Mini Reviews & Recs: Feb through April 2022

Work in the past 3 months was like Godzilla. I read very little, and got nowhere on the 10 Million Reading Challenges that I had over-ambitiously planned. But I binged on mystery and detective stuff a lot, and here are a few things that kept me going.

Princess Bride│William Goldman

It was such a delight to re-discover this (thanks to Peat Long’s Blog for reminding). And this time around, I feel this is not children’s fiction at all — there are so many subtle cues here that I missed the first time around! I think I prefer the movie over the book, but it’s as you wish.

Seventh Seal (1957 movie)│Ingmar Bergman

I saw this film on several Top Mystery Movies lists. Most reviewers described it as Death playing chess with a knight about to die, which seemed very intriguing. But this turned out to be more of a philosophical foray into: is there a God? I suppose human life/ life IS the biggest puzzle of all time, so definitely a “mystery” movie. Yet, this was not what I expected. A bit loud at times, but very thought-provoking.

A Kind of Murder (2016, movie, Amazon Prime)

An author with a troubled marriage gets a very opportunistic escape when his wife is murdered by a serial killer. But was it really the work of a serial killer? Set in 1950s New York, and very atmospheric. The cinematography, the pacing and slow build-up towards the climax at the end were very well done. The ending was just a little confusing. If you’ve seen it, would love to know your thoughts!

Guards! Guards!│Terry Pratchett

I’d tried reading Pratchett’s Discworld series before and they never stuck with me. Happy to report that this Book 8 from the series did the trick! The misfits of Ankh-Morpork city are doing a rather shoddy job as its watchmen. Meanwhile, a nefarious Brotherhood hatches a plan to release dragons into the city. In return, they’ll ask for the statesman’s daughter. Er, sorry, he has no daughter. I mean, they’ll find the lost royal heir and take over the city… It’s complicated! The humor is on the snarky side, but quite funny so far.

Alex Craft Series│Kalayna Price

After Lori at Fifty-Two recommended this Urban Fantasy series several times, I decided to give it another try. And liked it very much! Alex is a grave witch, she can speak to the dead and find out how they died. Well, she’s not having a grand time, not with being unpaid, disowning her political parent, chasing grim reapers, being attacked by the fae, getting caught up in ritual murders… You get the idea.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back│Adrienne Young

Honestly, not much happens in the book. Girl with seer abilities thinks she has been abandoned by her people and foretells war and destruction (so everyone hates her even more). Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta uses the same trope but to much better effect.

Cursed Luck series│Kelley Armstrong

Kennedy is a hex-breaker, and has just been hired (against her will) to fix an antique cursed necklace. Armstrong is a solid author, and Urban Fantasy is my go-to genre. Unluckily, this one just did not work for me. The plot was not strong or fast-paced enough, and the lead characters just didn’t impress. Kinda boring…

The Green Knight (2021 movie)

Very disappointing movie, and I had such high hopes. I suppose they wanted to show how that old legend might have been more superstitious exaggeration than heroic fantasy, yet it all got mixed-up. Unaccountably slow, and the background OST was off too. Some scenes were brilliant and some scenes just endlessly meandering and pointless…. I want my time back. The trailer was awesome though.

Hercule Poirot (ITV version with David Suchet)

I watched each Poirot episode like a sweetener at the end of every long day at work. They can be very relaxing, because you know that Poirot is going to end up just fine. What a “gentleman-ly” age that was, the criminals of the time seem like well-mannered babies compared to today’s hi-tech villains. I hope to do a separate post on the best and worst of Poirot episodes, but we’ll see…

Death on the Nile (2022 movie)

Have you seen the latest Poirot movie from Kenneth Branagh? Although this one seems to be one of Christie’s more popular books (?), I can’t say I am very fond of the plot. Still, it’s definitely more lavish and gorier than the ITV adaptation. I have even come to like this more active, quieter version of Poirot which is so different from the Suchet version. Worth a watch for all mystery fans.

Have you read or seen any of these? Let me know what you thought about these. And hope you’ve managed some fabulous books and watches too during April 2022 (and before)!