Every Fall I seem to get on a cozy mystery kick. August and Back-to-School hits and I gravitate to my local library's mystery section and just start devouring every whodunit with a cute front cover. This one stood out immediately. Awesome cover! I read this book in 2021 when it first came out, but I couldn't remember the killer's identity and book 2 is coming out in October 2022, so it was time to re-read!!
The Basics: Misty Murphy turns
50...gets divorced....and buys an old inn sitting atop a mountain in
Northwest NC. The inn needs a lot of work, but she finds a handyman in
her price range to things up. Opening weekend the inn is full and
everything looks great. Until.....
There is always an until....
Yep
-- a murder. One dead yoga instructor and Misty's new business venture
might just crumble around her ears. So she starts doing some sleuthing
to find the killer. Can she discover who offed the yoga instructor
before someone else is killed or her business gets a bad reputation?
Such a fun story! I love the
characters and the setting (of course). The chapters even have some
thoughts from Misty's cat - Yeti is awesome! :)
Glad I read this
cozy. It made me smile the entire time. Nicely paced. Plenty of humor.
Fun setting/premise. Great cover art. I will definitely stick with this
series! Definitely a nice way to kick off my annual mystery binge!
Dario's quest to link his archaeology knowledge with the concept of ancient aliens continues in Part 2 of Lights Beyond the Stars. This continuation jumps forward a bit in time and Dario, his ally Professor Eli, and a team of archaeologists are in Bolivia at a dig site. Dario works long days to uncover the secrets of Tiahuanaco with the rest of the team....but he will discover something that will change his life, and possibly the lives of the entire human race.
This second section of Dario's story is five chapters long. It is a quick and interesting read. There was a portion of the story where I have to admit I was tempted to eyeroll just a little bit.....it was getting just a bit too History-Channel-BadTV-Weird-Alien-Conspiracy-Ridiculous for me...BUT.....then there was a surprise that sucked me right back into the story. It seems the author always has one of those surprises tucked away to pull out and blow away my assumptions of where the plot is going. ha ha! Love it!
This story is simple and a fast paced archaeology meets aliens tale. There are no pauses for character development (except for just a bit for Dario, the MC) and not a lot of extraneous details or explanations of theories, science, archaeology, etc. This is a story for story's sake -- and that's perfectly ok. Sometimes I need to read something that is just a tale -- nothing fancy, nothing mind-shattering, just a really entertaining story. Sometime to pull me out of IRL and send me somewhere else for just a little bit. There are places where the writing could be better.....places where the plot could be a bit more fleshed out.....and jumps in time that skip over plot points -- these things did did pop into my head at times while reading. It's hard to take the former editor out of the reader, if that makes sense. BUT.....this story doesn't need fluff or fleshing out. It's just fine the way it is -- it's a quick, simple story from the author's mind that he was kind enough to share with us. And that's enough. I enjoyed the story.
Not sure what is in store for Dario next -- but I'm moving on to part 3!
Dario is an archaeology student who has beliefs that often open him to ridicule from others students and professors at his university. He's open minded and often gears his presentations towards subjects that interest him -- theories about ancient aliens and other topics that others believe are kooky. An older professor at VanHale, Professor Eli, has become his ally and they meet frequently to discuss Dario's various presentations and projects. A series of live debates on archaeology topics are upcoming. Will Dario finally have a chance to show up his rival, Ryker, who constantly belittles his ideas?
This first installment in this mini-trilogy sets the scene, basically. It introduces Dario and gives a bit of his background to explain why he is so keen on the concept of ancient alien theories, and sets the scene for the upcoming live debates.
This is a quick read -- only three chapters. No real action, but basically set up for what's to come. I was a bit surprised that there was no real action or story line in this first installment. It ends before anything happens.... I would be a bit disappointed if I bought the Kindle ebook and it was only 3 chapters. As it is, I got this book through one of those lovely free ebook giveaways, and checked Part 2 out on Kindle Unlimited. So, I was not unhappy that the installments are short, or that part 1 is mainly story setup. I totally get the concept of releasing the first bit for free to hook readers into progressing on to part 2. But, I prefer a good cliff-hanger, rather than a section ending before anything has really happened to start the plot rolling.
Great cover art!
An interesting intro......I'm moving on to Part 2 to find out what happens next!
The story of a 5-man crew making a trip to Nix, one of Pluto's moons on a mining expedition continues in part 2 of The Xyania Project.
There were several surprises in this second part of the series. Unexpected events and interesting developments definitely kept my attention riveted to this story from start to finish.
As with Part 1, this is a quick read (80 pgs) that focuses mainly on the action of the story with only light character and setting development. But I like the emphasis on the action rather than story fluff. I want to know what's happening with the crew and don't care about long descriptions of Nix rocks or crew backgrounds. I did feel like a couple story elements needed some more closure/explanation, but that might be coming in Part 3.
All in all, an enjoyable, simple and quick sci-fi read. I enjoyed having a story where I could just focus on the action and not get bogged down in whether the science itself was sound or worry about being sidetracked by side plots. Sometimes all I want/need is a quick story to enjoy -- and this short, enjoyable space series is giving me just that.
Can't wait to read Part 3 when it becomes available!
The Jean Harlow Bombshell Author: Mollie Cox Bryan
I'm a sucker for almost anything Old Hollywood, so I jumped at the chance to read this mystery novel. Jean Harlow. Jean was famous for her beauty and platinum blonde hair. Her fame only grew when she died young in 1937 at age 26 following a short illness. Her funeral was attended by the entire Hollywood A-list and she was buried with a 152-carat star sapphire ring on her hand (a gift from William Powell). Her story is tragic but it's the stuff Hollywood Legends are made of.
I completely love, love, love the idea of a mystery series involving Old Hollywood icons! This book was an entertaining mix of mystery and facts about Harlow. It easily kept my attention from start to finish.
The basics: Charlotte Donovan is a writer's assistant. Her boss, Justine, writes biographies and gossip type books about famous people. Charlotte helps research and even helps write portions of the books. The current project is a book about Jean Harlow. Then Justine dies under mysterious circumstances....and Charlotte learns there are facts about Harlow that someone wants kept quiet.
Very entertaining story! I liked the basic plot, the basic premise for the series and the characters. Very enjoyable read!
There is a second book in this series: The Aubrey Hepburn Heist. I'm definitely reading it!
A 5-man crew survives in stasis for 3 years, as their ship travels through space to one of Pluto's moons. Their mission is to mine a mineral that can be used as fuel, making space travel easier. This trip is 50 years in the making and their ship carries all of the gear and supplies they need to succeed. But, upon awaking, the crew will discover there is more to their mission than expected......and the moons of Pluto hide secrets they couldn't have predicted.
Awesome start to a very interesting space travel story! I listened to the audio book version while reading the kindle ebook. The audio book is just under an hour and narrated by Jeff Doba. Doba does a great job of narrating. His voice is pleasant and he reads at a good pace. There were a couple differences between the ebook and the audio, but nothing vital.
I love the cover art for this series!
I have the ebook for part 2 -- moving on to find out what happens to the crew next!!
Great, short read! I look forward to reading the rest of this story, and more by this author!
Murder on the Orient Express Author: Agatha Christie
Over the last couple of years I have been working my way through Agatha Christie's writing in publication order. Agatha has been my favorite author since I was 9 and spent a summer reading through some old Poirot paperbacks I found at a garage sale.
I have worked my way through several novels and collections of short stories, and the latest read in my All Things Christie quest is: Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie's most famous mysteries. Orient Express has been adapted for radio, film, television...even a graphic novel and a video game. In my opinion, it's one of the best murder mystery stories ever written.
Murder on the Orient Express was first published in the UK in January 1934. Later that year it was published in the US under the title Murder in the Calais Coach.
The basics: Hercule Poirot is abroad when he is called back to London unexpectedly. He boards a train filled with an interesting mix of passengers. Unfortunately, the train is forced to stop due to snow blocking the tracks. The next morning it is discovered that there is more than snow causing problems -- one of the passengers has been murdered. (cue dramatic music stab here)
I find this story an interesting and creative mystery. A train full of passengers. Snow strands the train in a remote spot, making it nearly impossible for anyone to get onto the train and murder someone, and equally as impossible for anyone to kill and then leave the train. So, the murderer must still be on the train....but who is it? A passenger? A railway employee? Hercule Poirot is soon on the case to use his little grey cells to ferret out the killer!
Pretty silly for someone to commit a murder on a train with Hercule Poirot on board! Big mistake!
I listened to the audio book version (HarperAudio) of this story. I finally listened to an Poirot novel narrated by David Suchet!!!! And he did a superb job!! I loved every minute of it!
Now that I have finished the audio book, I'm going to go watch film and television adaptations and decide which one I like the best! This is one of my favorite Christie novels. I'm going to enjoy reading and watching just about everything based on it that I can find before moving on to the next story in my Christie quest!
Reviews of film/television adaptations:
1974 - This film adaptation is a real gathering of classic film actors. Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Ingrid Bergman and others! I did not particularly enjoy Albert Finney as Poirot, but this adaptation did a fairly good job in sticking with Christie's plot.
It is available to watch for free on youtube:
2001 - IMHO, this adaptation makes ridiculous changes in the story including bringing it into the modern era and giving Poirot a weird, useless love interest angle. This movie was made for television, and I found it to be awful. Strange casting choices -- like casting Meredith Baxter as Mrs. Hubbard -- and bad acting really made this hard for me to watch. Alfred Molina plays Poirot. While I like Molina's acting in other things, he was a miscast for Poirot. 20 minutes of the movie at the start was wasted on non-essential, silly things. That time would have been better spent actually developing and strengthening the plot and characterizations from the actual story. Add to that way too many ridiculous pop culture references thrown in at points where it made no sense. Things like: "Yes, I'm familiar with the Armstrong case. It was as big as O.J." What a stupid line! Just a mess. Yuck. Now, this is just my personal opinion. By all means watch for yourself and decide. Others may love this. I did not.
Available to watch for free on Youtube:
2010 - Episode of Poirot (Season 12, Ep 3):
This is a very dark episode of Poirot, perhaps because it was aired in the final season. The story is essentially intact, with just a few changes. Very well done. And, as always, David Suchet is perfect as Poirot, even in episodes obviously darkened a bit to lead to the end of the series. |
This episode is available for free on Youtube:
Next I will be watching the:
2017 movie. Will update when I have finished watching.
I love it when I discover a new-to-me horror writer! I found a story by Newton Webb on one of those lovely indy writer genre giveaways. The stories are sometimes hit or miss, but most stories I've downloaded have been very enjoyable reads.
The Black Fog. This is definitely a short story that packs a lot of atmosphere into a few pages. There's just something inherently creepy about a bank of thick fog rolling in at night. It doesn't totally obscure, but distorts normal landscapes to look sinister. But the fog in this story is different. It's black and blocks out everything. Even light can't penetrate the fog. And it doesn't make things appear evil -- it brings evil with it. It's 1958 and there's nothing to do in Grimsdyke. Ted is dating Sue, and just trying to survive and help his dad. Then the fog rolls in......
When Ted and Sue wished that their lives were more exciting in Grimsdyke, I don't think this is what they had in mind.
Very entertaining story! It's available on Amazon (Kindle Unlimited) or on Newton Webb's website (https://www.newtonwebb.com/). I listened to Newton reading his story as part of his podcast Newton's Macabre Tales. The podcast has 22 episodes. I found it on Apple Podcasts but you can also find links on the author's website. The Black Fog was an enjoyable 20 minute listen. I look forward to reading more by this author!!
Locke & Key Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft Author: Joe Hill
Well, first off, I have to admit that I sort of bent my reading rules. I usually have a cast in stone personal rule that before I watch an adaptation of a story that started as a book/comic/graphic novel that I have to read the original version first. I've been wanting to read and watch Netflix's adaptation of this comic/graphic novel series for a long time, but never got around to it. Then I got an email this week that season 3 of the show was available to watch.
Season 3.
It was time to finally jump into this story. So, not wanting to totally just disregard my usual rule, I actually read the graphic novel on my PC and watched season 1 of the show at the same time (thank you Hoopla for the lovely ability to magnify comic pages). When the show catches up, I will check out the next volume and do the same.
I was a bit afraid when I first started reading that I might be disappointed. In the past I have waited years to enjoy a story and it hasn't lived up to the personal hype / anticipation I created for myself. But this time, I was pleasantly surprised. The artwork is gloriously dark and foreboding. The plot and art is Lovecraft level bloody, gloomy, and creepy. But I sort of knew it would be -- Joe Hill never disappoints me. And I have a deep appreciation for Gabriel Rodriguez' art. I was loving my ability to zoom in and look at the characters, things in the background, and all aspects of the art on each page. I love physical copies of graphic novels, but in this case, the digital version was awesome-sauce as well. I saw a lot more of the nuances in the art than I would have reading my physical copy.
So, I only bent my rules as I did finish the ebook of this graphic novel before I got very far into the show. There are some differences between the show and the book, of course. Television builds suspense and horror nuances a lot differently than a person's mind does while reading a book. I didn't have a problem with any of the changes in the first episodes of the show. I didn't understand why they changed a few things and added some others.....but it wasn't anything so severe as to annoy me too badly.
I will let the show catch up to the comic.....and then get the next Volume on Hoopla.
I just made a long distance move and started a new job in June. After many hours of training and a lot of stress, I needed something fun to read. Nothing heavy. Nothing complex. Just something to relax. Saw this book in my kindle library, and knew it was just the right thing! I needed a cozy mystery!
This cute start to Ellen Riggs' Mystic Mutt Mysteries series is a short, entertaining read. Janelle has been hiding out for awhile at her grandmother's gated retirement community. Her relationships at home are strained a bit, and she's been avoiding the issue. Just as she decides it's time to head back home and deal with things, life at her gran's gets a bit.....complicated. Well, not just a bit complicated but...dead body and she was the last person to see the person alive level of complicated. Janelle's amateur sleuthing turns up ghosts, witchcraft and murderous intentions!
Cute story with a cute dog! Enjoyed every word! I'm definitely going to read this series. I like the characters and the concept.
This is a prequel story for the series, so it's only 11 chapters. A fun, quick read!
