The Silence Of The White City

tags: Basque-Spanish, mystery-crime, thriller

⭐⭐⭐

from GoodReads

A madman is holding Vitoria hostage, killing its citizens in brutal ways and staging the bodies. The city's only hope is a brilliant detective struggling to battle his own demons.

Inspector Unai López de Ayala, known as "Kraken", is charged with investigating a series of ritualistic murders. The killings are eerily similar to ones that terrorized the citizens of Vitoria twenty years earlier. But back then, police were sure they had discovered the killer, a prestigious archaeologist who is currently in jail. Now Kraken must race to determine whether the killer had an accomplice or if the wrong man has been incarcerated for two decades. This fast-paced, unrelenting thriller weaves in and out of the mythology and legends of the Basque country as it hurtles to its shocking conclusion.

I watched the Netflix movie based on the book before reading the book. The movie is just okay. It's good but not great. The book is also so-so probably because of translation from Basque to English. The main character Unai sounds and acts more like a female rather than a male IMHO. There are also unnecessary red herrings that don't make sense. Red herrings should be smart to mislead readers but here, they are stupid and insulting to the reader.

The story is compelling enough and I love the places, history, and rituals in the Basque town of Vitoria which are more interesting than the 3 cops who seem to have no distinct personality and have but one voice. The book has a high rating on GoodReads but I can't give it more than 3 stars. I still recommend it for readers who like thriller and mystery.

 

After reading the book, I think the actress playing the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Alba Diaz Salvatierra, is miscast. She has blonde hair and looks much older than the book's character who has long dark hair. The actress is not good, with one expression throughout the movie. She ruined the movie for me.

Unknown Origins

tags: action, comedy, Netflix streaming, parody, Spanish movie, superheroes

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

from IMDB

Heroes do not exist. David, a young policeman who has recently moved to Madrid, is forced to collaborate with Jorge Elías - an endearing freak and owner of a comic book shop - in order to solve a series of atrocious murders that recreate the secret origins of the classic superheroes. Each grotesque murder is a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that has the streets of Madrid as a backdrop, but whose complete image they are unable to distinguish. Jorge's encyclopedic knowledge about the comic world and the unexpected discovery of David's dark past will be fundamental in helping them solve the enigma hidden behind the awful crimes. The clues will guide them through the Spanish capital, along a labyrinth designed by a disturbed criminal mind and the only person who knows how to find the exit. Will they be able to unravel the tangled mess of clues and win the game against the troubled criminal that tries to manipulate them? They say that, sometimes, it is necessary to put on a suit and get out ...

If you see it with very low expectations like I did, you'll probably enjoy this 96 minute action comedy from Spain, Origenes Secretos. It won't win any awards but it made me laugh a little. I got maybe almost all of the comic book, movie, and TV characters mentioned including some Japanese anime like Gantz:O and Berserk. It's easy to guess who the villain is.

This movie is not serious at all although not slapstick either. Watch it in the original European Spanish language with English subtitles.  

The Face Of A Stranger

tags: historical fiction, mystery, police procedural, reread 

⭐⭐

from GoodReads

His name, they tell him, is William Monk, and he is a London police detective. But the accident that felled him has left him with only half a life; his memory and his entire past have vanished. As he tries to hide the truth, Monk returns to work and is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of a Crimean War hero and man about town. Which makes Monk's efforts doubly difficult, since he's forgotten his professional skills along with everything else...

I finished reading one of Anne Perry's new mystery series - the Daniel Pitt series - and I didn't like it one bit, I gave it 1 star. 

I've read several of her books including this first book in the British Victorian mystery series with Police Detective Monk and I remember liking it at the time. That was in the early 90s. I reread the first book, The Face Of A Stranger, and to my dismay, I thought it was tedious and meandering with Monk's frequent internal monologues because he's suffering from amnesia. Get on with the dang crime investigation instead of wondering what he did in the past and things, music, etc he liked. Sheesh! I also discovered my utter dislike for the nurse character, Hester Latterly who also has frequent internal monologues. Ugh! I'm wondering why I now have a different view of the characters and Anne Perry's writing style. 

I will tackle next time one of her stand alone novels, Tathea, which I read almost 20 years ago, I can't remember it anymore. A fantasy and if I recall has some religious themes. 

**********************************************************************************

Bit of trivia re Anne Perry

Anne Perry was born Juliet Marion Holme in England. She and her family moved to New Zealand when she was very young and there she committed a serious crime although it was her friend who did the deed. She was the subject of the 1994 Peter Jackson movie Heavenly Creatures starring Kate Winslett. I remember watching it but never knew the 15 year old murderess is one of my most read authors. The movie is based on the murder of the mother of Juliet's friend, Pauline Parker. The girls killed the woman, were both found guilty and "detained", whatever that means, then released to their parents after 5 years. She and her family moved back to England after her release. 

Stonehearst Asylum

tags: book adaptation, dark, insane asylum

⭐⭐ 

This 2014 movie, currently streaming on Amazon, is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe very short story, a dark comedy, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether. This movie adaptation could have been good but the writer and director turned it into a predictable and unsatisfactory tale - a lost opportunity. Read the full EAP story here.

Ben Kingsley as always is good as Silas Lamb and he alone deserves the 2 stars. What I don't like is not the predictable twist in the ending. It's the 2 leads I couldn't stand, Kate Beckinsale and Jim Sturgess,  whose mouths are always open. Always. It seems the director was not able to tell these 2 actors to close their mouths whenever there are no dialog. Open mouth acting is a pet peeve of mine. But it's just me probably. This movie placed Kate at the top 5 of my list of untalented actors, Keira Knightley is currently at number 1. 

2 Classic Comedy Movies - PLAYTIME and THE PARTY

tags: comedy, Jacques Tati, Peter Sellers

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

These 2 movies have something in common - Tati's and Sellers's characters created hilarious chaos without any self awareness. Great actors, although IMHO, Jacques Tati is still the best.

PlayTime is currently streaming on Kanopy.

The Party is currently streaming on Amazon.

Highly recommended

.

Utopia Avenue

tags: fictional British band, the 60s

from GoodReads

Utopia Avenue is the strangest British band you’ve never heard of. Emerging from London’s psychedelic scene in 1967 and fronted by folk singer Elf Holloway, guitar demigod Jasper de Zoet, and blues bassist Dean Moss, Utopia Avenue released only two LPs during its brief, blazing journey from the clubs of Soho and drafty ballrooms to Top of the Pops and the cusp of chart success, and on to glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a fateful American fortnight in the autumn of 1968.

David Mitchell’s captivating new novel tells the unexpurgated story of Utopia Avenue; of riots in the streets and revolutions in the head; of drugs, thugs, madness, love, sex, death, art; of the families we choose and the ones we don’t; of fame’s Faustian pact and stardom’s wobbly ladder. Can we change the world in turbulent times, or does the world change us?

I'm a bit uncertain if I like or love David Mitchell's latest novel. The characters are not very likable and their back stories, except Jasper de Zoet's, are rather boring. There are plenty of cameos from real people from the music and arts scenes but they seem contrived and tedious. Mitchell again incorporates a few characters and places from his previous novels - Marinus and Enomoto and the town of Gravesend where Dean is originally from. Jasper's great great great grandfather is Jacob de Zoet from a previous novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. Jasper's story is the more interesting of the 4 band members. He is schizophrenic, actually someone is living in his head since he was 16 years old. He spent 2 years in an asylum until he was given a classical Spanish guitar as a therapy. The only notable part that made me smile is the short conversation under a dining table between Jasper and John Lennon.

Utopia Avenue band is a mix of progressive rock, jazz, folk, and blues. 1968/69 Deep Purple music comes to mind right away. Although Pink Floyd is mentioned in the book as one of the progressive rock bands at the time, DP [before they changed the lead singer and became a generic screecher band] in my imagination closely resembles the sound of Utopia Avenue if it was a real band. Jasper de Zoet, described as a guitar god, has a German girlfriend who lived with him for a while, just like DP guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had a German girlfriend living with him in London. BTW, I love eclectic music specially when merged together. Example: jazz with a bit of classical, pop, electronica, and heavy metal elements. Yes, to me it's not weird at all.

Deep Purple 

 

Jasper's practice guitar music - Andres Segovia, RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA

Update 09/4/20: after rereading the novel, I have added another star. I'm still not liking the Elf character and her story. She is just not an interesting person IMHO.

The Woman In The Moonlight

 

tags: Amazon First Reads, Beethoven, Giulietta Guicciardi, historical fiction, "Moonlight" sonata

from GoodReads

A stirring and romantic historical novel about nineteenth-century Vienna and the tragedy and dynamic passion that inspired Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

Vienna, 1800. Countess Julie Guicciardi’s life is about to change forever. The spirited eighteen-year-old is taking piano lessons with Ludwig van Beethoven, the most talented piano virtuoso in the musical capital of Europe. She is captivated by his volatile genius, while he is drawn to her curiosity and disarming candor. Between them, a unique romance. But Beethoven has a secret he’s yet to share, and Julie is harboring a secret of her own, one so scandalous it could destroy their perfect love story.

When Beethoven discovers the truth, he sets his emotions to music, composing a mournful opus that will become the Moonlight Sonata. The haunting refrain will follow Julie for the rest of her life.

Set against the rich backdrop of nineteenth-century Vienna, The Woman in the Moonlight is an exhilarating ode to eternal passion. An epic tale of love, loss, rivalry, and political intrigue. A stirring portrait of a titan who wrestled with the gods and a woman who defied convention to inspire him.

Ugh! What did Beethoven ever do to deserve disgusting fictionalized stories about him and his ladies.  First, the hokey movie, Immortal Beloved, which is tolerable because Gary Oldman was good as Beethoven and I like the soundtrack. 

I cannot say the same for this new historical fiction novel featuring the Hungarian Countess Giulietta Guicciardi who was supposed to be the dedicatee to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, or what is known as "Moonlight" sonata. I can understand fictionalization for romantic novel purposes but this book made me cringe so much. The book reads like a Wikipedia entry with emotionless main character narrating in the first person, Julie/Giulietta. The language IMHO is too modern for the 1800s. Julie describes Beethoven as a short man at 5 feet 4 inches tall and she 5 feet 8 inches tall. What young woman in the 1800s contemplates on stature? Nothing to do or think about? Geez. There is so much "telling" instead of showing events and their relationship. The author did a lot of research but she also trivialized Beethoven and his fictional lady love. I also hated the stupid maid of Julia, Lucy, who is so annoying and does not know her place. She's written as if she's an equal to the countess. SMH. Stupid author. I bet Beethoven will be needing very sturdy straps to prevent him from turning over and over in his grave. *Julie in real life did not fall in love with Beethoven, nor did he with her although he dedicated Piano Sonata No. 14 to her.*

This novel is one of the choices for September 2020 Amazon First Reads. Avoid it if you love Beethoven and his music and/or if you want to keep your IQ points.

Three Men And A Maid

tags: classics, humor, romance

from GoodReads

Hi-jinks and fun ensue when three men and a woman find themselves together on an ocean liner sailing for England. When another woman enters the picture, we only know one thing: five is not divisible by two.

Lately I couldn't find new novels that are appealing so I've been reading old classics, short ones for almost instant gratification. P. G. Wodehouse wrote many novelettes sans Wooster, Jeeves, Blandings, etc.  I like his humor and writing style. Most of his books are available free from the web and our library and I'm reading them one after the other. I have also several of Nikolai Gogol's books on my reading list. 

Three men all got engaged to the same girl in a matter of days and a little over a week. The red-haired girl also falls in love as quickly as falling out of love for 2 of the men; one is foisted upon her by her father but she agrees to marry him anyway regardless of the man being a coward, a pushover, and ugly. She's too wishy-washy. The 3 young men are not desirable either. P. G. Wodehouse wrote a LOL funny novelette with the most absurd characters for a love pentagon. 

  

A Princess Of Mars

tags, classics, Martians, sci-fi

from goodreads

A Princess of Mars is the first of eleven thrilling novels that comprise Edgar Rice Burroughs' most exciting saga, known as The Martian Series. It's the beginning of an incredible odyssey in which John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia and a Civil War veteran, unexpectedly finds himself on the red planet, scene of continuing combat among rival tribes. Captured by a band of six-limbed, green-skinned savage giants called Tharks, Carter soon is accorded all the honor of a chieftain after it's discovered that his muscles, accustomed to Earth's greater gravity, now give him a decided advantage in strength. And when his captors take as prisoner Dejah Thoris, the lovely human-looking princess of the city of Helium, Carter must call upon every ounce of strength, courage, and ingenuity to rescue her before she becomes the slave of the depraved Thark leader, Tal Hajus!

Excerpt:
Her oval face was beautiful in the extreme, her every feature finely chiseled and exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous, and her head surmounted by a mass of coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure. Similar in face and figure to women of Earth, she was nevertheless a true Martian--and prisoner of the fierce green giants who held me captive, as well!

Most new fiction books are mediocre IMHO, usually peppered with obscenity and annoyingly "politically correct". I am now reading classic sci-fi and mystery novels that I never read before. The ebooks are free to borrow either from the county library or Amazon Prime. 

I've never read any Edgar Rice Burroughs books and I'm surprised I like this first book in the Mars series. It is well written, interesting, and hard to put down. I think Star Wars copied the jedi term from this series - jed, jedakk, etc. to mean leader, emperor, and so on. I suspect the princess, Dejah Thoris, is the model for Princess Leia when she became the prisoner of Jabba the Hutt. Dejah is scantilly clad because they don't wear clothes in Mars apparently. Princess Dejah was captured by enemies twice and had to be rescued by John Carter. She's no damsel in distress, though. She's tough and highly intelligent but to keep the peace in Mars she is willing to marry the ugly enemies of her family. 

M. C. Beaton's Poor Relation Series

from goodreads and Amazon

1 - Lady Fortescue Steps Out

After her husband’s death, Lady Fortescue knows she must work, even though the thought will appall her society relatives. So she decides to transform her once-grand Bond Street home into a hotel, the Poor Relation, offering society guests the pleasure of being waited upon by nobility.
 
With the help of other down-and-out aristocrats, London’s newest, most fashionable hotel is born. And it is the perfect venue for Lady Fortescue to play with the love lives of her guests and staff, starting with her nephew, the dashing Duke of Rowcester. Lady Fortescue has it on good authority that the duke once shared a dance with darling Harriet James, the hotel cook. When the duke comes to London, Lady Fortescue orchestrates a reunion that is sure to scandalize the ton. 

2 - Miss Tonks Turns To Crime

The fashionable Poor Relation hotel has rescued its six owners from genteel poverty, but they need ready cash for its upkeep. Once more, one of them must discreetly rob a rich relative.

The faded spinster Miss Letitia Tonks is dispatched to disguise herself as a highwayman and hold up the carriage that is transporting her nip-farthing sister and her lovely young niece, Cassandra. But by a twist of fate, their dashing prankish neighbor, Lord Eston, himself masked as a highwayman, does the deed for her--and grabs the opportunity to dazzle Cassandra with a swift kiss.

3 - Mrs. Budley Falls From Grace

The Poor Relation is in need of money to survive. Widow Eliza Budley wants to help save her new home, but with her fortune lost due to her deceased husband’s gambling debts, how can she? With no rich relative to go to, Eliza calls on the senile, elderly Marquess of Peterhouse, and pretends to be a relation while she steals just enough of his worldly goods to fund the hotel. But when she arrives at his bleak castle, she learns the Marquess is deceased, leaving his handsome nephew in charge of the estate. Once the dashing heir learns of her devious plot, can he get past her criminal leanings long enough to fall in love with her?

4 - Sir Philip's Folly

The owners of the Poor Relation Hotel are busy once again. This time, Sir Philip Sommerville has installed a vulgar, grasping woman in the hotel, and his co-owners are frantic to remove her. At the same time, they decide they must help a young guest find a husband. These experienced schemers almost make and break the wrong matches, but greed is revealed, and love triumphs.

5 - Coronel Sandhurst To The Rescue

Due to a bad wager by one of its founders, the popular Poor Relation hotel is in financial trouble. Fortunately, founder Colonel Sandhurst has a plan. Offering the hotel as a sanctuary to a bride running from her arranged marriage, the colonel plans to return her to her father in exchange for a ransom rich enough to settle the hotel’s debts. But the colonel’s plan goes awry when the bride’s jilted fiancé shows up instead, mistakes a hotel maid for his future wife, and promptly falls in love. To make matters worse, the ransomed bride herself is now smitten with another dashing guest, a nobleman unhappily betrothed to another woman. Now it will take all the matchmaking prowess of the eccentric staff of the Poor Relation to get these romantic affairs in order—and save their beloved hotel from bankruptcy.

6 - Back In Society

Life is finally looking up for the eccentric owners of London’s Poor Relation hotel. The Prince of Wales’s coat of arms gleams over the entrance. All but one of the rooms are filled by the open-handed Prince Hugo and his entourage. The owners have taken on a popular actor as a new partner. Finally, these once-impoverished aristocrats have reached a position comfortable enough to allow them to consider offers to buy the hotel.
 
But their hard-earned success stands in stark contrast to the plight of their latest guest, Lady Jane Fremney. The slight, beautiful daughter of the Earl of Durby has been cast out of her family for refusing to marry the man her father has chosen. Lonely and bankrupt, Lady Jane has decided to commit suicide. But when hotelier Miss Tonks uncovers her plans, the entire staff tries to rescue Lady Jane by finding her a suitable husband—fast! Fortunately, these lovable hoteliers have a knack for matchmaking.

I have read all of the Hamish Macbeth [set in fictional Lochdubh, Scotland] and Agatha Raisin [set in The Cotswolds, England] mystery books by Marion Chesney Gibbons writing as M. C. Beaton. She passed away December 2019 and I'm awaiting the last books for both series to be issued later this year. Although I have tired of both characters, I still read them as soon as they are published hoping Hamish will finally marry either Priscilla or Elspeth, and Agatha, Sir Charles Fraith. Now I'll never know.

I'm no fan of romance novels but I read a few of her romance series years ago and a couple of her Edwardian mystery series. I decided to read one of her romance novelette series, Poor Relation, set in the Regency period, which I finished in 4 days. They are very short, 150 and up to 220 pages, and I liked all of them. Her sense of humor and engaging writing style easily earned 4 stars from me.