Murder By Design

Tags: Amazon First Reads, humor, murder mystery, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads

In a world carefully constructed for murder, solving crimes takes a keen mind and eye in a witty, clever, and fresh reinvention of the whodunit.

Edison Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and, due to a traumatic brain injury, impulsively rude. He’s also a brilliant insurance investigator who solves baffling crimes by figuring out how the design of the man-made world around us makes them possible.

Enter Wally a struggling actor hired to keep Bixby from offending everyone he meets. Their first case together looks like a simple accident. Caroline Crowley took a nasty fall down a staircase at a shopping mall in front of dozens of witnesses. Video clearly shows the deadly misstep. But Bixby is certain she was murdered by design, subtly manipulated into causing her own demise. The mall itself made the crime intentional, if not inevitable. Now Bixby must prove his outrageous theory before a very cunning killer gets others on his hit list to murder themselves, too.

I'm glad Amazon First Reads included a male writer in maybe 6 months of nothing but female authors. Month after month all the free books for First Reads are written by untalented female authors. The only other time I downloaded was 2 years ago in 2024 Dean Koontz' The Bad Weather Friend. When I visit the First Reads page, I look at the authors' names and if the choices are written by a sea of females, I just skip it. Why bother downloading when they are 99% stupid. Sorry for the rant. 

I didn't expect to like this humorous short novel but I did and recommend it highly.  The pair a la Sherlock and Dr. Watson complement each other very well. Very funny duo. Bixby is a combination of Sherlock Holmes, M. Auguste Dupin, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Agatha Raisin. Teaming with the failed actor Wally as his assistant is brilliant IMHO. There's a twist at the end that I guessed early on. Still a great read for readers who have a sense of humor.

Nobody's Fool

Tags: murder mystery, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads

In this stunningly twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him.

His memory is clear, but all these years later, the facts don’t add up…which is something he cannot ignore. Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs. Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she bolts.

For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day. His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.

This is the second book in a series featuring Sami Kierce, and ex NYC cop. I read the first book, Fool Me Once, in 2017 and I don't recall Detective Sami Kierce at all. He was not prominent in the book nor in the Netflix series. 

Harlan Coben decided to write a series that has him as the lead character together with a bunch of students who are wannabe amateur sleuths. They help him in their own way to solve mysteries, crime, and murders. Kinda like the ongoing trend similar to Thursday Murder Club. I like the story of one of the students, Golfer Gary. If the book is successful and the  author continues with the series, he might feature the students' personal stories one book at a time. I like that idea because Golfer Gary's story is almost a heartbreaking tragicomedy IMO.

Sami Kierce's trauma from the "dead" Anna lasted more than 20 years until she appeared in his classroom. He is of course relieved that he didn't murder her after all but he wants to find out why he was made to believe that he killed her. Any normal person who suffered from the guilt for 20 years will have the same reaction. At the same time, he is dealing with a murderer who was let out of prison and a missing girl from 20 years ago. The novel is definitely twistier than pretzel and very entertaining.

Recommended for Harlan Coben fans.

Miss Sophie – Same Procedure As Every Year

 

Tags: Amazon streaming, comedy, farce, German TV series, murder mystery

⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

Miss Sophie – Same Procedure as Every Year is a German television series. The crime comedy is a prequel to the sketch comedy show Dinner for One.

At the beginning of the 20th century, on a country estate near Eastbourne in England , the young, emancipated Miss Sophie is impoverished after the death of her parents, and the castle is threatened with foreclosure. To alleviate her financial distress, she decides to marry rich. To this end, she invites five wealthy bachelors to her castle. Her suitors are the French champagne heir Mr. Pomeroy, property magnate Mr. Winterbottom, the self-proclaimed American billionaire Sir Toby, the German Admiral von Schneider, and the Hungarian Count Szabos.

Amazon Studio produced a very funny TV series, a period romcom farce making fun of several genres - murder mystery, romance and dating, nobles and servants, starving nobility, rich foreigners as husband material, hippie commune... 

The setting is in England and some of the potential husbands are foreigners but they all speak German. Kinda reminds me of Japan's Thermæ Romæ. Even the songs are so funny. The third episode played the ROSÉ and Bruno Mars song APT.

My favorite character is German Admiral von Schneider and his scene with the pigs is hilarious. The French character M. Pomeroy is played by actor Moritz Bleibtreu from Run Lola Run.

Highly recommended. In German only with English subtitles

Guns & Moses

 

tags: Amazon Prime movie, gun toting Rabbi, thriller 

⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

from Amazon Prime Video 

A small-town rabbi becomes an unlikely detective and gunfighter after his community is violently attacked in this sharp, high-stakes thriller packed with action, wit, and heart 

The title got me to check it out on Amazon Prime Video. I thought it will be a comedy but it is not and I loved it. A murder mystery with cliched usual suspects but I enjoyed it very much. Rabbi Moyshe is an unlikely gunslinging detective wannabe but he had no choice in order to protect not just his family but also the innocent patsy. 

I like the part where rabbi Mo, a few days before the murder, approached the young man falsely accused by police. The boy was taunting the group of Jewish people outside the strip mall. Rabbi Mo offered some brownies and asked him to talk to the group. The boy listened to the old man about being a holocaust survivor and he eventually got a brownie and ate it, didn't argue with them at all. Rabbi Mo believed his innocence because he "ate the brownie". It's very meaningful, IMHO. The movie is not about anti Jews but about money and corruption. Cliche, I know.

Having gun protection during congregations not just for Jewish people but all religions specially Christian gatherings, is absolutely necessary. Hanukkah and Christmas are specially targeted by satanic moslems wherever in the world they are. So, this line is important not just in a movie but also in real life: "May God and your Glock protect you."

Highly recommended.

The Lifted Veil

tags: clairvoyance, gothic, horror, mystery, sci-fi

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

The tale of a man who is incapacitated by visions of the future and the cacophony of overheard thoughts, and yet who can’t help trying to subvert his vividly glimpsed destiny, it is easy to read The Lifted Veil as being autobiographically revealing—of Eliot’s sensitivity to public opinion and her awareness that her days concealed behind a pseudonym were doomed to a tragic unveiling (as indeed came to pass soon after this novella’s publication). But it is easier still to read the story as the exciting and genuine precursor of a moody new form, as well as an absorbing early masterpiece of suspense.

George Eliot managed to insert several genres in this 100 page novella: gothic, horror, attempted murder, mystery, science fiction. Utterly brilliant. The novella reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's bizarre stories.

The novelette opens with a dying man, the first person narrator Latimer, on his death bed predicting his household servants will not come to him as he died, explaining where they will be instead.. I thought he was having a pity party, He then proceeded to tell his story as the son from his father's second marriage. He has an older brother from the first wife. Latimer felt his father neglected and compared him with the brother who was 8 years older, wiser, and more manly than his androgynous and weak looks. He was only 16 after all. 

He was sent to Vienna to study and became friends with a nerdy type (who later became a famous doctor). His happiness was cut short due to an illness and he was bedridden. He then developed a precognitive ability, he became a clairvoyant, seeing things, people, and places that are about to materialize. That's when he became fascinated with his brother's fiancee whom he thought was manipulative and cunning beneath her blonde beauty.

Highly recommended.

Untamed

tags: murder mystery, Netflix series

⭐out of 5

From IMDB

A National Parks Service agent investigates a brutal death at Yosemite National Park.

Pros

> good not great cinematography because it was mostly filmed in Canada, not Yosemite

> there are only 6 less than an hour episodes

Cons 

> lousy script and story

> really bad acting; the raspy voice of both Eric Bana and Sam Neill is hard on the ears 

> all the characters are annoying specially the male and female leads

> clichés galore: alcoholic main character, troubled ex-wife, abusive ex partner of female lead (female lead character and her story is totally unnecessary; remove the character and the narrative will move along without her), uncooperative co workers, drugs (there's always drugs snuck in every Hollywood production)

> as predictable as the sun rising from the east, I guessed early on who is the despicable one.

> items introduced that don't help with the investigations and simply abandoned without explanation, example - the gold leaf tattoo on the dead girl.

- turned into almost slapstick comedy when the lead male ran out of bullets but was saved by the belle. 🙄

Not recommended

The Thursday Murder Club

 

Tags: murder mystery, Netflix, Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club

Coming to Netflix on August 28, 2025

Four irrepressible retirees spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn when they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands. Based on Richard Osman’s bestselling novel, The Thursday Murder Club.

Perfect cast

Helen Mirren - Elizabeth

Pierce Brosnan - Ron

Ben Kingsley - Ibrahim

Secrets We Keep

tags: Danish, drama, murder mystery, Netflix series

⭐⭐

Cecilie grows suspicious when her neighbor's young Filipino au pair, Ruby, disappears from an affluent Copenhagen neighborhood. Driven to uncover the truth, Cecilie launches her own investigation, only to find more than she bargained for. 

This drama murder mystery story is not unique and has been done many many times before. The acting and direction is mediocre if not almost terrible. The main character, the rich Cecilie runs ALL THE TIME. Once or twice is fine but the scenes where she is running is just a filler for telling a short tragic story. I guessed who the culprit/s is/are when they first appeared in the very first episode. It is that obvious. Of course, there is no justice for the dead Filipino woman. So what is the point of the show? SMH😾

Not recommended. Trust me.

Killer Heat

tags: murder mystery

⭐⭐

From IMDB

Follows twin brothers who find themselves in a dangerous love triangle on an isolated Greek island. The investigation is given to "The Jealousy Man," a wounded detective.

I knew this movie would be mediocre but it is based on a Jo Nesbø short story The Jealousy Man, and I just have to watch it. 

It is set in an island in Greece which is beautiful BTW. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, and Richard Madden. I've never seen anything with Shailene Woodley. She's alright but not a very good actress IMHO. 

I didn't like the narration by the hired PI, played by Levitt. I find it overused, pretentious, and tried too hard to sound noir. Gordon-Levitt is no Bogart, sorry. I also knew right away who the murderer is and why. It is so obvious. If viewers are surprised by the "twist", then they don't know murder mystery at all. Newbies to the genre, maybe. 

I also didn't like that some innocent people were killed but the 2 main characters did not even talk about it as though they are pieces of trash. The director and writer should have shown that the 2 main characters grieved for them because it was their mistake. Amateurs.

Not recommended.

The Perfect Couple

 

tags: murder mystery, Netflix series, parody-ish

⭐⭐⭐

Amelia Sacks is about to marry into one of the wealthiest families on Nantucket. Her disapproving future mother-in-law, famous novelist Greer Garrison Winbury, has spared no expense in planning what promises to be the premiere wedding of the season — until a body turns up on the beach.

As secrets come to light, the stage is set for a real-life investigation that feels plucked from the pages of one of Greer’s novels. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect.

Starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber.

Nicole Kidman never appealed to me but the description seemed interesting. I binge-watched it and enjoyed it a little. It is better than Knives Out IMHO because I viewed it as a parody of Hollywood produced Agatha Christie style whodunnit. I like the comedic parts with the characters of Isabelle Adjani, the butler, and the housemaid.

The series is a red herring galore: all the members of the family, the female French friend, and male Indian friend were all paraded as suspects, most of them snitching on each other, except the real murderer. 

The series is a dark comedy IMHO although almost everyone got on my nerves specially Amelia, the hypocrite holier than thou fiancée of the couple's second son.

Way Of The Cross

tags: Amazon streaming, Filipino movie, murder mystery

goose egg 0

A faithless Filipino-American FBI agent comes to the Philippines to bury his estranged father but gets tangled in a case where a serial killer murders people according to the Stations of the Cross.

The movie is terrible. The acting, the script, the story are not convincing. The NBI and the American FBI agents all look stupid and almost like waiting for their cue from the director.

Everybody speaks English. Huh! Where in the Philippines does everyone speak pure English including very small children? Taglish maybe but not English. Everyone got on my nerves calling the parish priest "padre". I was scratching my head because nowhere is padre used in the Philippines, regardless of their preferred language - Tagalog, English, Chavacano, Spanish, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Hokkien, Bicolano, Waray, etc. One guy slipped and called the priest Father. heheh. Force of habit, I guess, that he forgot to follow the stupid script. 

The actress playing the vengeful character is over the top and the reason for her revenge is unbelievably stupid. Avoid this terrible movie made specifically for anti-Catholic Church haters.

Mystery Of The Blue Train

tags: Hercule Poirot, murder mystery, romance 🙄

⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

From Goodreads

Robbery and brutal murder aboard a luxury transport ensnares the ever-attentive Hercule Poirot in The Mystery of the Blue Train, from Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie. When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again—for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing. The prime suspect is Ruth’s estranged husband, Derek. Yet Hercule Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie reenactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on board.

This is the only book of Christie's where I guessed right away the murderer but it didn't affect my enjoyment reading and it still deserves a 4 stars out of 5 IMHO.

The only thing I noticed and didn't like is her excessive use of adverbs in the early chapters but they disappeared as the book progressed. There is a bit of romance at the end which is not necessary. Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels so it's okay if romance suddenly sneaks in her mystery novels.

Recommended for die hard Agatha Christie readers.