August 19th's Weekly TV Thoughts

 The Challenge (8/13) – So it looks like we are getting two episodes a week.  Glad they ended things at a natural break this time.  Hope that’s what they do going forward.  Glad to see that people are turning on the vets already.  I’m sure that won’t last all season, but it is a good strategy for now.  Of course, that also makes me want to root for the vets to turn the tables at some point

American Ninja Warrior – I know Grant doesn’t always make the finals.  But I can’t help feeling he fell because he was racing.  And Jessie’s not going either?  Yeah, not really like these races.  Or how about the sisters in law who couldn’t both make it?  Please don’t do this again.  Please

The Challenge (8/17) – I love how some of the vets are doing nothing but whining that the newbies are ganging up on them.  What did you expect to happen?  You’re the most familiar with this game, and you are the minority.  But Bananas especially in this episode seemed upset that he was chosen.  Like it was a personal afront or something.  Dude, that’s the way the game is played.  It may have been a while since you were there, but that’s the way things are played.  If you think it is smarter for them to keep you around, you’ve got to actually try to sell that instead of just ranting that it is the wrong approach.

August 18th's Friday Post

Welcome to Friday!  We've made it to another weekend.  Let's kick things off with another Friday Post.  I'll be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

For the first three, I'll be featuring teasers from A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver.

I've been hearing about this series for a while, but I finally got a chance to read it, and I really enjoyed it.  It features a safecracker who is blackmailed into helping the British government in World War II.  And here's how it begins:

We were going to get caught.

That certainly jumps right into it, doesn't it?  And it pulled me right in.

By page 56, she's meeting with her contact and getting just a bit more information on her assignment.  As she goes to leave, we get this exchange:

"Shall I have my driver take you home?"
I shook my head as I finished setting my hat atop it.  "It's not far.  Besides," I said, drawing the veil down over my face.  "It's better to take precautions, isn't it?"

It was a fun book, and I'm definitely going to be looking for the sequels.  My full review will be up on Wednesday.

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

Do you prefer to read standalone or series books?

I think it's rather obvious that I prefer series.  Just about everything I read is in a series.  I love returning to characters that I've gotten to know.  The longer a series runs, the more those characters feel like old friends.

That wraps things up here.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Book Review: Birder, She Wrote by Donna Andrews (Meg Langslow #33)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: The usual characters in another good mystery

Cons: Maybe a bit too much crammed into this book

The Bottom Line:

Body in the woods

Starts Meg’s latest adventure

Always delightful

Who Has the Sting of a Killer?

It is always a pleasure picking up a favorite series.  You know you are going to visit friends you love and enjoy a good story.  That’s the case when I pick up one of Donna Andrews’s Meg Langslow Mysteries, and Birder, She Wrote was no exception.

If you haven’t yet met Meg, she is a blacksmith, although that rarely comes into play in a significant way in the books.  At this point in the series, she and her husband have settled into a small college town in Virginia where Michael teaches acting.  They have teenage twin boys, and a whole host of family and friends who makes their lives more interesting.  The cases that Meg gets involved in can come from many sources, especially since she also has a part time job assisting the mayor.

And it’s through that job that Meg has become familiar with the NIMBYs, the local term for the rich people who have settled in the area and then started to complain that they are living in a farming community.  The problem?  Those working farms should be not in my backyard (even though the farms where there before their McMansions were built).  Their current complaint is about the man who is keeping his bees on his farm right next to their subdivision.  Meg needs to go out and talk to them yet again, but she’s going to do that this afternoon.

First, she is going to go out with her neighbor, Deacon Washington, in his search for a long-lost African-American cemetery where he believes some of his ancestors are buried.  While they are out, they stumble upon a very modern dead body – in fact, he looks like he’s only been dead for a few hours.  Meg is surprised to find that it’s the ringleader of the NIMBYs.  He wasn’t popular, even with his neighbors.  Could one of them have killed him?

Before we go any further, I do want to discuss the title.  As fans of Donna’s series know, each book features a bird pun of some kind.  Usually, the title bird makes an appearance, but it’s often a cameo.  This title was clearly chosen as an homage to Murder, She Wrote.  I wasn’t expecting anything actually related to the TV show in the story, and I was right.  Still, it is a nice tribute to a show that so many of us cozy lovers enjoy and the recently departed Angela Lansbury.

As I said in my opening, I pick up these books and immediately enjoy relaxing into one of my favorite worlds.  These characters are fantastic, and it’s always a pleasure to catch up with them.  We have a huge cast of supporting players, and sometimes they only get a cameo, and other times they play a larger role in the story.  It doesn’t matter how much page time they get, I smile when I see them.  That was the case again here.

While this is book 33 in the series, each book works well as a standalone, so you could jump in here.  And coming from Mr. Read In Order, that’s saying something.  Yes, we get updates on various characters, but everything you need to know is explained to you, so you can follow what is happening.

The mysteries can appear to wander a bit, but everything eventually ties into the story.  I wasn’t sure where this book was going when I first picked it up, but it wasn’t long before we found the body, and things focused a bit more at that point.  I feel like there might be a bit too much in this book, but I’m probably being nitpicky.  I did suspect the killer earlier than Meg, but I wasn’t sure I was right because I missed another couple clues that explained everything.  Still, I was enjoying seeing how Meg would piece things together.  The suspects are all interesting and help make us care about the mystery.

As fans know, Meg’s family and friends are eccentric, and the gang is up to their usual antics here.  I’ll admit, I don’t laugh at them as much as I used to, but they are still comforting and makes me smile.  I did laugh at some of the events of this book, usually involving the new characters.

There’s a reason I rush to read a new Meg Langslow book as soon as I can after it is released.  These are delights from start to finish.  Birder, She Wrote will please fans old and new.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Meg Langslow Mysteries.

Movie Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: A few jokes work

Cons: Feels drawn out, most comedy doesn’t work

The Bottom Line:

Classic rebooted

With humor that does not land

Bland and skippable

“We Don’t Hunt Ghosts.  We Stalk Them.”

I remember all the coverage the reboot/remake of Ghostbusters received when it came out in 2016.  Not being a diehard fan of the original (I’ve seen it, but as an adult and don’t remember much of it), I decided to skip the reboot, although I was curious if it was as bad as everyone said.  Fast forward to finding it on TV, and I decided to give it a shot.

Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) is in line for a tenured position until her past comes back to haunt her.  A book she wrote with a friend years ago and forgot about is suddenly available.  The problem?  It’s on ghosts.  As a result, Erin finds herself reunited with Abby (Melissa McCarthy) who has continued to investigate the supernatural.

Just about the time that Abby and her new research assistant, Jillian (Kate McKinnon), also get fired, the trio find irrefutable proof that ghosts are real.  Another encounter introduces them to subway worker Patty (Leslie Jones).  As more ghosts pop up, will this quartet figure out what is going on in time to stop it?

This is one of those times where I struggled with how I felt about the movie.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exactly good either.  I’ve watched worse movies, especially in the last couple of years, but I didn’t find myself caring at all about what happened here.

First of all, this movie seems to spend a long time giving us fan service moments.  Yes, there are plenty of iconic shots that fans of the original will appreciate.  Even with my one viewing over a decade ago, these elements are such a part of 80’s pop culture, I still immediately got what they were doing.  But instead of working them in quickly, they hold the reveal until the last possible moment.  Which makes me ask why.  Why slow the film down?

Speaking of which, I get that this is a reboot, so we have to get the origins of the group again.  But that really felt like it slowed things down.  You know me, I’m never opposed to watching a movie when I know where something is going, but I wasn’t having the fun along the way I need to ignore that.

Which brings us to the biggest flaw with the movie to me.  For a comedy, it just wasn’t funny.  A few scenes were amusing at best, but the rest?  It just kind of sat there not really doing much for me.  They also continued trying to milk a joke beyond when it would have been funny, which, again, slowed things down.

And yes, I do have to point out how awfully this movie treats the male characters.  I cannot think of one male character who is presented in a positive light.  The only love interest we have is a jerk that is hardly in the movie.  The dumb male secretary is a one note, one joke character who was fine for his first scene, but they kept going back to him for the exact same joke.  If he was going to be in more than one scene, he should have been given something different to do.

I do think part of it is that I’m not normally a fan of most of the cast members.  No, it’s nothing with their acting, which is all fine.  I just don’t find their comedy funny, so it’s a matter of taste.

The effects have been updated from the original, which is no surprise given the amount of time between the two.  A couple of times, the CGI was a little obvious, but for the most part, it worked.

The 2016 version of Ghostbusters is not nearly as clever or fun as it thinks it is.  I was curious about it, so I’m glad I watched it, but I don’t have a desire to see it ever again.

Book Review: Claws of Death by Cathy Wiley (Fatal Food Festival Mysteries #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters in a fun mystery

Cons: You’d have to be a crab to find cons

The Bottom Line:

Judging festival

Complicated by murder

Can’t wait for sequel

Who is Crabby Enough to Commit Murder?

Cathy Wiley’s contributions to the Destination Murders short story collections have all featured celebrity chef turned food festival judge Jackie Norwood.  I’ve been waiting for a full novel with Jackie.  Now we get it with Claws of Death, and it was worth the wait.

Jackie had a popular program on the Gourmet Channel and a successful restaurant until her drinking destroyed her career.  Now out of rehab, she is rebuilding her life the only way she can at the moment – by traveling the country judging food festivals as a celebrity judge.  Her first such appearance is a new crab festival in a Texas town on the gulf.

Jackie is horrified when she realizes one of her fellow judges is Heather Curtis.  Jackie and Heather were in culinary school together and have had similar career milestones, much to Jackie’s dismay.  Heather has gone out of her way to attack Jackie every chance she’s had.  Then it turns out that one of the contestants is Jackie’s ex-boyfriend, Benji Hayes.

The opening night of the festival turns disastrous when Heather dies after taking her first bite of the first dish they are served – Benji’s contribution to the soup round.  Given their past relationship with Heather, both Jackie and Benji are strong suspects.  Can Jackie figure out what is really going on?

Yes, I’ve met Jackie and her brother before, but it was nice to get to see them in a full novel.  We also get more of their backstory, and time to see them develop as characters.  I enjoyed seeing them fleshed out more.

The rest of the cast is just as sharp.  We’ve now met another couple of characters who I’m sure will be series regulars.  At least I’m hoping we will see them again.  The rest of the characters make wonderful suspects.  Everyone feels real and helps bring the story to life.

And what a fun mystery it was.  We just have enough time to meet the characters before Heather dies.  From there, we are off and running.  There were some great twists, and I appreciated how Jackie pieced things together.

The book is also filled with humor.  I laughed and smiled my way through the book, enjoying the sarcasm and banter, as well as some of Jackie’s asides in the first-person narration.

This all led to a book I didn’t want to put down.  It was a fast read with fun on every page and I was sorry when I reached the end.

Those who enjoy crab will be interested in the two recipes at the end of the book.  Since I’m not a crab eater, I’ll let others enjoy.

I’m thrilled to see that the sequel is already up for pre-order.  You won’t be sorry you started this promising new series, so get your claws into Claws of Death today.

Join Jackie for more of the Fatal Food Festival Mysteries.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Ornament Review: Jafar - 2023 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Captures Jafar perfectly

Cons: Slight tip, but not too bad

The Bottom Line:

Jafar ornament

Captures the way he looks well

Evil for your tree

I’m Ecstatic to Be on Your Tree

Hallmark continued their recent unofficial series of limited edition Disney villains this year by adding Jafar.  Any fan of Disney’s Aladdin will be thrilled to get him.

This is the animated movie version of Jafar, and he looks just like how you’d expect.  He’s dressed in his black robes with red sleeves and orange inside his cape.  He’s holding his staff.  One shoe is sticking out of the bottom of his robe.  He’s got a haughty look on his face, and he is looking slightly up, as if he’s better than us.

No, Iago isn’t anywhere to be seen.  Yes, that would have made the ornament completely perfect, but it is okay the way it is.  The other Disney villains haven’t gotten their sidekicks in their ornaments either.  And, given the size of the ornament, Iago would have to be pretty small despite this being a regular sized ornament.

One detail I do love is that the cape is separate from Jafar’s body.  It gives it more of a real look to it.  Yes, that does make the ornament more subject to breaking, so you’ll want to be careful with it.  It is just plastic, after all.

But between that separation and the flat base of the main ornament, you’ll have no problem setting this ornament out to be displayed if that’s how you want to display it.

Because of the feather on top of Jafar’s hat, the ring for hanging the ornament is slightly off to the side.  That means Jafar tips ever so slightly to the right.  It is noticeable, but once you get a few tree branches around him, you won’t really notice.

Fans of Aladdin or Disney villains in general will be thrilled to add Jafar to their ornament collection.  This is a classic look that will be loved for years.

Check out more Hallmark ornaments of Disney villains.

August 13th's Sunday/Monday Post

Hi everyone.  Hope you are having a good weekend.  Time for this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will link up to:

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

When I posted last week, I was planning to attend a local theater production of Fiddler on the Roof that night.  It was so good!  The cast did a great job with it.  I'd forgotten just how hard the second act hits.  I'm really glad I got to see it.

It was cooler than it has been, or is usual for August, this past week.  Just how cool was it?  Thursday, I went for a run on my lunch hour, something I usually can't do in the summer because of how hot it is.  But we're supposed to hit triple digits again in a couple of days, so things will be back to normal.

Friday night, I hung out with some friends and watched the LA Aviators, our professional ultimate Frisbee team, take on the Salt Lake Shred in the play offs.  As expected, we lost.  Salt Lake has only lost one game all season, and that was against another undefeated team.  Still, it was close, 20-23.  I was afraid it might be more of a blow out.

It's game day!  I'm working on this early on Saturday so I can go over to my friends' and play games all day.  One of my favorite days of the month.

That pretty much covers the excitement around here this week.

Pun of the Week:

A sandwich walks into a bar.  The bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve food in here.”

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Uno

Tuesday - Book Review: Murder on Bedford Street by Victoria Thompson

Wednesday - Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Thursday - Death on the Grand Canal by M. A. Monnin

Friday - Friday Post featuring Claws of Death

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Jafar

Tuesday - Book Review: Claws of Death by Cathy Wiley

Wednesday - Movie Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

Thursday - Book Review: Birder, She Wrote by Donna Andrews

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul

I just have two books to tell you about again this week.  I know, who am I?  At least I am keeping pace with my reading this way.

An Unseen Current by Bethany Maines crossed my radar this week.  It's set off the coast of Washington State, and sounds like it could be fun.  An ex-actress and her grandfather, an ex-CIA agent, teaming up to solve a mystery on their island.  Even better, the ebook was on sale, so I snagged it.  And it looks like it is still on sale, at least as of my writing this.

Meanwhile, I also snagged an ARC of Calico by Lee Goldberg.  No, he's not one of my normal cozy authors, but I enjoy his books.  This one comes out in November, and I'm looking forward to reading it closer to release day.

What I'm Currently Reading

Friday night, when I got home from my friends' house, I finished up Halloween Cupcake Murder.  This is a novella collection featuring stories by Carlene O'Connor, Liz Ireland, and Carol J. Perry.  I read it for the Liz Ireland story since I love her Mrs. Claus books.  All three of the stories were good, but that was my favorite.

Of course, I've started my next book already.  I'm all of two chapters into A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver.  I've heard lots of good things about this book, set in World War II England and featuring a safe cracker who is used in the war efforts.  So far, I'm enjoying it.  I won't have much time to read Saturday, but I will delve into it more on Sunday.

Think that wraps it up for the week.  Have a good one, all.

August 12th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – There weren’t quite as many upsets this week.  Still don’t like the racing format, and now we find out they are going to go it on Stage 2 as well?  Of course, this might mean more people will make it past stage 2, since I’d assume at least half the people who make it to the stage will move on.  I guess they are really trying to make sure they give away the top prize this year.  At least Joe made it to Vegas.  Definitely happy about that.

Hot Wheels Ultimate Challenge – I kind of suspected she was going to win based on how they were editing it.  Not that I disagree with the judges.  All three of the cars were good, but hers was the best.  And with three reveals, it did make sense to cut this into two episodes.  Really gave us a chance to appreciate their work without feeling like they were dragging things out too much.

The Challenge USA – I might not have come back, but it’s going to be slim pickings for the next few weeks, so I decided to watch it again.  I’m hooked.  Not that I really remember any of those who are playing, but the twists of the teams and the way they are voting is going to make things very interesting.  Not happy with a cliffhanger already, but I think this could lead to some interesting twists.

August 11th's Friday Post

Welcome to another Friday.  Time for this week's Friday Post.  I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

This week, my teasers for the first three come from Claws of Death by Cathy Wiley

This was a fun book.  You can get that sense of fun from the opening:

I thought my life couldn’t get any worse. Evidently, the universe took that as a challenge.

That line put a grin on my face.

Of course, this is a murder mystery as you could guess from the title (and the fact that it's a book I read), but even when we are talking about death, there's still some humor:

“They aren’t going to find cyanide. It’s really not an ingredient I choose to use in my cooking.”
“Me neither. It’s too expensive, and there’s no return on investment.”

Yes, that one made me laugh out loud.

Obviously, I really enjoyed this one.  My full review will be up on Tuesday, so I hope you'll come back then to read my full thoughts.

Meanwhile, let's close the week out with this week's Book Blogger Hop.  And the question is:

Do you have a routine for getting ready to read?

Not really.  I read at various times of the day, so when I have a chance, I usually just grab my book and dive in.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Book Review: Death on the Grand Canal by M. A. Monnin (Intrepid Traveler Mysteries #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters, intriguing mystery, setting

Cons: Slow to start, one sub-plot

The Bottom Line:

Assignment: Venice

Murder on the trail of pendant

Fun second entry

Stefanie’s First Official Assignment is Murder

Last year, one of my favorite books was the first in M. A. Monnin’s Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.  Part of that was definitely the fun setting.  For the second book, Death on the Grand Canal, we are in Venice.  It’s always been a city I wanted to visit, and this virtual visit was the next best thing.

At the end of the first book, Stefanie Adams had accepted a job offer from Thomas Burkhardt to work for him at a division of Interpol focused on recovering stolen art.  She hasn’t even had time to go home before they get their first assignment as coworkers.  Thomas has gotten word that the Borgia Peacock, a jewel encrusted pendant form the Middle Ages, is going to be on sale.  It was last seen over a hundred years ago before it was stolen from a museum.

Stefanie is going undercover, trying to befriend the countess selling it in an effort to be selected to buy it.  However, when Stefanie accepts the invitation to the countess’s palazzo in Venice, she discovers she has more competition than she expected.  Among the others bidding is a notorious fence of stolen goods.  Then the fence is murdered.  Can Stefanie and Thomas figure out who committed the murder?  Will they be able to recover the pendant?

While most of the action does take place in Venice, the book actually starts in Milan.  I was a bit confused at first, but it isn’t long before we move to Venice.  Still, I did feel like the book took a bit of time before the story really got going.  I felt like we had a bit of a travelogue, which was ironic since Stefanie was complaining about not getting to see the sites in either town.

However, once Stefanie arrives at the palazzo and we meet the suspects, things pick up.  There is tension even before the dead body turns up, and that just heightens things.  Since the palazzo has limited entrances, we have a limited suspect pool, and I was definitely intrigued by who it could have been and how they were sneaking around.  There are multiple secrets and a few good twists before we reach the logical conclusion.

In addition to being co-workers, Stefanie and Thomas have started a romantic relationship.  Honestly, their sub-plot here bothered me.  At times, I could see Stefanie’s point of view, but at other times, I felt like she was behaving poorly.  I think part of it was because this was a sub-plot that could have been resolved with a couple of honest conversations.  Granted, the plot didn’t allow them to have those needed conversations.  To be clear, both were wrong at various times, but it just didn’t quite work for me.  And maybe that’s because I was rooting for them to get together in the first book, and I want to see them together and happy now.  It definitely could have been handled better.

That sub-plot aside, I do really like Stefanie and Thomas.  They are the only returning characters from the first book.  I enjoyed spending more time with them, and it was nice to see them work together officially.  Personal issues aside, they do make a great team.

The suspects also grow as the book progresses.  Part of that comes from the secrets we uncover along the way.  I grew to really like several of them, even though they were working against Stefanie and Thomas getting the pendant.

I’m ready to go visit Venice myself now.  The setting came to life, and I want to spend time seeing it for myself.  If only things like a job weren’t keeping me from doing that.

Death on the Grand Canal is the next best thing to a trip to Venice.  If you are interested in the city, you’ll be glad you picked up this book.  Fans of strong mysteries will be happy they started this series as well.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.