Thursday, June 29, 2023

Where Are The Children Now?











tags: mystery, sequel
⭐⭐

From Goodreads
The legacy of the “Queen of Suspense” continues with the highly anticipated follow-up to Mary Higgins Clark’s iconic novel Where Are The Children?, featuring the children of Nancy Harmon, facing peril once again as adults.
Of the fifty-six bestsellers the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark published in her lifetime, Where Are the Children? was her biggest, selling millions of copies and forever transforming the genre of suspense fiction. In that story, a young California mother named Nancy Harmon was convicted of murdering her two children. Though released on a technicality, she was abandoned by her husband and became such a pariah in the media that she was forced to move across the country to Cape Cod, change her identity and appearance, and start a new life. Years later her two children from a second marriage, Mike and Melissa, would go missing, and Nancy yet again became the prime suspect—but this time, Nancy was able to confront the secrets buried in her past and rescue her kids from a dangerous predator.
Now, more than four decades since readers first met Nancy and her children, comes the thrilling sequel to the groundbreaking book that set the stage for future generations of psychological suspense novels. A lawyer turned successful podcaster, Melissa has recently married a man whose first wife died tragically, leaving him and their young daughter, Riley, behind. While Melissa and her brother, Mike, help their mom, Nancy, relocate from Cape Cod to the equally idyllic Hamptons, Melissa’s new stepdaughter goes missing. Drawing on the experience of their own abduction, Melissa and Mike race to find Riley to save her from the trauma they still struggle with—or worse.
Just like the original, Where Are the Children Now? keeps readers guessing and holding their breath until the very last page.
I can't remember when I read and what was the last book I read by Mary Higgins Clark. It was so long ago. Where Are The Children is the most memorable of Mary Higgins Clark's books. When a sequel popped up in the library's recommendations, I had to borrow it although I have stopped reading her books more than 15 years ago. 

Mary Higgins Clark's writing style was simple without using big words but she had the ability to create complex interesting characters, although sometimes the stories are too forced. What I liked was her great sense of humor which is lacking in new novelists.

I already had low expectations before reading so I don't get disappointed. Alafair Burke did her best but she is no Mary Higgins Clark. Her main character Melissa, the girl who was abducted in the previous book almost has 2 personalities, one was brilliant and the other was brainless. How can she marry a guy and not meet any of his family and friends. She hardly knew what he did for a living, never noticed his home office desk is almost empty. She only started looking at his past after the child disappeared. SMH. 

The police were incompetent and never bothered to investigate meticulously if Melissa was indeed guilty of child murder.  

Knowing Clark's usual suspects (hint: close friends and even family), I guessed correctly who was one of the culprits. Why was this sequel even written after more than 30 years and the original author already dead? 

Not recommended

Friday, June 23, 2023

Death Of A Kingfisher











tags: audiobook, Hamish Macbeth, mystery-crime, "reread"
⭐⭐
When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns.
The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover. It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive.
But just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again, the lawman's investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder.
I didn't particularly like Death of A Kingfisher when I read it 10 years ago and rated it only 3 stars. I listened to the audiobook as a "reread" and downgraded it to 2 stars.

The story is too twisty, convoluted, too forced and without the signature humor of M. C. Beaton. The latest Hamish books written by R. W. Green are very similar to this book. I suspect he probably wrote the last 8 Hamish Macbeth novels, from the 27th on. The presence of the regular village characters is almost non-existent which gave me the clue this is written by Mr. Green.

My beef with this novelette is the inclusion of a Russian thug, the 2 evil children spawned by Rhoda Penmark, and an unnecessary bloody chainsaw murder. The book also has the highest body count including the kingfisher, of any Hamish Macbeth books, 8 people and 1 bird.


Thursday, June 22, 2023

Let's Get Divorced


tags: dramedy, Japanese dorama, Netflix streaming 

9 complete episodes
A politician and his actress wife have been married for five years... but their domestic bliss now faces a crisis, including a fling, an affair and potential divorce!
What should be an issue between just the two of them causes an uproar that sweeps up everyone in their orbit! Where will this dizzy divorce drama end up?
Laugh and cry along with this divorce comedy featuring a star-studded cast, including main co-stars Tori Matsuzaka and Riisa Naka, as well as Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto and Arata Furuta.

 

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Killing Moon











tags: crime, Harry Hole, mystery, Norway
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads
Brilliant rogue police investigator Harry Hole is back, this time as an outsider assembling his own team to help find a serial killer who is murdering young women in Oslo in the next novel in the New York Times best-selling series.
THE HUNT IS ON AND THE POLICE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. Two young women are missing, their only connection a party they both attended, hosted by a notorious real-estate magnate. When one of the women is found murdered, the police discover an unusual signature left by the killer, giving them reason to suspect he will strike again.
THEY’RE FACING A KILLER UNLIKE ANY OTHER. And exposing him calls for a detective like no other. But the legendary Harry Hole is gone—fired from the force, drinking himself to oblivion in Los Angeles. It seems that nothing can entice him back to Oslo. Until the woman who saved Harry’s life is put in grave danger, and he has no choice but to return to the city that haunts him and track down the murderer.
CATCHING HIM WILL PUSH HARRY TO THE LIMIT. He’ll need to bring together a misfit team of former operatives to accomplish what he can’t do alone: stop an unstoppable killer. But as the evidence mounts, it becomes clear that there is more to this case than meets the eye…
Harry Hole is in a bad bad shape and is in Los Angeles trying hard to drink himself to death. No one can blame him after his wife was murdered then getting fired from his job.

The opening chapter finds Harry drinking in a not too classy bar. It reminds me a little of Philip Marlowe specially Harry's opinion of Los Angeles, the reality of the movie industry, the homeless people occupying sidewalks. Overall a disgusting place in his eyes.

His credit card maxed out and his tab was paid by an aging former actress whom he had to rescue from bill collectors. He postponed his death wish by alcohol poisoning to help this lady by going back to Oslo to find a serial killer. He asked, as a free lance investigator, for a certain amount from the person police suspects as the killer to cover the lady's debt.

This is a very dark kinda twisty tale with hard to guess demented evil villain. One negative is too much red herrings and one story line was not necessary to the novel. The revenge of the Jeffrey Dahmer wannabe may be too much for some readers but I'm used to Jo Nesbø's bloody stories and his sense of humor makes the novel worthy of my time. I specially liked the parts when Harry and his odd group argue about musicians. (Jo Nesbø is a professional musician BTW)

advice to Harry regarding drinking and moderation
All you have to do is is decide beforehand where to draw the line, how many units, But, it goes without saying, you have to work at it.
You're smirking Harry, but I'm serous. It's about a sense of achievement. I can offer the world's best substance abuser as living proof.
Hm, I presume you are talking about that overrated guitarist you like so much.
Hey, have some respect for Keith Richards! Read his biography. He gives you the formula. Survival is about two things. Only the purest, best dope. It's the stuff mixed in that kills you. And moderation...
babysitting his 3 year-old son
Harry doesn't know any lullaby so he sang The Rolling Stone's Wild Horses and Hank William's Your Cheating Heart, and a blues song about cocaine...
after the murderer (wrong one) was caught they didn't have any reason to get together anymore
We can argue about other things, like who is the most underrated drummer in the world...that's Ringo Starr; the most overrated - Keith Moon; and the best - John Bonham of Led Zeppelin...
Highly recommended for Harry Hole and Jo Nesbø fans.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

See You In My 19th Life


tags: fantasy, KDrama, Netflix streaming, reincarnation, romance
16 episodes, Saturday and Sunday starting June 17, 2023

It stars my number one favorite Korean actress, Shin Hye-sun.

Her dramas currently streaming on Netflix
Stranger, second lead
Mr. Queen, lead
Hymn of Death, lead

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Sound Of Freedom



Get Your Tickets At: https://www.angel.com/sof
Exclusively in theaters July 4th, 2023.

Sound of Freedom, based on the incredible true story, shines a light on even the darkest of places. After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy’s sister is still captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.
The film stars Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, The Count of Monte Cristo) who plays the lead role of Tim Ballard. Academy Award Winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) plays Katherine Ballard and Bill Camp (Lincoln, 12 Years a Slave) plays “Batman”—Ballard’s right-hand man.
The film is produced by Eduardo Verástegui and directed by Alejandro Monteverde.
Share this film with the world by Paying it Forward at https://www.angel.com/pay-it-forward/sound-of-freedom

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Tiger And Dragon


tags: dorama, Japanese series, Netflix streaming
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From IMDB
The show revolves around Rakugo, a traditional Japanese comedy that can look back on a 400 year long history. It tells about a Yakuza who goes to a Rakugo performer to collect debts, and a talented comedian who tries to change his destiny.
This 2005 Japanese series is streaming on Netflix. It is goofy and hilarious, a true dramedy with bursts of comedy and heavy drama. I love the over-the-top acting and contrived personal stories that only the Japanese can do without the viewers rolling their eyes.

Highly recommended. 

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling


tags: 18th century, adventure, humor, romance, satire
⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads
A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire—though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature.

The novel is loooong (my copy has over 1 thousand pages), naughty, satirical, and very very funny. I loved it. 

Highly recommended.

Friday, May 5, 2023

Felix Holt The Radical











tags: classics, politics, romantic triangle
⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads
When the young nobleman Harold Transome returns to England from the colonies with a self-made fortune, he scandalizes the town of Treby Magna with his decision to stand for Parliament as a Radical. But after the idealistic Felix Holt also returns to the town, the difference between Harold's opportunistic values and Holt's profound beliefs becomes apparent. Forthright, brusque and driven by a firm desire to educate the working-class, Felix is at first viewed with suspicion by many, including the elegant but vain Esther Lyon, the daughter of the local clergyman. As she discovers, however, his blunt words conceal both passion and deep integrity. Soon the romantic and over-refined Esther finds herself overwhelmed by a heart-wrenching decision: whether to choose the wealthy Transome as a husband, or the impoverished but honest Felix Holt.
This is the last George Eliot novel I have read, completing all 7 novels and one collection of 3 short stories. This is my least favorite but still rates 3 stars IMHO. Middlemarch is still number 1 on my list of George Eliot novels.

The story is a tad convoluted with the story of Esther and also of Harold regarding their parentage. The storytelling is fine but with almost all characters being antiheroes, it is hard to like the book. I guess not everybody is into reading about vexing characters dominating a book. This is probably the reason it is the least popular of all her novels regardless of the interesting Radicalism politics.