Memorial Day Weekend's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to the middle part of the weekend if you are here in the USA.  Time for a Sunday Post.  I will be linking up to:

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

It was another fairly quiet week for me.  Work was pretty busy trying to get things ready for quarter end close, which starts when we get back on Tuesday.  It's going to be a long, busy couple of weeks.  It's not off to a great start as some of things I tried to get a jump on Friday didn't happen since our accounting software didn't want to run them.  I logged in Saturday morning, and it still wasn't working right.  Doesn't bode well for next week, does it?  Fortunately, everything else was working, at least Friday.

I'm still stopped up from my cold, but other than that, I feel fine.  I just need my nose to stop running.

Friday night, I went down to a pick up ultimate Frisbee game.  I was debating about going for a couple of reasons - traffic coming home (which didn't turn out to be much worse than normal) and my shoulder.  And sure enough, I felt my shoulder as I was running on the field and as I tried to catch the disc several times.  I was afraid I had made it worse.  And yet, when I got home, I noticed that it was actually feeling better.  Same things Saturday.  I'm hoping that I've turned a corner on it and it will be completely healed in a couple of days.  And I guess this means I don't have an excuse to not exercise now, so maybe I should get back to that.

Blog Spam Comment of the Week:

I've been meaning to add this section to my posts for a while - a chance to highlight and mock a spam comment that especially amused me for some reason.  No, these aren't found on my blog, thanks for my spam filter.  I will be leaving out any identifying details so they hopefully don't get any added publicity.  I'm just doing this for a laugh.

This won't be a regular feature, just something I do from time to time when I have something I want to laugh about.  Although I do have several saved up since I've been meaning to do this with for a while.

Today's spam comment:

Glad I found this article. I can use this on my virtual assistance journey. Keep writing helpful articles like this one. I'll definitely visit this blog

What makes this one so amusing?  It was on a potato chip review.  I'm not sure how that can be used on a virtual assistant journey.  I'm not even sure it was that helpful.  Fun?  Yes.  Amusing?  Probably.  So yes, I laughed when I read it.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Southern Ghost by Carolyn Hart

Tuesday - Movie Review: Carrot Cake Murder

Wednesday - Book Review: Murder at the Marina by Janet Finsilver

Thursday - Podcast Review: Guns, Knives, and Lipstick

Friday - Friday Post Featuring Passport to Spy

Friday - Book Review: Tough Luxe by Diane Vallere

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post
Monday - Disney Pin Review: The Jungle Cruise - Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction
Tuesday - Book Review: Murder at Sea by Various Authors
Wednesday - May Reading Summary
Thursday - Book Review: Passport to Spy by Nancy Cole Silverman
Friday - Friday Post featuring Hot Pot Murder
Friday - Movie Review: Million Dollar Mermaid
Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

We've got us another three book week this week.

I mean, how can you argue with free?  That's how I got two of my books this week.  The first of those was a physical book I won from Lesa's Book Critiques.  If you don't read her blog regularly, she hosts giveaways most Fridays, and I won Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump from her.  This is the second in the Cocktails and Catering Mysteries.  I have the first on my Kindle app, which obviously I need to get read now.

(If you aren't a regular at Lesa's, she also hosts a weekly "What We Are Reading" thread on Thursdays that is fun to contribute to.)

Meanwhile, a book I'd been eyeing went free for Kindle.  How can you resist that?  I certainly couldn't, so I got Bowled Over Americano by Carolyn Arnold.  It's the first in a series, and it sounds fun.  That's all I know about it at the moment.

Finally, Diane Vallere put Love Me or Grieve Me on sale.  This is the tenth in her Madison Night series, and it's on sale as she gets ready to release the eleventh here pretty soon.  I'm still behind but catching up (book eight in the series is on deck for July), but I must get a book when it's on sale.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm working on Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow.  This is the second in her LA Night Market series.  I had hoped to be further along in it by now, but I am definitely enjoying it.  I just need to sit down and devote some time to helping her characters figure out what is going on.

Up next will be Murder on Madison Square by Victoria Thompson.  I'm so close to getting caught up in the series, and I'm looking forward to revisiting these characters.  It's also my only non-ARC that I will be physically reading for June.  Normally, I try to have a 50/50 mix, but June just had too many new books coming out.  (Well, I'm hoping to work in a middle grade fantasy book, but we will see if I have enough time for that to happen or not.)

Have a great rest of your weekend and a great week!

May 27th's Weekly TV Thoughts

The last of my regular season finales were this week.  But I've got a couple of scripted shows running through the end of June.  After that, who knows when I'll have a scripted show to talk about here thanks to the writer's strike.

Race to Survivor: Alaska - I paid attention this time, and it looks like they leave them in camp for about a week between legs.  Wow, that’s a long time.  Or at least they did this time.  I knew this leg would be much more intense since the easy teams were all gone.  I honestly figured it would be the father/son or the brother/sister who were in last.  But the brother/sister are in first right now.  Father/son could still be eliminated, but I think it will be closer than it looked at one point.  It’s hard to tell since the teams have gotten separated.  Of course, there’s still a long ways to go.

Superman & Lois – I know I say this every week, but wow!  The relationships on this show are so strong.  I absolutely love how they are writing the characters.  John could use a swift kick upside the head, but I do understand where he is coming from.  In fact, I loved how both of the kids pointed out where their dads were out of line in ways they could understand.  Not happy about them sneaking around.  But the stuff between Lois and Clark and between Lana and Lois were outstanding.

Gotham Knights – Such great character stuff in this episode as they moved the story forward.  But those cliffhangers?  I mean, what’s happening with Turner?  And what did the video Harvey was watching mean?  I sure thought he was guilty.  Can’t wait until next week.

The Flash – Yes, there were moments I liked.  But overall, this left me feeling pretty blah.  Kind of last the last few seasons.  And seriously, that’s how we defeat the villain?  I’ll miss what the show was, but not what it was the last few seasons.

Survivor – I think, of the five left, Yam Yam was at the bottom of my list.  I actually thought that Carson had a good shot if he made it to the end.  I’m curious to see how he would have done.  But, after listening to the jury, I completely get why they voted for him so overwhelmingly.  And, I’ve got to see, it was nice to see an alliance stick with each other to the very end.  I can’t remember the last time we saw that on Survivor.  Plus, they were so the underdog so early on, too.  I honestly thought that Caroline would be out early (until Jeff talked her up on the podcast), but I was impressed with how well she really did.  And the fact that she wasn’t annoying to me like I thought she would be early on.

Book Review: Tough Luxe by Diane Vallere (Samantha Kidd #11)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Characters, humor, fun premise

Cons: The plot doesn’t hold together in the end

The Bottom Line:

Clearing an old friend

It leaves too many questions

Sam and co still great

Twists of the Pretzel, but a Bit Empty Overall

Even though I’m reading Diane Vallere books every other month, I’m alternating series, so it’s been a while since I sat down to read a Samantha Kidd book.  I was looking forward to catching up with her in Tough Luxe.  Unfortunately, the book didn’t satisfy like I had hoped.

Those familiar with the series will know that Samantha Kidd has had a spotty employment history since she returned to her home town of Ribbon, Pennsylvania.  She’s recently landed a job writing a fashion column for the local paper.  Since Samantha has spent her entire career as a fashion buyer, that’s a great fit.

But she’s not the kind of reporter to go after breaking news, so that’s why she almost ignores an invite to visit Suzy Kintz.  Samantha and Suzy were friendly acquaintances in high school.  Suzy was the daughter of one of the local pretzel makers, and as such had a trust fund.  However, just a few years after they graduated from high school, Suzy was convicted of killing her husband and sent to jail for life.

Now, almost twenty years later, there’s been some new evidence that might exonerate Suzy.  With Samantha’s reputation for solving crimes, Suzy asks her to look into what really happened all those years ago.  Will Samantha be able to clear Suzy?

Since I enjoy the series, I sat down with anticipation, and quickly got caught up in Samantha’s world.  The case had quite a few twists and turns, and I enjoyed watching Samantha try to figure out exactly what was going on.

However, when I reached the end, I was left with some pretty major questions.  One of those questions I had been pondering since the very beginning.  The others came about based on the ultimate solution.  It left me with several things that didn’t make sense to me.  There was also a timeline issue near the beginning that bugged me.

And then there is a sub-plot involving Samantha and her husband that had me cringing.  I knew it was going to go wrong as soon as Samantha came up with the idea.  At this one did allow for some great character development.

That’s definitely the thing that I still enjoyed was spending time with Samantha and the other regulars.  Samantha continues to grow, and I enjoy watching that, even if the mechanism for it made me cringe.  These are great characters, and fans of the series will enjoy spending time with them.

If you know the series, the idea of a book about a pretzel heiress is pretty much on brand.  There is plenty of humor, and Samantha is a junk food junkie.  Between the two, this makes perfect sense.

And this book still had plenty of humor.  I laughed several times and grinned plenty of others.

Fans of the series will still want to catch up with Samantha in Tough Luxe.  If you haven’t yet met Samantha, I recommend you start with an earlier book in the series.

Here are the rest of the Samantha Kidd Mysteries.

May 26th's Friday Post Featuring Passport to Spy

Welcome to another Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

This week, for the first three, I will be featuring Passport to Spy by Nancy Cole Silverman.

This is the second book in her new Kat Lawson Mystery series.  I finished it earlier this week, and I loved it.

The book jumps right to the action.  Take a look at this opening:

As a journalist, I know better than to insert myself into the center of a news story. Especially when reporting on a murder.

That gets your attention, right?  Meanwhile, at 56% into the ARC, we find this:

“Viktor threatened to murder my mother if I didn’t help him. And if I went to the police or said anything to Hans or Erika about him, I’d disappear.”

I realize I'm not giving too much context for these quotes or anything about the book.  But I don't think the quotes need them.  They are great teasers all on their own.

As I said earlier, I loved this book.  It's official release day is June 6th, but my review will be up June 1st.  So, I hope you'll come back next Thursday to see what I thought about it.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at this week's Book Blogger Hop:

Are you reading more e-books lately?

I do feel like I'm edging that way lately.  I only wound up with two physical books in May, and I'll only have three in June.  I like to try to mix it up and be about half and half each month.  Hopefully, I can get back to that in July.

That's it for me this week.  Have a great weekend, especially those of us in the USA who get a long weekend.

Podcast Review: Guns, Knives, and Lipstick

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Interesting talk about writing and author interviews

Cons: Nothing major from me

The Bottom Line:

An author podcast

That readers will enjoy, too

So listen today

Discussing Crime Writing

I’ve slowly started listening to more podcasts.  Not too many since I can’t keep up with most of the ones I listen to since I’m working from home and don’t have that drive to listen to them.  Still, there are several I am really enjoying, and one of those is Guns, Knives, and Lipstick.

This podcast is released once a month, and it features four women who write crime fiction, Liz Milliron, Mally Becker, Kerry Peresta, and C. L. Tolbert.

The podcast is nearing the end of its second year.  (I know, I know, I’ve been putting off this review for a while.  Although, in my defense, I didn’t start listening to it when it first premiered.)  In season 1, the four authors tackled a different subject each month from characters to plot to building suspense to sustaining a series.  Typically, it was the four of them chatting about the topic, although they did bring in a guest to help them with the topic a couple of times.

This last year, they switched things up, and each month the four of them interview an author about their books, their writing process, and anything else that comes up.  These conversations can be free flowing at times, but they are always fun and fascinating.

I don’t know if there are any plans to switch up the format again for the third season, but either way, I’ve enjoying listening to the episodes.  Even though I’m a reader, not an author, I still found myself thinking about what they shared in season 1 and analyzing the books I read a little differently as a result.  Season two has found me adding more books to my to be read mountain range.  I haven’t gotten to any of them yet, but I really want to.

They only release one episode a month, so this won’t stack up on you too quickly, and if you start listening to the archives, you’ll catch up before you know it.

If you are looking for a new podcast on writing, I recommend you give Guns, Knives, and Lipstick a try.

Book Review: Murder at the Marina by Janet Finsilver (Kelly Jackson #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Charming characters, interesting premise

Cons: Abrupt ending could have been stronger

The Bottom Line:

Dagger on a boat

Opens intriguing story

Characters we love

Heritage Festival Brings Murder

One thing I love about a series is the chance for supporting players to step to the forefront.  In the Kelly Jackson series, we’ve met brothers Ivan and Rudy before, but they really got a chance to shine in Murder at the Marina, the fifth book in the series.

If you are new to the series, Kelly Jackson runs the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast in Northern California.  Since arriving in the fictional town of Redwood Cove, she has stumbled into several mysteries that she’s solved along with a local group of seniors who have dubbed themselves the Silver Sentinels.  Ivan and Rudy are part of this group, so when they find themselves in trouble, everyone is ready to jump in to help.

It all begins when a dagger is found on Ivan and Rudy’s boat covered in what looks like blood.  No one seems to know how it got there, but the brothers recognize it right away as part of a set that had been in the family before they came to America, fleeing the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.

Meanwhile, the annual Russian Heritage Festival is coming soon, and the committee is having more than its usual share of squabbles.  At the center of all the commotion is the owner of the new Russian merchandise store in town.  When he turns up dead on Ivan and Rudy’s boat, things really heat up.  Can Kelly and the rest of the Silver Sentinels figure out what is going on.

If you read my reviews regularly, you know I’m a timeline guy.  I do have to question just how old Ivan and Rudy are supposed to be given the history we get here.  But in this case, it’s more a lingering question than anything I truly cared about.

I was hooked on the story within a few pages.  The premise was extremely intriguing.  The plot kept me engaged the entire time, with several good twists that I enjoyed.  Unfortunately, the climax was rather abrupt.  It does answer all our questions, but it was weaker than it could have been.

There is quite a large cast of characters here, and I loved getting to spend time with all of them again.  Yes, the suspects are appropriately shady, but the rest of the cast are completely wonderful.  That includes the police, who do question Rudy and Ivan, as they should, but suspect that something else is going on.  I always appreciate it when the police aren’t quick to assume someone they know has suddenly become a criminal.

While there are no recipes at the end of the book, I still consider these books culinary cozies because of all the delicious food that is discussed over the course of the book.  Not to mention the scenes involving Kelly taking a baking lesson from her potential love interest.

I grew up not too far from where this series is set, and I enjoyed seeing the fictional counterparts to places I know pop up here.  And yes, there is Russian heritage in the area since it was originally setting by Russians.  I thought that tie in to the region was great.

If you are looking for a charming cozy series, you will definitely be glad you picked up the Kelly Jackson Mysteries.  Murder at the Marina is another entry fans will enjoy.

Check out the rest of the Kelly Jackson Mysteries.

Movie Review: Carrot Cake Murder - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Great characters, engaging mystery

Cons: Ending does not work for me for a couple of reasons

The Bottom Line:

Hannah on cold case

Enjoyed seeing characters

Ending didn’t work

“She’s Running Around Like Some Podcaster Interviewing People.”

I wasn’t super thrilled when I saw the last movie starring Hannah Swensen and company, mainly because some of the changes they made seemed rather jarring.  Still, I was excited to see them bringing everyone back for Carrot Cake Murder.  I mean, this franchise is what started me watching Hallmark mystery movies, and I’ve read the books since the first one came out.  As much as I enjoyed this movie, some things about the ending left me disappointed.

This movie finds Hannah (Alison Sweeney) working on a cold case.  An old building in town is the subject of a controversy as some people want to save it while others want to tear it down and build something new.  But the controversy stops when Hannah and her friend, Norman (Gabriel Hogan) find an old skeleton at the bottom of an elevator shaft one night.  The body is quickly identified as that of a man who was arrest for theft before he vanished one night.  And, he was supposed to have been involved in a jewelry robbery right before his disappearance.  Will Hannah figure out what happened all those year ago?

My issue with the last movie included some abrupt changes, or what felt like abrupt changes.  Probably the biggest was the introduction of Hannah’s youngest sister, Michelle (Tess Atkins).  I’m happy to say that Michelle was toned down some for this movie.  Yes, her personality was still there, but it wasn’t as over the top in your face.  The rest of the movie seemed to be back to normal as well.

Fans of the books are probably scratching their head at my teaser.  Granted, I haven’t read Carrot Cake Murder since it came out 15 years ago or so.  But that murder mystery centered around someone coming to town for a family reunion and winding up dead.  Maybe if I reread the book I’d find some similarities, but they are definitely not obvious.  I feel like this is the biggest departure they’ve done so far, although there have been others.

Having said that, I really was enjoying the movie.  The story is compelling, with several suspects and questions that kept me engaged.  The characters are charming.  I am impressed with how many of the series regulars from the books they have incorporated into the movies, and I love seeing them brought to life.  Yes, the details are very different from the books, but I don’t care.  This alternative universe Hannah Swensen is fun.

And the actors are obviously having fun bringing their characters to life.  I laughed at some of their lines and interactions as the movie was rolling along.  And it was great to meet Lonnie, as played by Daylin Willis.

Yes, I was definitely having a great time until we got to the climax.  That’s when things went sideways for me.  First up, there is the solution to the mystery itself.  I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, but essentially, the timeline doesn’t make sense.  I’d actually thought about the scenario that was ultimately right earlier in the movie and dismissed it because of timeline issues.

Then, Hannah gets upset by what another character does.  I get why she is hurt.  I also get why the other character did what they did.  As this other character points out at one point, they are both wrong and both right.  However, the reaction that Hannah has as a result seemed too far to me and made her seem immature.  But maybe that’s just me.  It just did not feel earned.  We needed another couple scenes to build up to it, then I would have bought it completely.

The ending certainly does make a good cliffhanger, and I am glad that the news dropped they are about to start filming the next movie.  At least we won’t have the unresolved cliffhanger we got with Mystery 101 here.

I’m disappointed the ending didn’t work for me because I was enjoying Carrot Cake Murder up until then.  If you are a fan of the franchise, you’ll still want to watch the movie and see for yourself how you feel about the ending.

Book Review: Southern Ghost by Carolyn Hart (Death on Demand #8)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and intriguing mystery

Cons: I didn’t find a ghost of a con

The Bottom Line:

A disappearance

Revives an old mystery

A very fun book

Ghosts of the Past Haunt the Present

A secret from the past setting off a modern day mystery is a familiar trope of the mystery genre.  Heck, I’ve read several books with that catalyst this month alone.  But somehow Southern Ghost stood out to me from the rest, and in a good way.

This is the eighth book in Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series.  The series is set in South Carolina where Annie Lawrence Darling owns a mystery bookstore named Death on Demand.  This book happens to take Annie and Max off their island home to the town of Chastain, which is nearby but on the mainland.

Max Darling owns a private inquiry agency, and it’s his latest client that gets them involved in the case.  He’s been secretive about it, which Annie doesn’t mind.  That is until the hostile police chief from Chastain shows up demanding to know what Annie knows about Max’s beautiful client.  And he happens to drop that Max has been arrested in the disappearance of his client.

Not one to waste time, Annie gets Max out of jail.  But that leaves them with a missing client.  She had asked Max to investigate what happened two decades ago on a day when there were two tragic deaths in the Tarrant family.  Max didn’t find anything that varied from the official statements released at the time of the crime.  Working together, can Max and Annie uncover what really happened?  Will they find his client in time?

Honestly, most of the book focuses on what happened in the past since, it is assumed, that whoever knows the truth also knows what happened to the missing woman.  There are references to how long the woman has been missing, but at times she seems forgotten.

That isn’t to say this isn’t a wonderful mystery.  I was caught up in the story right away, and when we switched to the focus on the past, I was just as hooked.  There are plenty of still living suspects with motive, and I didn’t have a grasp on who was behind everything until the end.  The ending was a bit theatrical, but it worked.  It was fun, and I’m not complaining in the slightest.

It’s now been a couple of books since the last time we had data dumps on the suspects early in the book.  I hope that stays true going forward.  Yes, we do get dossiers on them at one point, but by then, we’ve gotten to know them a bit, so this information means something to us and helps further the story and flesh out the characters.

Meanwhile, Max and Annie shine.  They are the only of the series regulars who get much page time, although a couple of supporting characters from an earlier book in the series pop up again.  Annie seemed to have her temper more under control here, which I always appreciate.  Some of that can be fun and funny, but too much gets tiring.

Speaking of funny, Max’s mom has a running storyline that finds her investigating southern ghosts for a book she’s decided to write.  If you know the character, yes, it is as fun as it sounds.  Some of the stories are tragic, but the way she presents them are funny, as is Annie’s reaction to hearing them.  Overall, they provide a nice relief to what can be a sad at times main mystery.

This is an older series, and the book came out in the early 90’s.  That means some of the references to “modern” things are hilariously dated, but they are fun none-the-less.

We also get plenty of references to other authors and their books.  Carolyn Hart even manages to work in a reference to one of her other works.  I feel like the massive lists of earlier entries in the series have mostly died down, and I found the references to be fun here.

Even the swearing has died back.  Yes, we still get a few more swear words than you’d expect in a cozy of the era, but it’s much less than it was.

Once again, Kate Reading did a fabulous job with the audio version of this book.  She adds some warmth and humor to an already great story.

Southern Ghost is a great entry in a much loved series.  Fans who haven’t read it yet will enjoy it.  If you haven’t started the series yet, this is a great example of why it has had so many fans for so many years.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Death on Demand Mysteries.

Mary 21st's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to another Sunday/Monday post.  Once again, I will be linking up to:

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

Not too much to report this week.  My shoulder is getting better.  It's still there, and still sore, but not nearly as bad as it was a week ago.  I'm hoping it will be well enough so I can go out paddle boarding next weekend.

The other fun bit of news is I came down with a cold on Thursday.  That's the other reason I didn't go out paddle boarding today.  It's a mild cold, but it's still frustrating.

So, I've had a rather quiet week and weekend in.  But hopefully all this will be behind me for the long weekend we have next weekend here in the USA.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Disney Pin Review: Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar

Monday - Ornament Review: A Very Merry Grinchmas!

Tuesday - Book Review: A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larsen

Wednesday - Movie Review: The Jane Mysteries - Inheritance Lost

Thursday - Book Review: Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson

Friday - Friday Post featuring Murder at the Marina

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post
Monday - Book Review: Southern Ghost by Carolyn Hart
Tuesday - Movie Review: Carrot Cake Murder
Wednesday - Book Review: Murder at the Marina by Janet Finsilver
Thursday - Podcast Review: Guns, Knives, and Lipstick
Friday - Book Review: Tough Luxe by Diane Vallere
Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

It's  another three book week around here.

Up first is my preorder of Helpless, the newest Zoe Chambers Mystery from Annette Dashofy.  This is book twelve in her Zoe Chambers series.  I've been hearing great things about it, and I'm really looking forward to it.  However, I'm back at book eight, so I have a little bit of time to go yet before I get to it.

Next up was The Girl with the Golden Eyes.  Author Samantha Hastings was giving this away free to anyone who preordered A Novel Disguise, which she wrote as Samantha Larsen.  She extended that to those who were part of her blog tour, so I snagged it.

Finally, I got an ARC of Murder at Sea.  This is a short story collection by various authors, the third in the Destination Murders series.  Some of these authors I had read before the collections started.  Some of them, I look forward to reading now.  The authors change slightly from anthology to anthology.  The book comes out Tuesday, but I didn't get it in time to review it this week.  So I'll be reviewing it after Memorial Day.  Naturally, the stories in this collection feature 

What I'm Currently Reading:

I've started on my June ARCs!  Up first is Passport to Spy by Nancy Cole Silverman.  I've only gotten a couple of chapters in, and I haven't read much today even though I've been doing nothing around the condo.  This is the second in a series set in the late 1990's in Europe involving stolen paintings.  I'm sure I will enjoy it when I finally sit down and start digging into it.  Probably tomorrow, but maybe later today.

And I'm still working on my audio book - Racing the Light by Robert Crais.  I'm making progress in it - I'm on disc 5 of 7.  I tried to listen to it on the CD player in my condo, but that player seems to have issues with the discs and skips stuff.  It's frustrating.  My car player doesn't have that issue, so I will be running a few more errands this next week.  I'm sure I'll get it listened to before it is due back to the library on the 30th.

Have a wonderful week!

May 20th's Weekly TV Thoughts

One more season/series finale this week.  Of course, with a couple of episodes taking the week off and the shows that have already ended, it makes things appear very empty.

Race to Survivor: Alaska – Not real surprises here.  I mean, did anyone think that team that left would make it to the end in time to eliminate another team?  My bet is on the father/son team going next.  They are consistently in fourth, and the father doesn’t seem willing to listen to his teammate.

The Weakest Link – That first round was so stressful.  They had such a nice chain going, but I knew someone would break it.  Yep.  They seemed to actually be trying to build chains, which was nice from the teams that bank every time they get an answer right.  But they wound up doing worse for gambling like that.

The Flash – Truly, this storyline is so weird.  I get why they are doing it, but it just gets more bizarre.  And I wonder when they had to rewrite the scenes that Grant (Barry) had to miss because he caught Covid.  I feel like he should have been around more in this episode than he was, but maybe it’s next week’s series finale?

Survivor – They do a great job every time of making us think someone might be going home only to have them safe.  And if you had told me at the beginning of the season I’d be upset to see Carolyn go home, I would have laughed at you.  But here we are.  I really do like her.  It will be interesting to see if she pulls off the win or not next week.

True Lies – The final two episodes were enjoyable.  Not nearly enough to redeem the series, but I wish the rest of the series had been like that.  I’m a little surprised they told the kids what was really going on, but I liked how they provided a needed step forward.  And we got a pretty good ending.  Yes, not everything wrapped up.  I’ll call it more of a teaser on where the show would have gone.  It wasn’t bad enough to make me truly wish the show were coming back.  Then again, I probably would have skipped a second season anyway.