The Prisoner of Zenda

tags: fantasy, historical fiction, satire

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Best known for his political fairy tale, The Prisoner of Zenda, which saw four major screen adaptations, including the acclaimed 1937 incarnation starring Ronald Colman, Anthony Hope was one of the few novelists to achieve wide popular and critical admiration during his lifetime. Regarded by many critics as the finest adventure story ever written -- and certainly one of the most popular -- The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) tells the story of Rudolf Rassendyl, a dashing English gentleman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the ruler of the fictional kingdom of Ruritania. Rassendyl masquerades as the king in order to save the country from a treacherous plot and secures the release of the wronged prisoner. In the process he wins the heart of the beautiful princess Flavia, but ultimately surrenders the crown and the hand of his beloved princess to the rightful ruler. Full of swash-buckling feats of heroism as well as witty irony, these adventure tales are also wonderfully executed satires on late nineteenth-century European politics.

I liked the novelette's swashbuckling with plenty of dead men, evil half brother, and a bit of romance. Highly recommended. 

I'm currently watching the 1987 series available on Amazon streaming and it looks accurate to the book.

Death Of A Green Eyed Monster

tags: Hamish Macbeth, mystery, Scottish Highland series

⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Sergeant Hamish Macbeth , Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman is back and may have finally met the woman of his dreams in this new mystery in M.C. Beaton's beloved, 'New York Times' bestselling series.

Hamish's new constable, Dorothy McIver, may be the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. Completely bewitched by her sparkling blue eyes, Hamish spends the summer traveling with her up and down Sutherland until finally, he can take it no longer. He gets down on one knee beside the Land Rover and begs her to marry him—and to his amazement and delight, she says yes.

But just as the town of Lochdubh gets ready to celebrate, Hamish finds himself with a new murder on his hands. If he doesn't find the killer fast, Hamish's dream wedding could become a nightmare.

Sigh. I loved Hamish through all 33 books until M C Beaton's death a few years ago. She authorized writer R W Green to finish this last book she wrote before her passing. Hamish doesn't act like Hamish. He is prone to losing his temper more often despite his giddiness towards his new-found love. The other characters also don't feel the same. Something is amiss, that's for sure. I was hoping Hamish will finally have a happy ending with a woman he truly cares for but alas, it was not to be. Way to go Mr. Green.😒 

The author then continues on with a new book in the series, Death Of A Traitor, probably as requested by M C Beaton. I'm sad to say I won't continue reading. Hamish and Agatha need not continue, IMHO. They should have died with the author. 

Mr. Green's Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin are not the same characters that M C Beaton created. Very disappointing. I guess I have to say goodbye to my favorite policeman with flaming red hair and politically incorrect man-hungry female sleuth. 

Sturgill Simpson Playlist

Cover of Nirvana's In Bloom. I like the changes he made to a line of the lyrics.

The Engine House

tags: mystery-crime, Welsh

⭐

From Goodreads

You can bury the bodies, but you can’t hide the truth.

When a landslip on Pembrokeshire’s stunning coastal path reveals the harrowing remains of two bodies, ex-DCI Evan Warlow’s quiet retirement is shattered. As the original investigator for the two missing persons eight years before, Evan is recalled to help with what is now a murder inquiry. But as the killer scrambles to cover up the truth, the body count rises.

Working with a new young team, Warlow peels away the layers to reveal the dark and rotten heart that beats beneath the chocolate box tranquility of an area renowned for its quiet beauty. But does he still have what it takes to root out the monstrous truth before all hell lets loose? The Engine House is the gripping debut crime thriller set in the heart of wild Wales from author Rhys Dylan.

Perfect for fans of LJ Ross, JD Kirk. JM Dalgliesh and Simon McCleave. Celtic noir with a spatter of dark humour.

I was excited to start a new series from a British author because all the mystery authors whose books I liked have sadly passed and the ones I still read are good but not great (Wilkie Martin) and some are mediocre.

I'm disappointed in this Welsh detective series. The writing is okay although I cannot understand why the author wrote third person in the past tense on Chapter I then switched to present tense on Chapter 2 all the way to the end. It's jarring and there's no good reason to do that. And I didn't detect any dark humor. Nada. 

The story started fine with possibly a little gothic mystery then the author ruined it by making the story about same old same old...drugs! I thought he couldn't make the story any worse but he did by adding illegal immigrants and totally destroyed the gothic feel of the engine house. What a dumb ending and a let down. I guess my search for a good British author is still on. 

Not recommended. 

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.

Top Gun: Maverick

tags: awesome sequel, free streaming for Amazon Prime members

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The New Confessions

tags: British, favorites, historical fiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

In this extraordinary novel, William Boyd presents the autobiography of John James Todd, whose uncanny and exhilarating life as one of the most unappreciated geniuses of the twentieth century is equal parts Laurence Stern, Charles Dickens, Robertson Davies, and Saul Bellow, and a hundred percent William Boyd.

From his birth in 1899, Todd was doomed. Emerging from his angst-filled childhood, he rushes into the throes of the twentieth century on the Western Front during the Great War, and quickly changes his role on the battlefield from cannon fodder to cameraman. When he becomes a prisoner of war, he discovers Rousseau's Confessions, and dedicates his life to bringing the memoir to the silver screen. Plagued by bad luck and blind ambition, Todd becomes a celebrated London upstart, a Weimar luminary, and finally a disgruntled director of cowboy movies and the eleventh member of the Hollywood Ten. Ambitious and entertaining, Boyd has invented a most irresistible hero.

William Boyd is a great story-teller and has again written an unforgettable character in John James Todd who is maybe a genius but is also clueless half of the time, resulting in his many failures. I love it and is worth a reread. 

Highly recommended. I also recommend The Blue Afternoon.  

The 10th Victim

tags: comedy, fantasy, farce, sci-fi 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 From IMDB

In the 21st Century, where a human vs. human "Big Hunt" is used as an alternative to war, a veteran huntress agrees to kill a "victim" to get a major TV sponsorship deal, but romantic entanglements between the two complicate matters.

Before The Running Man, The Hunger Games, and Battle Royale, there is the 1960s Italian movie, The 10th Victim, with Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress as prey and hunter. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. 

The movie is funny and satirical. The opening scene with Ursula wearing a shiny silver bikini while dancing and slapping men inside a masochists club is specially hilarious and ending in her triumphant elimination of the "hunter". 

The movie is also rather prescient with regard to current reality shows where contestants are being filmed in real time. I liked the costumes, jazz music, the witty dialogue, and specially the beautiful Ursula. I enjoy watching these types of old movies with cheap gadgets and sets but with beautiful leads unlike the latest Hollyweird drecks filled with fat ugly unfunny people like Melissa McCarthy, Whoopie Goldberg et al. Bring back the beauties, Hollywood!

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.

Stuck In The 80s