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Murder

The Late Show

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The Late Show by Michael Connelly
Overdrive Audiobook
Narrated by Katherine Moennig
Who it’s for:  Adults

Fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Mysteries, will love this book.  The Late Show is the first in Connelly’s new series called the Renee Ballard Novels.

After filing a sexual harassment complaint against her supervisor, LAPD Detective Renee Ballard has been reassigned to the night shift.  Protocol requires her to give her cases to the day shift each morning.  But two new cases, the death of a young woman in a nightclub and the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in parking lot, have her so intrigued she refuses to pass them on.

While secretly searching for justice for these two victims, against her partner’s wishes and department orders, Renee Ballard finds her courage, determination, and intuition tested.  Her career and her life are on the line.  As fear mounts and the cases become more intriguing, Harry Bosch, who never seems too far removed from the most notorious cases of the LAPD, steps in to assist.
Find it on Overdrive

Elementary

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Recommended Series

Series Title: Elementary by CBS Television Studios
First Book: Elementary Season One
Who it’s for: [Teens, Adults,]

“Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is a recovering addict who meets Joan Watson (Lucy Lui) as his ‘sober companion’. Initially their relationship is strictly professional, and somewhat frosty, but they grow to understand and work with one another, eventually forming a friendship and partnership. Together they assist Captain Gregson and Detective Bell of the NYPD, where Holmes’ observational abilities and deductive talent unravel a series of complicated cases. Alongside his police work, Sherlock struggles with a past he left behind in London involving an ex-girlfriend Irene Adler, a ‘nemesis’ in Moriarty, and an absent father.”– IMDb

While I as waiting for the BBC’s Sherlock to release some more mini movies, I was told about this show. The concept intrigued me- recovering addict, NYC, and Dr. Watson as a woman. In addition, I liked the lead actors from their previous work.

Elementary did not disappoint. The episodes were the typical one-hour mystery murder show. Even though they were not buddy-buddy and there was absolutely no sexual tension between Sherlock and Watson, I really liked their comradery. They also had great comradery with the police Captain Greggson, played by veteran actor Aidan Quinn, and their assigned police liaison, Detective Marcus Bell.

I would recommend this to people who like episodic buddy-cop-mystery shows with real backstories and character arcs that run throughout the seasons.

Click to Request Season 1-6 on DVD!

P.S. Apparently, Season 7 started on May 23, 2019.  I cannot vouch for it. I thought Season 6 ended the series pretty well.

A Simple Favor

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A Simple Favor
Format: DVD
Who’s It For: Adults

A Simple Favor is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. Best friends, secrets, danger, a dead body and the ever-revolving question of who is duping whom. It is so full of intriguing twists and turns! It leaves you guessing all the way to the end! Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and Henry Golding are terrific in this film.

Based on the book “A Simple Favour” by Darcey Bell

Request your copy now!

My Sister, the Serial Killer

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Recommended Book
My Sister, the Serial Killer by  Oyinkan Braithwaite
Publication/Release Date: November 20, 2018
Format: Book or ebook
Who it’s for: Adults

Below is the publisher’s blurb. I’d suggest only reading this much of it. It gives away too much of the story, IMHO. I picked this book based solely on the cover, title, and the author’s name.

Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

“Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.”

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning. -Publisher’s blurb

I read an Advanced Review Copy ebook from NetGalley. We call them ARC’s. If you subscribe to different services or get on publishers’ lists, you can receive ARC’s of books to review before they are released. It’s pretty cool. (NetGalley is a site where book reviewers and other professional readers can read books before they are published, in e-galley or digital galley form. Members register for free and can request review copies or be invited to review by the publisher).

I am not sure how to comment on this without giving anything away. Basically, I really like it even though I don’t like any of the characters in the book. Although I can’t really tell they are in Africa, I was glad it was a novel written by an African woman.  I was disappointed about that part. This story reads like any other story of a place I have never been in the USA; except for a few words (that I hope will have definitions in the finished publication), the traffic police, and a mention of a chief. As I read, I thought they must be in Nigeria because that is where the author lives but I never could recall the name of the city. Since it’s a great character driven story, not much detail about the city/country where they live.

Korede is the older sister who enables Ayoola, her younger spoiled sister (as does the entire world cuz she is just that pretty). Right off the bat, I am not that sympathetic to either of the sisters. Korede cuz she complains bitterly about Ayoola but says nothing and keeps enabling.  Ayoola cuz she is a killer and a spoiled brat. Yet I really liked this book. It was quite thrilling in some parts and the other parts were equally fascinating.  I did read parts out of order. The chapters titled Father intrigued me. I had a theory about his death and wanted to see if I was correct. I also read ahead because I wanted to know if Ayoola killed Korede’s crush. It’s a short read so I had already read a third of the book by the time I skipped around. It was a great, fun read. I hope she writes more and that they get published/released in the USA as well.

Find this thriller here

 

Ten dead comedians

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Ten dead comedians by Fred Van Lente
Format: Book
Who it’s for:  Adults

“Fred Van Lente’s brilliant debut is both an homage to the Golden Age of Mystery and a contemporary show-business satire. It is a darkly clever take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) and other classics of the genre. As the story opens, nine comedians of various acclaim are summoned to the island retreat of legendary Hollywood funnyman Dustin Walker.  These fictional comedians all will remind you of real life comedians in many ways. All nine arrive via boat to find that every building on the island is completely deserted. Marooned without cell phone service or wifi signals, they soon find themselves being murdered one by one. But who is doing the killing, and why?” -Publisher’s blurb

I picked this up because of the publisher – Quirk books. They have many fun, different books for all ages.

If you have read or seen the movies based on And Then There Were None, you know it’s a locked room mystery with a crazy, unbelievable, twisty ending.  I love Agatha Christie mysteries but I always tell people she cheats. The murder is always rather complicated. The murderer is a very fast MacGyver with the best luck. The timing is always just right. The murderer always figures out some hack to accomplish their goals. And the murderer is lucky that nobody sees them, except 1 person. Of course, that one person is eventually murdered. That is a Christie style mystery. I enjoy them but they cheat.

This parody is no exception. The murders are elaborate and take MacGyver type skills to pull off.  The murderer times things VERY well as they move from room to room. The ending is so fantastical you know nobody in real life could pull it off. But the story is an enjoyable mystery. The fact it is funny and satirizes showbiz is an added bonus.

I would recommend this book to mystery lovers, parody enthusiasts, folks in need of a laugh and those interested in the life of a comedian.

Find it in the catalog

Big Little Lies Season 1

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Book: Big Little Lies by Moriarty, Liane
TV Series: Big Little Lies
TV Series Release Date: 19 February 2017
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspooon, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard, Laura Dern, Jeffrey Nordling, Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz and James Tupper
Rated: TV-MA
This is the perfect TV show for anyone who loves a brilliant, mind bending, edge of your seat mystery.

The show is a bit confusing at first. But once you settle in hang on to your seat! All is not what it seems in the perfect lives of three mothers of first graders. It all starts when a new single mom named Jane moves into a seaside California town. Madeline and Celeste take Jane under their wing and quickly form a close friendship. No one realizes that the arrival of Jane and her little boy will begin the downward spiral that leads to murder. Things are definitely not as they seem in the lives of these almighty powerful families.  Watch as their lives unravel revealing scandal, ex-husbands and ex-wives and lies that we tell just to survive. Big Little Lies will keep you in suspense all the way to the end. I must warn you….. you will want to watch the entire season in one sitting. Find it on the Library catalog.