August 21st's Friday Post

It's Friday!  Time for this week's Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

My teasers for the first three will be coming from Harrowed Heir by Sarah E. Burr.

This is book 10 in her Court of Mystery series.  It's set in a fictional continent and politics is ramping up, adding to the mystery in each book.

Here's how this book begins:

A knock on the door interrupted Duchess Jacqueline Arienta Xavier’s trance, forcing her to look up from the stack of papers she’d been attempting to sort before her departure.

Meanwhile, we find ourselves in a bit of a fight at 56% into the ebook:

“Don’t think you can use my own words against me, husband.” Jax kept her voice even, but her gaze lanced Perry to his seat. “It is unbecoming to use my ideals to justify what you have done.“

I enjoyed this book.  My review will be up on Tuesday, so I hope you'll come back then to read it.

Meanwhile, let's move over to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  Here's this week's question:

Do you follow book trends and bestsellers, or do you prefer hunting down lesser-known titles?

The answer is yes.  I do read some best sellers; I'm reading two right now.  I don't follow trends to follow trends, but if something sounds fun, I'll pick it up.  But, like the book I'm highlighting this week, I also like to read the lesser known authors and put a spotlight on them.  Again, if the author or book catches my interest, I'll read it.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: City of Promises by Victoria Thompson with Ellen Thompson (Counterfeit Lady #8)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters in a fun crossover

Cons: The plot needs a little more

The Bottom Line:

Characters meet up

Crossover fans will enjoy

Con still needs more stakes

This Crossover Delivers

When Victoria Thompson passed a couple of years ago, I was sad because I really enjoyed her books.  And I knew she was working on a story that would bring the characters from her two mystery series together for the first time.  So, when I found out her daughter, Ellen Thompson, was going to continue the series and was starting with the crossover book, you can bet I was preordering City of Promises as quickly as I could.

This is officially book eight in the Counterfeit Lady series.  For this book, it is 1920, and reformed conwoman Elizabeth Bates is expecting her first child.  Naturally, she and her husband, lawyer Gideon, are excited.  While Elizabeth hasn’t officially run a con since she and Gideon fell in love, she has still used her skills to help others.  And it’s about to happen again.

You see, these characters are about to meet the characters from the Gaslight Mysteries, which star Frank and Sarah Malloy.  That series started out in the 1890’s, but the last book ended in September 1901.  Which means, yes, they are twenty years older than the last time we saw them.  And, it means there are some series spoilers as Elizabeth and Gideon get to know these characters.  Of course, these are for books that have been out for a decade or more at this point, so is it really a spoiler?  We don’t get lots of details, so you can still enjoy this series even if you aren’t up to date.

Frank and Sarah approach Gideon since he is an estate attorney.  Their daughter, Catherine, has recently gotten engaged, and they fear her fiancé is just out to swindle her out of her trust fund, which she has recently gotten access to.  While there is nothing that Gideon can do legally to help protect the young woman, Elizabeth is quite willing to see what she can do.  Is Catherine under the sway of a conman?  Will the combined cast of characters be able to protect her?

Let’s get my complaint about the book out of the way, shall we?  It’s actually been my complaint for most of the books in this series.  The stories in this series aren’t interesting or complex enough to sustain the page counts.  I need more cat and mouse.  More chances to wonder if Elizabeth will pull things off.  Don’t get me wrong, this is a perfectly servable caper plot.  But another complication or two would make them more compelling.  Again, this has been a common complaint for the entire Counterfeit Lady series.  And it’s not a complaint I have about the Gaslight Mysteries.

Having said that, I did enjoy the story here.  I wanted to see exactly how things would play out, and I found a couple of the detours interesting.

But what I loved most about this book was seeing the characters from both series getting to interact.  No, we don’t see everyone from the Gaslight Mysteries, but we see enough of them to make it feel like a true crossover.  Every time someone new popped up and we got an update on how they are doing now, I was smiling.  This fan couldn’t get enough of the updates.  And I couldn’t get enough of the interactions between the characters, either.  I laughed several times at how everyone was getting along.  And yes, every character who appeared was involved; they weren’t just cameos.

All this is done without sacrificing the characters from this series.  Yes, we probably would have seen more of some of the supporting players in a regular novel in the series, but I never felt like they were being sidelined.  Most importantly, all of the characters from both series felt like themselves.

This isn’t supposed to be just a one off to wrap things up.  Ellen is planning to continue both of her mother’s series.  Based on this, I’d say we are in very good hands.

If you were a fan of Victoria Thompson’s books, don’t hesitate to pick up City of Promises.  If you haven’t read her yet, you have a lot of catching up to do.  But I promise, it will be worth it.

Check out the rest of the Counterfeit Lady Mysteries.  Or travel even further back in time with the Gaslight Mysteries.

TV Show Review: Dark Winds - Season 1

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Background and acting from the leads

Cons: Characters are completely different, plot is slow and poorly constructed

The Bottom Line:

Two brutal murders

Introduce characters that

Aren’t at all like books

“What Did She Say?”  “Nothing I Don’t Already Know.”

About the time that I started reading Tony Hillerman’s books, AMC created Dark Winds, a TV series with his characters.  I put off watching it for a while so I wouldn’t run across spoilers for books I hadn’t read yet, but I decided to dive into the first season recently.  For fans of the books, it’s going to be disappointing.

The show takes up back to 1971 and introduces us to Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), a lieutenant with the Navajo tribal police.  As the series kicks off, Deputy Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) has just been transferred to Leaphorn’s station.  Rounding out the main officers at the station is Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten).  We are also introduced to Joe’s wife, Emma (Deanna Allison) a nurse at a nearby clinic.

Over the course of this first season, the trio of officers look into a case involving two Navajo who are murdered while a blind woman is sitting in the room and left alone.  Who could have done it?  Meanwhile, the FBI ask for help finding what happened to a helicopter used in a bank heist that vanished in the reservation.

This season is at least partially based on the third book in the series, Listening Woman, one of Joe’s solo cases.  It’s been a couple of years since I read it, but I don’t remember for sure what elements came from that book and what might have been borrowed from others.  I feel like a subplot involving Joe’s backstory might have been a different book, but don’t quote me on that.  I will say this, the show ignores the best part of the climax from the novel, which really disappointed me.

I’m nine books into the series, and at this point, Joe and Jim have just started working together, while Manuelito hasn’t been introduced yet.  So, I knew going in that some changes would need to be made.  And if those changes had been handled well, I would have been okay with them.  (At least, I’d like to think so.)  But what we got here felt like completely different characters.  Joe is much more open to Navajo religious practices while Jim is dismissive of them.  This is a complete flip of their characters.  Manuelito lives in a trailer, which Jim should be doing.  Of course, that would be hard with Jim’s secret.  At this point, why are you claiming to adapt these books?  Just create your own characters already.

Speaking of the Navajo religious practices, the novels have always treated them with respect, but also not had plot elements depend on them, which this show does.  Another element I didn’t like.

And, why is the series set in 1971?  I could get setting the series at some point in the past, but 1971 feels very specific.  The first book came out in 1970, and the only novel that Tony Hillerman published in 1971 wasn’t part of this series.  I could understand if they were honoring when the first book came out, but this way left me scratching my head.

There’s also some anti-White rhetoric to the show.  Now, I am not trying to say that Whites haven’t mistreated Native Americans over the centuries.  But this show seems to try to show that whenever they can, to the point that they introduce something into the first two episodes specifically to have another example.  A horrible, tragic, and evil example, yes, but what does it have to do with the rest of the season?

Finally, there’s Joe’s backstory.  Granted, he didn’t have much of one in the early novels, which were very focused on the mystery and nothing else.  But I don’t quite understand why they decided to give him the backstory they did here unless it’s to give him some tragedy to play.

I will give the leads this, all four of them are good with the material they have.  The other actors?  They are a bit more hit or miss.

And the plot of the show?  I found it slow.  The connections felt tenuous at best, and the various elements aren’t fully developed to really flesh things out.  The climax does work, but I just didn’t feel it was supported by what came before.  We get declarations more than detection most of the time, which is frustrating because the books are so well plotted.

The show is filmed in the Southwest, and the locations are beautiful.  It really captures the isolation of the reservation.

Season 1 is just six hour long episodes.  (Well, less than that without commercials.)

Since the other seasons are the same length, I am thinking I might continue on.  I am curious to see what they are going to do with these versions of the characters.  And maybe having my expectations low enough will help.  But I am not a fan of how season 1 of Dark Winds turned out.

Book Review: Two Truths and a Murder by Colleen Cambridge (Phyllida Bright Mysteries #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Solid characters and a compelling mystery…

Cons: …That takes a little bit to pull the reader in

The Bottom Line:

Witness to murder

But wrong sister is silenced

Hooked before the end

Truth: This is Another Good Mystery

I’ve set a rather heavy schedule of catching up on certain series earlier this year.  One of those was Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright series.  Now that I’ve read Two Truths and a Murder, I’m happy to say that I am up to date on the series…until the next book comes out in two months.

For those who haven’t discovered the series yet, Phyllida Bright is the housekeeper to Agatha Christie.  While the series is set in the undefined between the war period, Agatha is happily married to her second husband, and, based on the book she is writing, I’d say it’s the early part of the 1930’s.  Not that the exact year matters.

While the last book was set in London, Phyllida is back in the village of Listleigh, and happy to be home.  She is surprised when one of their neighbors comes to see her, insisting that Phyllida join a dinner party she is throwing as a guest.  She is hoping that Phyllida can help her solve a little mystery.

But this good dead finds Phyllida involved in a much larger mystery.  After dinner, Genevra, one of the other guests, insists the group plays the parlor game two truths and a lie.  And Genevra says that her “I’ve witnessed a murder” is true.  But it’s Genevra’s sister, Ethel, who doesn’t make it home from the party.  Was she the intended victim?  Or is Genevra is danger since the killer got the wrong sister?

The books in this series borrow set ups from Agatha’s books, and I was excited when I realized that this one was one of the few of her books I’ve read.  Of course, anyone familiar with Hallowe’en Party will spot differences in the set up and recognize that the plot goes off in a completely different direction pretty quickly.

I will say that I felt the book started out a little slowly.  But I did get hooked and was completely pulled into the story the further I got into the book.  We had some nice twists along the way, and the ending was completely logical when I got there.

The last book included a surprise in Phyllida’s life, and this book builds on what happened there well.  I’m liking where this series is taking Phyllida.  It’s not a major part of the book, but it is still nice to see things moving forward.  Of course, not everything has moved forward.  There’s one storyline I hope we see the end of next book.

But back to this story.  It’s filled with good characters, both returning and suspects.  They did a great job of keeping me guessing, and I enjoyed seeing all the returning characters again.  I really enjoy spending time with this group of characters.

As I hinted at earlier, those looking for a historical mystery with touches of real history in them will be disappointed.  But the details of the time period come to life for me, and I enjoyed my trip back almost 100 years.

Fans of Agatha Christie will especially enjoy this series.  But any fan of good mysteries will be glad they picked up Two Truths and a Murder.  And that’s no lie.

Enjoy the rest of the Phyllida Bright Mysteries.

Movie Review: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace

Stars: 1 out of 5

Pros: Um…some moments of late 80’s cheesy fun

Cons: Abrupt ending makes me not willing to forgive the film’s many flaws

The Bottom Line:

A lecture on peace

Film filled with late 80’s cheese

Feel free to skip

“Why Are There No Air Travel Expenses For You, Kent?”

Oh, I’d heard it was bad.  But, in my quest to watch all of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, I still felt the need to watch Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.  Actually, I didn’t think it was a complete waste until we reached the end.  But then I started thinking about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s bad.

This movie finds Clark Kent/Superman (Christopher Reeve) facing changes.  He’s selling his farm back in Smallville.  Meanwhile, The Daily Planet has been bought out by a publishing magnet (Sam Wanamaker) who focuses on tabloids.  The new publisher has put her daughter, Lacy (Mariel Hemingway) in charge of the paper, and she has a huge crush on Clark.  Meanwhile, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is still madly in love with Superman, but she has become friends with Clark.

Things start to really get going when a young boy writes to Superman, asking him to do something about nuclear war.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) escapes from prison with the help of his nephew Lenny (Jon Cryer) and starts plotting his revenge on Superman.

The movie is cheesy in a way that the first two movies aren’t.  I won’t deny that.  But, somehow, it feels a bit more on purpose than the tone I called out in Superman III.  Gene Hackman, especially, is having fun really playing it up.  Granted, his Lex was never exactly a super grounded, menacing villain.  But his attempt to fight Superman this time around, Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) does nothing for the film.  It’s almost painfully cheesy.  Still, I was willing to buy into it.

What I did have trouble swallowing was Superman’s sudden announcement that he’s going to rid the world of all their nuclear weapons.  Like that’s going to help at all.  People will just create new ones.  And, I guess what we were seeing was people going along with it as they shot them into space for him to collect?  That just seems odd as well.  I remember how big a concern nuclear war was in the 1980’s.  But this movie, instead of attempting to address it in a meaningful way, just falls back into wishful thinking.  Just proof that Hollywood using “entertainment” to lecture isn’t something new.

It was really hard to follow the world that these characters were living in, too.  Lois seemed to know Clark’s secret a few times.  And then, the next minute, she was as clueless as always.  Meanwhile, Lana Lang isn’t even mentioned despite the fact that she was supposed to be working at The Daily Planet at the end of the previous movie.

I’ve seen some complaints that the special effects are a step down from the first two films in the series.  I actually didn’t find that to be a problem.  My problem was, there are a ton more of them.  Superman fights Nuclear Man quite a bit in the second half of the film, with both of them flying in and out of the atmosphere.  There are entire sequences that are just them fighting.  All of that requires effects.  And the more effects there are, the worse it is going to look.  Not to mention, if you see the effects for 30 seconds vs. minutes on end.

I found the acting to be a bit uneven.  Clark and the crew at The Daily Planet were fine, and I bought their performances.  Lex Luthor and his cohort were over the top, really playing up the cheese.  Somehow, it worked for me.  I’d forgotten that Jon Cryer was in this movie as Lex’s nephew.  It’s fun since he would go on to turn in a fantastic performance as Lex in the recent Supergirl TV show on The CW.

Then there’s a scene where Superman and Clark are supposed to be on a double date.  It was a bit of mindless fun, but it went on far too long. 

Honestly, I was chalking some of this up to late 80’s cheese.  No, the movie wasn’t especially good, but when viewed through that lens, I was a little more willing to let it go.

Then we reach the ending, when the movie pretty much just stops.  I wish I were joking, but I’m not.  I’m unclear on how we permanently stopped Nuclear Man.  Not to mention how the person Superman rescued was even breathing in space.  I’m willing to buy Superman note needing to breathe, but a human?  Then, we get quick wrap ups to several storylines that make little sense and certainly weren’t set up by the earlier events of the film.  Not to mention how I found what lead to Superman’s recovery to be a cheap plot device even if it was set up early in the film.

A better ending would have let me chalk up the flaws with being a late 80’s movie.  But the rushed stop we get to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace makes me much less forgiving.  Yes, this pretty much is as bad as you’ve heard.  Don’t bother unless you feel the need to watch all of these movies.

August 16th's Sunday/Monday Post

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?

It's been a fairly quiet week around here.  Met my deadlines at work, which is always good.

It was cooler this week, which doesn't make me happy.  It's August!  It's supposed to be hot.  Our high on Wednesday was only 82!  That's autumn weather!!  But it's looking like we are going to hit the upper 90's this coming week.  That's more like it.

I went paddle boarding on Thursday this week, and I took a friend with me.  He borrowed a board from a friend of his.  The only downside was that I broke my pump's connector, so I'll need to buy a replacement.  Fortunately, it's just a part, not the whole thing.  Anyway, before and after the paddling, we hung out at his place for a bit.  Nice to spend time with his family.  We haven't hung out much in a few years.

Joke of the Week:

What does a clock do when it’s hungry?

It goes back four seconds.

(I know, I know, an oldie.)

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Jaws - The Revenge

Tuesday - Book Review: A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras by Ellen Byron

Wednesday - Ornament Review: Sandal the Sandman #5

Thursday - Book Review: Serving up the Truth by Debra Klein

Friday - Friday Post featuring City of Promises

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace

Tuesday - Book Review: Two Truths and a Murder by Colleen Cambridge

Wednesday - TBD

Thursday - Book Review: City of Promises by Victoria Thompson with Ellen Thompson

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I'm going to tell you about three books this week.

The first is an ARC.  Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding is the seventh Mrs. Claus Mystery from Liz Ireland.  If you've been around here very long, you know I adore this series, so I can't wait to dive in.  I'll be doing that soon since the book comes out the end of September.

The other two are ebook deals I snagged this week.  And these books are both still on sale as I'm typing this Saturday afternoon.

The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera is set in New York City with an immigrant taxi driver as the main character.  I'm not completely sure about it, but for $1.99, I was willing to take a chance.

I swear I bought Death and Croissants by Ian Moore at some point in the past.  But if I did, it wasn't on Amazon since they didn't tell me I'd bought it before.  So, when I saw that the book was on sale for $1.99, I snagged it.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I've barely started Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink.  I've been having a very lazy Saturday because I thought I would be further into it by now.  It's a historical mystery set in 1905 in San Francisco.  I'm looking forward to diving more into it.  The book itself comes out September 1st, and that's when I plan to review it, so I've got some time yet.

Have a great week!

August 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/9) – As a lover of Peter Pan, I don’t like seeing him turn up as a villain.  Again.  But I get it.  I mean, when you think about who he is and what he does, he’s not exactly the good guy.  And I did love their take on the legends with the various parts every played.  All in all, a fun episode.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro – Okay, I can kind of see why they broke the “rules” last week, but this week’s rules were very clear.  I just don’t get why they didn’t create a wow moment.  I was kind of expecting it to be a double elimination since we’ve got just a few weeks before partners are announced for the new season, but I guess not.  I was expecting them to be teaching at some point, so we’ll see where things go next week.

American Ninja Warrior – I really wish they wouldn’t mess the three groups together like this in the finals.  It makes it hard to follow who is doing what and racing whom.  At least it does for me.  But there were some exciting races tonight.  And a few surprises.

The Quiz with Balls – Wow, both teams lost lots of players early on.  But they managed to hold on for a bit.  Been a while since we saw an entire team get eliminated.  While I didn’t know a lot of the answers early on, ironically, I did know the answer to the question that ended the bonus round.  (Although “Steamboat Willie” was released first, so it was a very trick question.)

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/10) – I’d seen the title of the episode, but it still took me a minute to figure out that the cooking show was part of the episode and not the previous show running late.  I figured a couple of things out early on, but not all the twists.  As much as I complain about things being predictable at times, I do like the characters and I have fun going along for the ride with them.

The Challenge – Nice to see Gray not come in first (although I am rooting for them), but hard to see Blue lose a player again.  Yes, I am rooting for the underdog, even though I am not really a fan of any of the players on the team.  The first challenge with the boats looked like lots of fun.  That is, if I weren’t needing to get it finished to beat others.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe – I’m not quite sure what the segment in the Matrix was supposed to be about.  I’m sure that is a clue to what is really going on somehow.  This stop was just okay.  I’ve liked the last two better.  It was funny because I was thinking we hadn’t seen Amy yet.  I have a feeling we won’t see the three who were building the machine until the end, so I was thinking Amy would be a logical next cameo.

Press Your Luck – Whammie wasn’t very active in the beginning.  And all three of them had impressive totals.  He made up for it in the bonus round.  The contestant really didn’t seem to be able to build up much of a bank at any point.  I wasn’t too surprised when he got eliminated.

Anna Pigeon – The acting felt a little better, at least from the leads.  Still not the best show out there, but I am curious where they are going with the villain of the season, so I’ll stick around for that.  The main plot didn’t go anywhere near where I thought it would during the opening.  I thought the kids were going to find a victim.  Rather dark and depressing.  I found the parts with the eagle ironic since the famous one here in So Cal just died, sadly.  I know this was filmed a while ago, but the timing worked out poorly.

August 14th's Friday Post

It's Friday!  Time to celebrate with this week's Friday Post.  I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

My teasers for the first three will be coming from City of Promises by Victoria Thompson with Ellen Thompson.

This is officially book eight in the Counterfeit Lady series, but...well...let's just get to that first line.

Attorney Gideon Bates was looking forward to meeting his new client this morning. He knew Frank Malloy by reputation, but their paths had never crossed before.

Any fan of Victoria Thompson's series know what makes this special immediately.  Gideon Bates is from this series, but Frank Malloy is from the author's Gaslight Mysteries.  Yep, the book is a crossover, and I couldn't wait to dive into it.

Meanwhile, over on page 56, we find this:

"Sebastian sounds like he's perfect for you, thought," Elizabeth said. It wasn't entirely a lie. If he was an imposter, the person he was pretending to be did sound perfect for Catherine. But he couldn't keep up the charade forever.

Do we have an imposter?  I will leave it for you to find out.

My full review will be up next Thursday, but here's the teaser.  I enjoyed it.

Moving on to this week's Book Blogger Hop, here's the question:

Is there a book you keep coming back to, reading it more than once?

Not as much as I'd like; I have so many unread books calling my name.  But I do occasionally pick up a Trixie Belden book to revisit the characters.  And I enjoyed rereading Elizabeth George Speare's books last December.  And revisiting Mrs. Pollifax last spring was a treat.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Serving Up the Truth by Debra Klein (Amanda Knightly Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Amanda and the rest of the cast, a good mystery

Cons: Writing a little rough at the beginning, mystery could have been a little stronger

The Bottom Line:

A bad customer

Freeing a family friend

Overall it’s fun

When a Frustrating Customer Gets Murdered

I recently had the good fortunate to win a copy of Serving Up the Truth, the first in a series from Debra Klein, from the Chicks on the Case blog.  It sounded like fun, so I bumped it up my To Be Read mountain range.  And I’m glad I did.

The book introduces us to Amanda Knightly, who lives with her young adult children and her husband in Oak Hills, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  She works behind the deli counter of the local market, and she has earned a reputation for her excellent customer service.

Which is why the young lady frustrates her so much that afternoon.  She is arrogant and rude, taking her time despite the long line behind her before ultimately deciding to buy nothing.  Amanda does her best to shake it off, but she learns the next morning that the woman was murdered that night.  Then, one of her son’s close friends is arrested for the crime.  Amanda believes the young man is innocent, so she sets about trying to figure out what really happened.  Can she do it?

This book is a first novel, and the first couple of chapters show it.  I get it.  It’s really hard to introduce characters and relationships smoothly. The limited attempts at writing I’ve done have run into the same issue.  Fortunately, once the mystery gets going, things do smooth out.

I was pulled into the case pretty quickly.  Amanda found some solid suspects.  I did figure a couple of things out early on, but I was still entertained on my way to the logical climax.

So many cozies have similar set ups, so this one was refreshing.  Amanda is a happily married middle aged woman with two kids in their early to mid-twenties.  All of them are good characters, and we meet some other fun series regulars.  I’d definitely be interested in visiting them again.

I’m glad I prioritized reading Serving Up the Truth.  This is a debut that introduces us to a great town I hope we get to visit again.

Ornament Review: Sandal the Sandman #5 - A Christmas Trees of Shells - 2026 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Classy looking and creative final entry

Cons: A bit monochromatic; noticeable tilt

The Bottom Line:

Building a shell tree

As series comes to an end

Have warm memories

Sandal Sadly Says Goodbye with Another Tree

I wasn’t surprised when Hallmark announced that this year would be the last for the Sandal the Sandman ornament series.  While I have really enjoyed the series, it’s beach theme was going to be a hard sell for a lot of people.  But I do love the symmetry since it goes out with Sandal creating another tree.

As the name implies, the series has featured a beach twist on the classic Christmas character.  Instead of a snowman, we have a sandman.  Sandal wears a blue and white striped scarf (or is that a beach towel?) and a wide beach hat.  And he has beach friends.  In this case, Sandal is joined by a turtle.

The first year, Sandal was decorating a palm tree to get in the Christmas spirit.  This year, he’s creating a tree, but it’s out of beach shells.  It’s white and gold and in a traditional Christmas tree shape.  And he’s putting a star fish on the top.

The animals in this series have always been a bit cartoony, and that holds true of the turtle in this ornament.  It’s also one of the few splashes of color.  The ornament is very white between the sand and the majority of the shells being a silver color.

But I do like it.  It is very classy looking and such a fun twist on the traditional Christmas images.  As a Southern California resident, it’s these little touches that I’ve been enjoying for the entire series.  Again, I get that not everyone would like it, but I love it.

As always, the ornament features a nice flat base, so the ornament can be put out for display on any flat surface if you want to add it to a scene.  You’ll also find the 5 in a Christmas tree on the bottom.

The ornament does tip a little to the right, which isn’t a surprise given where the loop is.  I wonder why it wasn’t shifted a bit to the right to help balance things.  Maybe the hat brim isn’t as strong as I’m thinking it is.

I do wish this series had gotten to go on longer, but I’m glad that Hallmark tried something different with it.  Sandal’s fans will be happy with this last entry in the series.

Warm up with the rest of the Sandal the Sandman ornaments.

Book Review: A Murderer’s Guide to Mardi Gras by Ellen Byron (Vintage Cookbook Mysteries #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters, plenty of Mardi Gras atmosphere, and a great ending

Cons: While plenty happens, the mystery’s pacing could be better

The Bottom Line:

Join Mardi Gras krewe

Is it hiding a killer?

A fun mystery

Did Ricki Join a Krewe with a Killer?

Normally, I try to spread out books by authors, even favorite authors.  But when one of those favorite authors has two books in two series from two publishers coming out back-to-back, I easily make an exception.  So, I picked up A Murderer’s Guide to Mardi Gras just a couple of weeks after reading another book by Ellen Byron.

This is book five in the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries.  As you might have guessed from the title of the book, it is set in New Orleans.  It features Ricki James-Diaz who has recently moved to the city from Los Angeles and has opened a vintage cookbook and kitchenware store inside Bon Vee, one of the historic mansions in the city.  While you can jump in here and follow the story, there are some ongoing storylines you’ll enjoy more if you back up to the first book and read the series in order.

As this book kicks off, Mardi Gras season has hit the city.  It’s the first since Ricki moved, and she’s gotten caught up in the fever.  It helps that her boyfriend, celebrated chef Virgil Morel, is being named the king of the Krewe of Chew, so many of their friends from Bon Vee are jumping into this particular krewe.  Of course, that means more parties and events leading up to their actual parade than Ricki bargained for.

The captain of the krewe is an egotistical bully.  And those are his good qualities.  After leaving one of the events, Ricki and Virgil stumble upon his dead body.  The victim’s wife is the police’s prime suspect, but Ricki has become friends with the woman, and she doesn’t believe it.  The problem is, the number of suspects in the krewe are numerous.  Can Ricki figure out what really happened?

Let’s get my criticism of the book out of the way.  This is a prime example of a book where a lot happens, but the mystery’s pacing was off.  Now, hear me carefully, I was being entertained and I had lots of fun.  And I loved the climax when we reached it.  Things came together in a way that made perfect sense.

I knew only the bare minimum about Mardi Gras going into this book, but that wasn’t an issue at all.  Since Ricki is also a novice, she is learning right along with us.  I have a much greater appreciation for all the work that goes on behind the scenes for the many, many events that happen during the season now.  And yes, the story does continue to unfold around these events.  After all, the murder involves Ricki’s new krewe.

There’s a large cast of characters, so the list at the beginning of the book is helpful.  A few of the series characters take a back seat, but the ones who do get to take a front seat are plenty of fun.  We also meet some charming, quirky, and mysterious new suspects who are entertaining.

And the ongoing storylines I mentioned?  I liked how one in particular developed here.  I felt like Ricki especially got some chances to grow, and we saw another character in a new light as a result of what happens in this book.

A Murderer’s Guide to Mardi Gras is another entertaining cozy from Ellen Byron.  Whether you are new to Mardi Gras or an old hand, you’ll be glad you picked up this book.

Enjoy the rest of the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

I'm reviewing this book are part of a blog tour.  Check out the rest of the tour stops by visiting the tour's home page.

And don't miss the tour wide giveaway.

Movie Review: Jaws - The Revenge

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Acting

Cons: Just about everything else

The Bottom Line:

Shark stalks family

Film mostly ridiculous

Feel free to skip

The Jaws Franchise Goes Out with a … Roar?

I’d heard it was bad. But I still wanted to see for myself just how bad Jaws: The Revenge is. Maybe my expectations were low because I thought it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Not saying it is great, either. 

We start up in Amity where a tragedy befalls the Brody family, leaving widow Ellen (Lorraine Gary) grieving over her second loss. Her son, Michael (Lance Guest), invites her to go with his family back to the Bahamas where he is conducting research on sea snails. 

Ellen agrees to go, even meeting the charming pilot Hoagie (Michael Caine) along the way. But she is certain that a great white shark is stalking her family. At least it seems crazy….

The movie is set around Christmas, which left me scratching my head. I wonder if that was the original release day, and it got moved. I mean, it just doesn’t seem like this franchise would fit into the Christmas season. 

So, where do issues with the move start?

First, let’s talk about the lack of continuity with the previous movie. Michael is suddenly a biologist instead of an engineer of some kind? Honestly, I don’t mind so much that we’ve got our fourth actor playing the character. I kind of expect it at this point. 

Then there’s the premise of a shark with a vendetta being out for revenge. I know animals are smart. But that smart? As smart as the plot requires it to be? Please. Not to mention the travel involved. 

On the other hand, I will give this shark credit - it only goes after its targets. Some of the killers in slashers should learn from this shark and leave the extra characters alone. 

Of course, horror fans will complain that the body count is low, and they do have a bit of a point. Especially with the ending I saw. Apparently, there are two endings to the film, and I’m going with the slightly happier one since it is the one I saw. 

And that’s one of the other flaws with this film, the tone. Even for a creature feature horror movie, this is a dismal movie. I get it considering how the movie opens, but the sad tone keeps it from being enjoyable. 

Now, this isn’t to blame the actors. They are doing the best they can with the material they have. And Lorraine’s performance is phenomenal. 

Back to what doesn’t work. There’s the script. For the plot to work, Michael has to be incredibly stupid. I mean, anyone with a brain and all his family has been through would never go along with what he agrees to here. 

Not to mention some improbable escapes. 

There are a couple of suspenseful scenes, but the rest of the movie is so crazy that we can’t take them seriously. 

Finally, can we talk about the roar? Yes, the shark roars during the climax. Now, I’m not a biologist, and I know some animals can make noise when you don’t expect them do, but this seems a little silly. Then again, I don’t have any issue with the metallic sound effect the knife makes in the Scream movies when it is pulled out, so I’m willing to turn a blind eye when I love a franchise.

The special effects are okay. A few don’t hold up, but a few of the scenes are quite effective. 

I can’t say the same for the opening. It’s so dark, it’s hard to follow. And, honestly, that character deserved better. 

Jaws: The Revenge is on par with the third movie for me. Unless you are a diehard fan of the franchise, there’s no reason to watch it.

August 9th's Sunday/Monday Post

Hello there!  I'm so glad you could join me for this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  As always, I will be linking up to:

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

I really don't have much to report of excitement this week.  It continues to be hot, which is lovely for August.  Month end close went well at work.  I went paddle boarding on Friday after work.  Just another typical week.

Saturday was my friends' monthly game day.  It was a memorable one.  We found a week about a couple of hours into it, so we had to fill some buckets with water, and then shut off the water.  Not that it kept us from staying and playing games.  I won one early on, but after that didn't come close.  Still, it was lots of fun.

With nothing else to talk about, let's get to it.

Joke of the Week:

What kind of tree fits in your hand?

A palm tree.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Talking God by Tony Hillerman

Tuesday - Book Review: A Taste for Murder by Matt Baker

Wednesday - Movie Review: A Prince in Paradise - A Royal Wedding

Thursday - Book Review: Hell Hath No Fury by Annette Dashofy

Friday - Friday Post featuring A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Jaws - The Revenge

Tuesday - Book Review: A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras by Ellen Byron

Wednesday - Ornament Review: Sandal the Sandman #5

Thursday - Book Review: Serving up the Truth by Debra Klein

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I'm back to my usual book buying habits this week with four books.  One of those was a preorder and rest were ebook sales.

The preorder is Probable Caws, the latest from Donna Andrews.  This is book 39 in her Meg Langslow series, and yes, the titles are always bird puns.  Obviously, I'm a fan if I'm this far into the series.  I'm looking forward to getting to this one soon.

Now, for those ebook sales.  All of these were books I've had my eye on, so when the prices dropped, I jumped on it.

The first is A Spoonful of Gunpowder by Katherine H. Brown. It's described as a Steampunk Mary Poppins inspired cozy mystery.  I'm very curious what that is.  So, when it was on sale Thursday, I snagged it.  It looks like it is back to regular price, which is $3.99 for the ebook.

Next up is The Campervan Detectives by Maeve Haran.  I keep collecting these camping themed cozies, and then I don't read them.  I really need to go about fixing that at some point.  Anyway, this one went on sale for 99 cents, so I got it.  Looks like it is still that price as of Saturday, when I'm typing this.

Finally, we have Caught on Camera, the first Camera Club Mystery from Kara Lacey.  It's been on my radar for a while, and when it dropped to 99 cents (still on sale as of me typing this), I picked it up.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I just finished City of Promises by Victoria Thompson with Ellen Thompson.  Yes, this was the one new book I got last week.  I told you I was looking forward to it.  I enjoyed it, too.  I've got to get a couple of reviews written, including this one.  But I should be posting a review soon.

That means, I've just started Harrowed Heir, the next Court of Mystery novel from Sarah E. Burr.  I've barely started it, in fact, but I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to the characters in this book.

Have a great week!

August 8th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Only one week of shows, but there sure are a lot of them now.  It's going to be a busy August leading into the fall season.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/2) – Two episodes a week, these 10 episodes will all air in August.  That aside, I’m sure we aren’t supposed to trust Merlin, but it will be interesting to see if he’s the big bad or not.  Fun to see Dominic Monaghan popping up here.  I did like their confessions.  I felt it took the character development a little deeper than we often get on the show.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro – I wasn’t too surprised at who went home.  Or who else was in the bottom two.  Seems like bending the rules almost didn’t pay off, and Shirley is definitely the Len of this show.  I do feel sorry for the couple that went home.  I know there can only be one winner, but I really want everyone to succeed at this point.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/3) – They had a preview from this one last week from the chase scene near the end of the episode.  It was nice to see it in context and see how they overcame it.  Pretty clever episode and fun overall.  I do wish (and yes, I know how ironic that is to say for this episode) that they weren’t quite so obvious with the character development.  Still, that’s a minor complaint.

American Ninja Warrior – Not sure I have too much to say.  Nice to see Barclay hit a buzzer.  Glad Daniel Gill is moving on.  And nice for the Folsoms to get all three family members to the finals.

The Challenge – I wasn’t expecting two episodes.  I wish they would remind us who the people are as well as which team they are on.  Not that I knew too many of the new players this season.  Is it too early to say we have a dominant team?  It seems we have one, but it will be interesting to see if that holds.  Just glad Bananas didn’t get sent home first.  Yes, I know he’s considered a villain, but I like the guy.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe – Another member of the original cast pops up.  And what a fun twists with her.  Yes, a bit predictable, but still fun.  Also loved the other cameo.  Not sure I like what they are doing with Denise, but we’ll see how it plays out.

Press Your Luck – What a rollercoaster!  From no Whammies in the early parts to losing it all at the end because of all those extra spins.

Anna Pigeon – I’ve never read these books but always been curious about them, so I thought I’d give the show a chance.  I was surprised that the show had a mystery of the week.  I assumed we’d be solving this one mystery over the course of the season, so I expected more.  The scenery is beautiful.  But overall, I wasn’t that impressed.  I found the writing and acting painful at times, and this is coming from a Hallmark channel watcher.  Hopefully, it will work itself out as the season goes along.

August 7th's Friday Post

We've made it to Friday!  Time for this week's Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

This week, I will be pulling quotes for the first three from A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras by Ellen Byron.

Yes, I've got two books from Ellen Byron pretty close together.  But they are from two different series and two different publishers and they wound up coming out back to back, so here we are.

Anyway, this is book five in her Vintage Cookbook Mysteries.  And here's how it begins:

For Ricki James-Diaz, one of the best aspects of her job as proprietor of Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop was seeing the emotional reaction when a customer came upon an item that had special meaning for them.

Nothing to mysterious or suspenseful about that opening, but it does bring a smile to my face.

Meanwhile, at 56% into the ARC, we've got this quote:

Cookie yawned. “I’m done.” She crossed her arms and placed them on the counter, then closed her eyes and rested her head on her arms.
“Hint taken.”

It wasn't the easiest scene to find a quote from since there are some spoilers, but I found this exchange fun.

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

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

Do you see yourself more as an editor, a writer, or just a reader?

I'm just a reader.  And I've had discussions with writers when I say that.  They like to point out that readers are important since they buy the books authors are writing.  I don't mean it in a negative way.  Writers are readers AND writers.  Editors are editors AND readers.  So, when I say I'm just a reader, I'm saying that I don't have another title in the literary world.

And on that note, I'm out.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Book Review: Hell Hath No Fury by Annette Dashofy (Detective Honeywell Mysteries #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and a compelling mystery

Cons: One of the subplots was weak

The Bottom Line:

Helping family

Murder complicates the trip

Another great book

Clearing Emma’s Friend of Murder

When I read book four of Annette Dashofy’s Detective Honeywell Mysteries last year, I thought that the ending set up book five, Hell Hath No Fury.  It’s always nice to be right.  It’s also always nice to have a new book in this series since you know you are in for a good mystery.

The series focuses on Detective Matthias Honeywell and crime reporter Emma Anderson.  The two met in book one, and, at this point in the series, they’ve started dating.

The first four books in the series have been set in Erie, Pennsylvania, but this book moves the action to Washington County, where Emma grew up.  Both Emma and Matthias are on leave from their jobs to recover from their injuries from the previous book, so when Emma’s best friend, Eric, calls saying that Emma’s drug addict sister, Nell, has come home, Emma and Matthias take off to help.  But it isn’t long before Emma’s sister gives them the slip again, and the developer who is trying to get his hands on Emma’s family property turns up murdered.  With Eric the prime suspect and Matthias well outside his jurisdiction, can he help?  Or will his efforts make things worse for everyone?

This book doesn’t contain any true spoilers for the previous book, but it does contain plenty of references to it.  I mean, it starts within a day or two of that book ending, so it makes sense.  So, if you are at all interested in this series, I highly recommend you at least start there.  And, let’s be honest, Annette’s books are so good once you start, you’ll want to read them all, so you might as well go back to the beginning.

While this might be the Detective Honeywell series, Emma is as much a main character as Matthias is.  As always, the two trade being the point of view character for the entire book, which is always used to wonderful effect to fully tell the story.

Since we were going to Emma’s childhood home, I thought she would get the majority of the character development, but that wasn’t the case.  While she certainly got her time in the spotlight, Matthias also got his moments to shine.  Eric and Nell have popped up in the past, and it was nice to really spend some time with them.  While that maybe it for returning characters with any significant page time, the new characters we meet along the way help pull us into the story.

I did find one of the subplots weak, but that’s my only complaint with the book.  As always, the main mystery is great.  I was confused as to what was going on and why until I reached the suspenseful climax. 

This is a police procedural, so keep that in mind when you pick up the book.  As long as you go in with your expectations set appropriately, you’ll be fine.

Hell Hath No Fury is another page turning read from Annette Dashofy.  Her fans will be delighted to pick it up.  If you aren’t already reading her books, you’ll want to fix that today.

Here are the rest of the Detective Honeywell Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: A Royal Wedding - A Prince in Paradise III

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Nice caper to a fun trilogy

Cons: Plot could have been more original; low-budget cheese

The Bottom Line:

A wedding on hold

Revisiting characters

Who are still charming

Will Politics Stop a Wedding?

When I was perusing Great American Family movies a few years ago, I stumbled on A Prince in Paradise, and immediately fell under its charm.  I was there to watch the Christmas themed sequel that aired in 2024.  And I’ve been keeping my eyes opened for the promised third movie, A Royal Wedding.  It was exactly what I expected, which means I enjoyed it.

If you haven’t been following the franchise, romance writer Olivia (Rhiannon Fish) met Prince Alexander of Trovia (Mitchell Bourke) while both were vacationing on a tropical island.  Despite the differences in their stations in life, they fell in love, getting engaged at Christmas.  Now, the time has come for them to finally wed, and they and their families are thrilled the day has arrived.

But not everyone is happy about it.  One of the lords of Trovia has rallied a few other nobility to invoke a little-known law and stop the wedding the night before it is to take place.  While Alexander’s mother, Queen Patricia (Andrea Moor), attempts to find a legal way to get the wedding back on track, Olivi and Alexander take their own paths to overcome the obastcle.  Will the couple ever get married?

It would have been nice to see them come up with some kind of new obstacle for the couple here since this has been a theme in the first two movies.  And, I get it, this is a real issue for royals over the centuries.  But I feel like they could have found something new to threaten the wedding.

Because, let’s face it, we know where this movie is going to wind up.  It’s right there in the movie’s title.  And it’s what we’d expect from a light romance.  I suspected the how, but I didn’t mind because I was enjoying hanging out with the characters again as they tried to figure things out.  And yes, I might have shed a tear or two.

And this is due to the characters.  They continue to be charming.  I loved getting to spend time with them again.

Obviously, this is due to the acting from the cast.  They bring their characters to life wonderfully and make us want to see what happens in this next chapter.

Now, this isn’t to say the movie (and franchise) don’t suffer from low-budget cheese.  If that bothers you, you’ll want to steer clear.  But if you can accept that, you’ll have fun with these films.

With how this movie ends, I feel like we are saying goodbye to the characters.  I do feel like this is a good place to stop because I feel good about where we left the characters.  But if they decided to revisit Olivia and Alexander, I’d certainly watch.

A Royal Wedding is a fun ending to the A Prince in Paradise trilogy.  Fans will definitely want to tune in to see how it ends.

Book Review: A Taste for Murder by Matt Baker

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Great writing and characters

Cons: Needed a better focus

The Bottom Line:

Grieving detective

Solving a case on Capri

Needed to focus

Two Books in One, and It Shows

When I was looking at upcoming book, A Taste for Murder caught my eye.  Not only did the title sound like a book I would pick up and enjoy, but the author’s name helped.  Matt Baker may not be related to me at all, but the name caught my eye.  I wasn’t sure about the book, but I decided to give it a shot.

The book introduces us to DCI Joe Mottram.  He’s leaving behind his native England and his job as a detective to spend the summer with his teenage daughter and his in-laws in Capri.  He’s hoping that the time will help him reconnect with his daughter and help him deal with the grief of losing his wife.

But then an English business woman falls of a cliff.  Mottram is brought in as a consultant since the victim’s father is powerful.  While at first it looks like an accident or a suicide, there are things that don’t add up for Mottram.  Can he figure out what is going on?

Despite the title, this isn’t a cozy but a police procedural, and includes the things that go along with that subgenre.  I was half expecting that when I picked up the book, so it wasn’t a big surprise to me.

My problem with this book is that it tried to do too much.  We get the story from three different points of view – Mottram, his daughter, Angelica, and the local detective that Mottram winds up partnering with, Lara Sarrancino.  That’s at least one perspective too many.  The issue is that Angelica gets her own storyline, which is one of the weakest aspects of the book and often slows things down.

While focusing on Mottram would help, the book still can’t quite decide what it wants to be.  Is it a mystery?  Or is it a story about dealing with grief?  They are both given equal weight.  Honestly, I was pulled into them, but the switches in focus were a bit jarring.  And the climax of the grief storyline is short changed.

Most of the characters are strong, which is what helped pull me into the story.  One, however, gets a twist part way through that was not handled well at all.

The mystery itself was solid, with plenty of twists and complications on the way to the logical climax.  Not all the twists surprised me, however, since the book leaned into cliches a few times.

While this is a police procedural, Mottram’s in-laws run a popular restaurant, so the culinary scenes are numerous and made me hungry as I read.

I’ve picked up a few books recently where the narration summarizes conversations for us, and this is another of them.  We’d be in a scene where we’d get a direct quote from one character, a summary if how the other person responded, and then a direct quote again.  It was weird and pushed me out of the book.

The book ends with a cliffhanger involving Mottram’s personal life and I just didn’t care.  I won’t be back for a second book with these characters.

Looking at reviews, I seem to be in the minority on A Taste for Murder.  I’m not sorry I read it, but it needed another edit to really polish what was there.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.