quinn Logan, the man she’d been failing to marry for six months, and French vanilla for his brother Doug.

Yum!  I mean, who doesn't love ice cream, right?

But at 56% into the story, we find something a little more mysterious:

Trinidad’s mind was fixed firmly on the conversation she’d overheard. You’re a welcher. And you’re gonna do what’s right. Who was a welcher and what were they supposed to do?

I finished this one late last week and enjoyed it.  I'll be reviewing it on Tuesday, so I hope you'll come back then to see my thoughts.

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

Do you set a monthly budget for books? If yes, what amount? Have you ever exceeded your limit?

If you pay attention to my Sunday/Monday posts, you'll see I don't really set a budget.  Considering all the books I have around here that I haven't read yet, I probably should, but I haven't done that yet.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Throne of Threats by Sarah E. Burr (Court of Mysteries #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in a good mystery

Cons: Mystery does take a little time to get started. 

The Bottom Line:

Wedding is coming

But kidnapping threatens it

Love these characters

You Are Cordially Invited to a … Kidnapping

I had one last audiobook in Sarah E Burr’s Court of Mystery series. And, as I said recently, I haven’t been listening to audiobooks are quickly as I thought I would so far this year. But I finally got to listen to Throne of Threats. 

This series is a little different. The main character is Jacqueline Xavier, the ruler of a Dutchy in the Realm of Virtues. It’s got medieval/very light fantasy vibes. More emphasis on the medieval over the light fantasy, especially in the last couple of stories I’ve read.

As this book opens, Jax is just days away from the event we’ve been waiting for almost as much as she has – her wedding to the youngest son of a ruler of a neighboring kingdom. With friends and family coming in a couple of days before the big event, and a couple of days before the rest of the guests, Jax is hoping for some relaxing before she has to play hostess and politics with her guests. But when Uma, her lady in waiting, goes to pick up the flowers a couple of days before, she is kidnapped. With only a cryptic clue to guide her, can Jax find Uma and rescue her? And will this latest case hurt her relationships with those she loves most?

This is the fifth story with these characters, and the second full length novel. It’s a testament to author Sarah E. Burr’s skill at creating characters how much we’ve fallen in love with them in such a relatively short page count. As I said at the top, we’ve been waiting for this wedding as much as Jax and Perry, her fiancé. And I really like how Perry has grown from where he was when we first met him. The other usual characters are here, as well as a few characters we met in earlier stories but haven’t seen in every story. I loved getting those updates on everyone. 

Unfortunately, between those updates and some other politics of the region, the book started out a little slowly. Some of that did speak to potential motives once Uma was kidnapped. And once that happens, things do pick up. I loved how things came together at the end. 

I also appreciated how the author walked a fine line with the investigation. When evidence pointed to people close to Jax, they didn’t react well to her not trusting them. That’s realistic. Of course, their hurt might have been resolved a little quickly, but that’s fiction. 

And yes, Jax does have good reasons for not being the best at trusting those closest to her. If you want to find out more, you really should read the other books in the series in order. Tin fact, there are some spoilery references to those earlier stories in this book. 

As I said at the outset, I read this via audio. Melissa Green once again does a great job with the narration. 

The series has ended with book fourteen. Since this is book five, I still have a ways to go with the characters, which makes me happy. While this may be the last audio book in the series I have, I’ve got the rest in ebook form, so I have no excuse not to dive in. 

Throne of Threats feels like the closing of one chapter. But I’m happy I have many more chapters to go. If you want a different setting for a cozy mystery, you have to give this series a shot. 

Enjoy the rest of the Court of Mysteries series. 

Book Review: Big Fat F@!k-Up by Lawrence Allan (Jimmy Cooper #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Jimmy, interesting mystery

Cons: Nothing that the title doesn’t warn you about

The Bottom Line:

Actor turned PI

Some laughs in this mystery

Loved the characters

You’ll Be Glad You Met Jimmy Cooper

When I was at Bouchercon in 2023, I went to the comedic mysteries panel.  As expected, I enjoyed it, and one of the standouts was Lawrence Allan.  But I hesitated to get his book based on the title – Big Fat F@!k-Up.  Yeah, that’s a title that screams “Not a Mark book.”  But I decided to buy it.  I just now got around to reading it, and I’m glad I got it because it was a delight.

Jimmy Cooper followed all those child star cliches.  His career tanked thanks to his addictions, but he’s now sober and working as a PI, at least some of his cases coming from his mother’s law firm, where he works as the investigator.  But one of his freelance cases lands him on the news again when he becomes part of a chase through downtown LA.

And with his increased public profile comes more interesting cases.  For example, there’s Alicia Crowley, who is set to inherit a large part of her family’s beer company when she turns twenty-five in a week.  However, she thinks her uncle, who currently runs the company, is trying to kill her, and she wants Jimmy to prove it while keeping her safe.  But it’s the uncle who turns up dead with Alicia as the prime suspect.  Can Jimmy figure out what really happened?

So, let’s get the obvious out of the way first.  Yes, the title is a clue as to what kind of language you’ll find in the book.  I’ll admit, I was afraid there might be more than we got.  I know I’ve often talked about authors being lazy when using curse words in their books.  I have to hand it to Lawrence Allan – I didn’t feel he did that.  The cursing was effective and appropriate to the scenes and not so overdone that it was laughable.  Would I have preferred a book without it?  Yes.  But I’m still glad I read the book.  And before I move on completely, there is some other content as well, but it is in keeping with the rest of the book.

The book takes a little time setting up Jimmy, his world, and the case at hand.  But it is entertaining the entire way through act 1 of the story.  It never feels like it is dragging, and we don’t get a complete data dump.  There are a couple of times the book does show us a bit more of Jimmy’s past, but it is important to the character development we are getting at that moment.

Things do step up once the murder has happened.  There are quite a few viable suspects, yes, even Alicia.  Watching Jimmy try to navigate it all is entertaining.  The ending was logical and answered all my questions.

Jimmy himself is a sympathetic main character.  He’s got some issues to work through, but he isn’t a typical depressing PI.  And he is working hard to get his life back on track, which I appreciated.  We meet some other interesting supporting players, and I look forward to getting to know them better as the series progresses.

And yes, I did laugh.  Jimmy is often cracking jokes, or trying to crack jokes, as a way to defuse the situations he finds himself in.  He’s also got some great observations about LA or life in general that we get thanks to the first-person narration.  Yet, the book is also serious when it needs to be, which made some of the character stuff that comes late in the book hit even more.

I had a hard time putting the book down, finishing it in two days instead of my typical three.

I will definitely be back to visit Jimmy again.  If the title gives you pause, you might not care for this book, but if you can move past it, you’ll find yourself getting caught up in Big Fat F@!k-Up.

Book Review: Murder Italian Style by Diane Vallere (Samantha Kidd #16)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love (new and old) in a fun mystery

Cons: A couple of minor things

The Bottom Line:

Looking at old crime

A trip filled with mystery

Kidd still going strong

Samantha Sleuths in Style on a New Continent

As a cozy series reader, one thing I love returning to a series for is the familiarity of a series’ locations and characters. But I get why authors want to take their characters outside the familiar every so often. That’s what Diane Vallere is doing with Murder Italian Style, the sixteenth book in her series about Samantha Kidd. 

Over the course of the series, we’ve gotten to watch Samantha bloom after a rocky start returning to her hometown of Ribbon, Pennsylvania. Her life has been complicated by a number of fashion related crimes. As this book opens, she and her husband, Nick, and father-in-law are leaving for an after Christmas trip to visit family friends in a small village in Italy. 

However, when they arrive, Samantha learns there is more to the visit than ringing in the New Year. A murder took place twenty-six years ago, and a man has been serving time for it ever since. The convicted killer was their hostess’s boyfriend at the time, and she’s often wondered what happened that night. Now, she wants Samantha to find the truth. With a language barrier as an additional road block, can Samantha solve the cold case?

Given the distance the characters are from home, we don’t see any of the other recurring players. Yes, I missed them, but only a little. The characters we meet in Italy are vibrant and fun, and I enjoyed getting to explore the new setting. It’s extra fun given the New Year’s holiday, and that provides a good back drop to some of the action. 

The mystery is good. Given the personal stakes for the characters we meet, it is still compelling even if it is a cold case and not a current crime. And yes, we do come to care for the characters enough to make us care about the outcome. I thought I had things figured out at one point, but I turned out to be wrong. While the overall mystery made sense when we reached the end, there were a couple of things that did leave me scratching my head. But they were minor overall. 

Samantha might be in another country, but the book still contains her light, breezy narration. There are even quite a few laughs and smiles along the way. 

And we got some interesting character development that I’m sure we will hear more about going forward. 

Fans of the series already know that Samantha has a snack and junk food addiction. So they won’t be surprised to learn we hear plenty about Italian food along the way. If you enjoy Italian food, this will definitely make you hungry. 

Fans of Samantha will find Murder Italian Style is a trip well worth packing your bags for. If you haven’t met her yet, you’ll be glad you changed that. 

All of the Samantha Kidd Mysteries are always in style. 

Note: I received an ARC of this book. 

Movie Review: Signed Sealed Delivered - Higher Ground

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Solid mystery with characters we love

Cons: Shane sidelined for too much of the movie

The Bottom Line:

A jazzy letter

Trying to find refugees

Sidelined character

“In My Country, You’d Be Married with Twins by Now.”  “Well…We Have a Potato.”

I always marvel at what storylines a series can come up with.  Take Higher Ground, the eighth Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie.  The series follows the cases that the dead letter office in Denver, Colorado, deal with.  So imagine my surprise to learn this movie centered around a refugee from Hurricane Katrina.

Set in 2017 (when the movie was originally released), it finds our heroes tackling a letter they’ve just been given.  Their only clue to the sender is the name Gabe (Keb' Mo').  And the recipient is a woman who owned a jazz place in New Orleans before the hurricane hit.  Without much more than that to go on, can they figure anything out?

Meanwhile, in the POstable’s personal lives, Norman (Geoff Gustafson) makes a decision about his relationship with Rita (Crystal Lowe).  But it’s Oliver and Shane (Eric Mabius and Kristin Booth) who face a crossroads when Shane’s ex comes back and insists that she is needed for a top-secret project.

You’ve got to love movie time (or fictional time in general).  The last movie was set in spring 2016 (not that we ever see snow in the Denver of this show).  This movie starts clearly days later, but it’s also clearly 2017.  Yes, I know, just let it go.  And I don’t care.  This kind of thing I notice in passing and move on.

I am wondering if there was a scheduling issue or why Kristin Booth was written out for so much of the movie.  Yes, I liked where things ended up for all the characters at the end, but I like these movies the most when the four POstables are working together toward their goal.  Having her missing definitely left a hole in things.

The case involving the letter was good.  I knew the high points of the plot early on, but I honestly didn’t care.  It was nice to be following the characters as they solved the case.  And it is very much nice to sit down knowing you will get a satisfying ending.

I did find bits of low budget cheese slipping into this movie, which is rare for this franchise.  The writing was where I noticed it the most.  It’s only a few lines, but they were definitely awkward.  The actors are all fine, especially the leads.  But that’s no surprise; they always are.

When this movie was in production, Hallmark hadn’t agreed to any more movies in the franchise.  (Which is funny given the fact that two more were released in 2017.)  Creator Martha Williamson made sure that all the storylines were given a satisfactory wrap up.  I appreciate her dedication to making sure fans weren’t left hanging.  I’m even happier there are still more movies to watch.

I am continuing to enjoy the Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise.  It’s heartwarming with charming characters.  Fans will find Higher Ground another movie worth their time.

This movie is included in the Signed, Sealed, Delivered Movies 5-8 DVD collection.

June 8th's Sunday/Monday Post

It's that time of the week again.  Time for this week's Sunday/Monday Post where I link up to:

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

I think we're through the worst of quarter end close.  Have I mentioned how much I hate the extra stress/work we have to do at quarter end?  I have?  Well, know that it is still true.  But I finished my last extra report before I logged off work on Friday.  It was a relief to have that behind me.  Of course, Monday, I get to start working hard on the account reconciliations, something I would have started already in a normal month.

Saturday started with walking book club.  (Localish library that hosts a group to walk and talk about whatever we've been reading recently.)  First time we've met in a month since the librarian that leads it was on vacation when we would have normally met the second time.

Then in the afternoon, I headed over to a friend's for a house cooling party.  She lives in Alta Dena, and was one of the lucky ones who didn't lose her house in the fires.  However, there was still a lot of smoke damage, so she's spent the past five months redoing and replacing almost everything.  She'd said months ago she didn't want to do a house warming when it was finished, but she wanted to have people over.  I told her it needed to be a house cooling party, and that stuck.  I actually have seen her in years, so it was nice to see her and a few mutual friends we have in the area.  This is a friend I grew up with in Northern California who also moved down to Southern California.

Joke of the Week:

I have the world’s worst thesaurus.  Not only is it terrible, it’s terrible.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - May Reading Summary

Tuesday - Book Review: Home is Where the Murder Is by Rosalie Spielman

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Murder, She Wrote - Season 9

Thursday - Book Review: A Rogue's Company by Allison Montclair

Friday - Friday Post featuring Throne of Threats

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Higher Ground

Tuesday - Book Review: Murder Italian Style by Diane Vallere

Wednesday - Book Review: Big Fat F@!k-Up by Lawrence Allan

Thursday - Book Review: Throne of Threats by Sarah E. Burr

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I have eight books to tell you about.  Gulp.  Yeah, I went a little crazy buying books over Memorial Day weekend, although most were online purchases, so they didn't arrive until this week.

Having said that, we're going to start with Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver, which  was a preorder from months ago.  The paperback edition came out this week, and it arrived.  Which is funny since I'm reading book three in the series now (sorry for the spoiler for the next section).

I wound up getting books four through six in the Sparks and Bainbridge series by Allison Montclair as well.  I found good deals on books five and six, which have only been released as hardcovers or ebooks.  So I went ahead and got book four as well.  The titles are The Unkept Woman, The Lady from Burma, and Murder at the White Palace.

I'm hoping to get to another book in the Noddle Shop series from Vivien Chien this year.  At least.  Maybe more since I'm so far behind.  But to do that, I need to buy another book.  I was in my local Barnes and Nobel buying a house cooling present for the party I went to today, and I saw they had Killer Kung Pao, the next one I needed, so I snagged it.

I'd also like to think I will get to another book in Liz Milliron's Laurel Highlands series this year.  So I bought book two, Heaven Has No Rage.  But first, the prequel short stories I bought a couple of weeks back.

Since I love mysteries and spoofs and satires, how I could I pass up How to Survive a Classic Crime Novel by Kate Jackson.  I'm looking forward to it.

Finally, I got Frightened to Depths, the third Cruising Sisters Mystery from K.B. Jackson.  It features some older characters who are living full time on a cruise ship.  I've enjoyed the first two, so I'm looking forward to book three.

What I'm Currently Reading?

As I said above, I'm currently working on Playing It Safe, the third Electra McDonnell novel.  Ellie is a safe cracker who has been recruited to help the British government during World War II.  It's a bit slow, but I am making progress on it.

I've also started another audio book.  This time, it's No Hallowed Ground by Steve Hockensmith.  It's set in 1894 in Missouri, which is a bit far east for books I normally read from this author.  He typically writes books set in the west during that time period.

That's it for me.  Hope your week is great.

June 7th's Weekly TV Thoughts

 It may be summer, but I've still found several shows to watch.  Ironically, all but one of these airs on Mondays.  But don't worry, I've got another show I want to check out on Tuesday next week.  Still, I think all the shows I'm interested in will be Monday or Tuesday shows this summer.  Guess it gives me more time for movie watching.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter – It took a bit to get going, but ultimately, this was a fun episode.  I really liked how the entire thing came together, and how they defeated the villain at the end.  I’m curious if we will get more on the cliffhanger.  Or if it is going to be something that is pretty much forgotten.  My guess is we won’t see any more about it for several weeks.

American Ninja Warrior – I wonder why they are doing so much history.  I would get it if this were season 20 or even season 15.  But season 17?  Seems a little suspicious to me.  Like is this the final season?  Either way, I’m enjoying these familiar obstacles, and it is fun seeing some faces from the past.  Jessie still has it!  But I felt so sorry for Flip.  That’s got to hurt when you know you can do so much better.

Lego Masters – Those were some pretty creative creatures.  I’m not sure all of them fit in the jungle, but I liked them.  I’m not surprised at how the teams voted for the golden brick.  Not sure I like that twist to it, but I do agree with who the teams all voted to give it to.  That’s the only thing that makes sense.

Quiz with Balls – I found this one late last year, so I mostly watched on demand.  Don’t think I talked about it here.  Not sure there is much to talk about with it, but it is fun to see how the teams do.  There were some categories where I knew exactly what the answer was, which always makes me feel good.  And then many I would have struggled with.

Destination X – I think I’m getting the hang of this show a bit more.  Obviously, we have an advantage since they tell us early on.  But I was impressed with how the contestants picked up on the clues.  Because there are a lot of them, at least if you know much about Europe.  That would be my downfall, I’m sure.

June 6th's Friday Post

Time for another Friday Post.  As always, I am linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

This week, my quotes will be coming from Throne of Threats by Sarah E. Burr.

This is the fifth book in her Court of Mysteries series, set in a fanciful kingdom.  But yes, it is still a mystery series.  I mean, this is me we're talking about.  There's also a strong romance, as you can see from the opening.

“Do you think we’re making a mistake?”
The glint in Perry’s lavender eyes revealed he was suppressing a wry smile. “What, by getting married?”

Meanwhile, at 56% into this ebook, we find this quote:

“I’m still not a fan of this idea of you riding out to meet a criminal.”

I've finished this book, and it was good.  I'll have a review up on Thursday next week, so I hope you'll come back to see what I thought of it.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question is:

How do you strike a balance between providing enough information to pique readers' interest without giving away too many spoilers in your reviews?

It's been a bit of a trial and error process over the decades I've been doing this.  When I'm working on my teaser, I give just enough to give the reader some idea what the plot is about without revealing too much.  I try super hard to not go past the first third of the book, but even less if I can avoid it.  There have been times my teaser was just about the first chapter.  Then, I try to talk in general terms about pacing and character development.  I'll mention liking how some things played out, but not saying what they were.  Hopefully, it's general enough that it will make sense to the potential reader without spoiling it as they are reading it.  It's a very fine line.  And yes, I am keeping some of my go to phrases and what they mean a secret.  Otherwise, you'll have things spoiled for you when reading one of my reviews.

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

Book Review: A Rogue’s Company by Allison Montclair (Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries #3)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Gwen and Iris, payoff for series fans

Cons: The mystery is not as strong as it needs to be for a mystery novel

The Bottom Line:

Gwen in the spotlight

Even above mystery

Still, fans will enjoy

Good Novel, but Not Good Mystery

I was happy when I discovered the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries a couple of years back.  Yes, I was behind since the series already had several books out, but I found the setup, characters, and story compelling.  So imagine my disappointment to find that the third book in the series, A Rogue’s Company, forgot one of the key aspects of the genre – the mystery.

This book takes us back to 1946 London.  In the aftermath of the second World War, two women have set up The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, a match making service.  Miss Iris Sparks was an intelligence operative during the war, while Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge is a war widow who lives with her in-laws since they gained custody of her son while she was recovering from her husband’s death.

It's now August, and Lord Bainbridge has returned from his latest trip to Africa, and he has brought back all the negativity that Gwen feared.  He’s insisting that her six-year-old son, his grandson, attend the boarding school that all the Bainbridge men attend, despite that fact that no one else in the family thinks it is a good idea.  He is threatening the servants and generally being a major pain.  But Gwen has made progress and wants to regain control of her life.  Can she do it?

For those following along with the series to date, this is a storyline we’ve become very invested in.  So, from that perspective, this is a great novel with plenty that we care about.  I found the story compelling and Lord Bainbridge insufferable in the way that all good villains should be.  This is actually the first time we’ve met him since he’s been in Africa for the first two books in the series.

However, this is a mystery series.  And as a mystery, this book is bad.  There is a murder, but solving it is almost an accident.  Other crimes come into play, and things do tie together nicely.  Iris and Gwen are extremely bright, maybe a little too bright, in how they figure things out.  But all this starts much too late in the book.  While I was enjoying the storyline we were given, I was left wondering when the mystery would kick in.  Or when we’d get back to the prologue.  It just wasn’t plotted well enough for what this is supposed to be.

I know I’ve talked a lot of about Gwen so far.  I enjoyed the growth we got for her character.  But the story also forces Iris to deal with something from her past, and I enjoyed that as well.  So fans of either will be happy spending time with them again.  We’re getting a large cast of supporting characters, and they were all here.  I love the banter some of the characters have with each other.  Those unexpected bits of comedy make me laugh.

The paperback I bought recently included an extra story – or so it claimed.  “The Haunting of the Desks” felt familiar to me as I read it, with bits of pieces coming back to me.  I think it was put together from a subplot of the second book, but I wouldn’t swear to it.  Either way, it is a better mystery in 40 pages than we got in the full novel.

Yes, I am aware just how harsh I’ve been sounding on the plotting of this book.  Let me be clear on one thing.  A few hours after finishing this book, I ordered the next three in the series.  I do fully intend to keep going and see what else Sparks and Bainbridge get up to.  The characters are great.  But A Rogue’s Company didn’t do them justice.

You're a match with the rest of the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries.

TV Show Review: Murder, She Wrote - Season 9

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Jessica is still solving enjoyable mysteries

Cons: Less screen time for Jessica means we don’t feel connections as much

The Bottom Line:

Ninth year solving crimes

We are losing connections

Still enjoyable

“I Guess I’ll Be a Little More Careful the Next Time I Run into an Innocent Looking Tourist in the Desert."

By now, we know what to expect with a season of Murder, She Wrote.  I mean, we are on season 9 after all.  The big changes of the show have happened already.  In fact, we’re getting some lasts already.  While the show isn’t as good as it once was at this point, it is still fun.

If you aren’t familiar with the show, it starred Angela Lansbury as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher.  Somehow, she manages to find herself involved in mysteries wherever she goes, and she has a knack for solving them.

Last season, she moved to New York City, at least part time.  And eight episodes take place in the city this season.  Another five take place in her home town of Cabot Cove, Maine.  And the rest?  They take place around the world as Jessica travels, either with friends, to promote her books, or just for pleasure.

What kind of cases does she tackle?  She solves the murder of the producer of a movie adaptation of one of her books.  While working on an audio version of her first book, she solves a murder at the recording studio.  Jessica becomes the inspiration for a comic strip character who is accusing people of crimes.  A murder in New Mexico is tied to a long-lost treasure.  Jessica is pulled into the murder of a florist in Beverly Hills.  And she must help clear her former research assistant of murder.  The problem?  The young woman is a habitual liar.

As I’ve been rewatching the series, I’ve been keeping track of how many episodes we actually got in Cabot Cove since it wasn’t every week even though people act like that was the case.  As I said earlier, we got five this season.  In the first, one of Jessica’s former students returns to town researching a book about a scandal from thirty years ago.  In the series’ only Christmas episode, the young man who just became engaged to a prominent family is accused of murder.  The theater in town is hosting a friend of Dr. Seth Hazlitt (William Windom), who is coming out of retirement.  An attempt by the owner of the military parts factory in town to find ways to keep the business running ends in murder.  And finally, a visiting romance author’s assistant is murdered.

Looking at our stats, that brings the total murders that Jessica has solved in Cabot Cove to 39.5 (watch season 1 if you want to understand that half).  Of those, 27 involve residents and 13 involve people visiting the town who find it the perfect setting for a murder.  The total count of murders that Jessica has solved is up to 182.  That means that 21.7% of the cases in the series are set in Cabot Cove.  That’s essentially the same as the stats from last season.  Okay, that might be a higher percentage compared to the normal small town, but it’s a safe place to live, right?

Those Cabot Cove episodes become even more of a highlight this season.  It’s nice to see Jessica interacting with Seth and Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) and other characters we’ve gotten to know.  The reason these episodes stand out in everyone’s mind is because of those relationships.

Of course, we do have some other recurring characters.  Sadly, this is the last time we see several of them.  Len Cariou’s last appearance as Michael Hagarty, Keith Michell’s last appearance as Dennis Stanton, and Julie Adams’s last appearance as Eve Simpson all take place in this season.

There are some firsts to off set them, however.  Herb Edelman shows up as Lieutenant Artie Gelber, who would show up again in season 10 and 11 as the NYC detective we’d get to know the best.  Ironically, in his first appearance, he’s about to retire, but he winds up staying so he can buy stuff for his grandkids.  We also meet Chicago PI Charlie Garret as played by Wayne Rogers.  He’d show up again in the rest of the seasons.  Finally, we meet Lieutenant Gabriel Caceras who was played by Gregory Sierra.  Interestingly enough, he references a previous case that Jessica had solved for him, but best I can tell this is the first time we met the character.  But he would show up again twice in season 11.

By this point in the series, Angela Lansbury was getting very worn out by the schedule she had for filming.  As a result, the writers created more scenes she wasn’t in to cut down her filming schedule.  I get it.  And I prefer these episodes to the ones where she just introduced the story of the week.  But still, we are missing something with less Jessica.

Part of what we are missing is the time for her to show her range.  Mind you, I’m not criticizing her performance in the slightest.  She is still fabulous as Jessica.  But in earlier seasons, she got to play around a bit more, going undercover or acting differently to catch a suspect off guard.  There isn’t time for that any more, and I miss it.

I also miss the feeling of connection to the characters we used to have.  A couple of times, I had to wonder about Jessica’s connection to the case at all.  We get no cases involving her extended family in this season.  And even when meeting up with friends, we don’t get the scenes to truly feel their friendship often.  Again, it’s a result of Jessica having less screen time and nothing else. 

I didn’t recognize quite as many guest stars as I often do.  But among the guest stars I did recognize, we have Cesar Romero, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Amy Brenneman, Larry Wilcox, Sean O'Bryan, Robert Beltran, Cynthia Nixon, Margot Kidder, David Lansbury (Angela’s nephew), Lyle Waggoner, Neil Patrick Harris, Lee Meriwether, and William Katt.  As always, it’s fun to see people I recognize pop up.

Last season, I mentioned the J. Michael Straczynski had come on board as has a writer/producer.  He was only here for half of this season before leaving to work on Babylon 5, my favorite TV show of all time.  But fans of both shows will not only recognize a line he’d twist a little and reuse in Babylon 5, but also a blink and you miss him appearance by Ed Wasser.

I do have to talk about the strangest episode of the season, possibly the series.  A skeleton found in Florida ties in to the JFK assassination.  Now, I’ll grant you this show stretches credibility on a regular basis.  But this?  Please.  It’s also seemed an odd topic for this show to try to work in.  But I also realize I’m not of the right generation to find it interesting.  That’s my parent’s generation.  Maybe if I’d been alive for the historical event, I would enjoy it more.

I will give the show credit for this.  The mysteries are always still fair play.  Sometime, they even make the clues a little too obvious.  But it’s fun to play along.  Even though I’ve seen these episodes before, I can’t always remember who the killer is.  And sometimes, I think the clues point to the wrong person only to have Jessica set me straight at the end.  But when I get it right, I am proud of myself.

One last thing.  Last season, Jessica got a computer, and we see her using it to write quite a bit.  Heck, we even see her on an old, clunky laptop at one point.  (Got to laugh at how the technology has aged.)  But the opening credits still only show her using the typewriter.  In fact, the scenes in those credits haven’t really changed in multiple seasons.

While season 9 of Murder, She Wrote isn’t the show we fans fell in love with, it is still an entertaining mystery show, and it’s still fun to watch Jessica in action.  Fans will enjoy catching up with her here.

Book Review: Home is Where the Murder Is by Rosalie Spielman (Hometown Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters in a strong mystery

Cons: Home is not where the cons are

The Bottom Line:

Long lost relative?

If so, who would murder her?

Strong second entry

Was the Victim a Missing Relative?

At the beginning of the year, I started the Hometown Mysteries from Rosalie Spielman.  Only six months to get back to book two.  That’s pretty good for me.  It was nice to visit the characters again with Home Is Where the Murder Is.

These books are set in a small town in Idaho.  Our main character is Tessa Treslow who has recently retired from the US Army.  She hadn’t intended to settle in to her hometown, but now that she’s been back for several months, she is glad she made the decision, and she’s excited about the business she is starting with her aunt to restore classic cars.

Summer is starting, and for New Oslo, Idaho, that means it is time for Pioneer Days, a local festival to celebrate the founding of the town.  But this year, a strange couple has appeared stirring up controversy.  She’s claiming to be the long-lost cousin of Tessa’s best friend, Deputy Petunia "Freddie" Frederickson.  Freddie’s last relative just passed away a few months ago, so she has to navigate this claim without any family  to help her learn the truth.

Something about the woman’s claim seems suspect to Tessa.  But before she can figure out what is really going on, the woman is found murdered in New Oslo’s town square with all the evidence pointing to Freddie.  Tessa knows her friend isn’t a killer, so she jumps in to figure out what is going on.  Can she prove it?

I enjoyed meeting this cast in the first book, and it was delightful to spend more time with them here.  We learn more about several of them, and I like how they are developing.  We also meet more of Tessa’s family, which was nice.  I was smiling when several of the supporting players popped up again.  We’ve got the usual quirky characters, and they are completely delightful.  This is definitely one of the towns I would enjoy visiting if it were real.  (Between murders, of course.)

And the mystery?  It started a little slowly, or at least I thought it did.  In reality, we were getting set up so that by the time the murder took place, we were off and running.  The more I read, the more I got hooked by the story, and I couldn’t wait to see how it was all going to come together.  It helped that the stakes were very personal for our characters.  The climax was suspenseful and perfectly answered my questions.

Tessa is something unusual for the majority of cozy series, a middle-aged woman.  I really appreciate that about her, and the author does a good job of bringing that stage of life to the page.  I also appreciate the acknowledgement of what life in the military can mean to the veterans.  It’s just a part of who Tessa is, but I appreciate that it is dealt with.

I’m looking forward to seeing where the characters go from here.  Home Is Where the Murder Is combines a great mystery with great characters.  If you need another mystery series to start (and who doesn’t), you’ll be glad you checked out this series.

Settle in for more of the Hometown Mysteries.