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.