JANUARY FILMS AND TV

I managed to enjoy 7 1/2 films this month.

Melissa McFunny

Identity Thief was part-watched. I was enjoying it and I'm unsure if I fell asleep halfway through or whether we stopped it to view something else. Jason Bateman is funny and watchable and is easy on the eyes, in an I-don't-fancy-him kind of way. Melissa McCarthy is hilarious. I loved her in Bridesmaids, which is something my daughters have made me sit through a couple of times - don't tell them, but I actually like it!






Made of Honor is another rom-com with Patrick Dempsey in it. Ok as I stayed awake throughout so it wasn't too bad.

Miss Congeality 2 was on the box and was watched for the second time. I can't claim to be a big Sandra Bullock fan - she always seems like she's trying a bit too hard to be amusing, I much prefer Regina King in this.

One Day was watched and enjoyed for the second time also. I've read the book and enjoyed the film. I managed not to tear up at the critical moment, probably because my son burst into the room and we paused it, just as Anne Hathaway was happily cycling along.......








Holes was repeated on TV and this must be about the 6 or 7th time we watched it. My kids had it on video back in the day - it was made in 2003 and when we used to vote on what family film to watch this was always my choice. Henry Winkler aka The Fonz has a minor role. I do like Sigourney Weaver but my favourite is Jon Voight. I love to see him hamming it up in this as Mr Sir.

About Schmidt - this was one of my Christmas presents and we all liked it in our house. I enjoy watching Nicholson now more than I ever did when he was younger. His manic eyes and shark-teeth grin always used to make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I much prefer him as a lovable old rogue.

Something's Gotta Give - Nicholson again with Diane Keaton this time. Aging Lothario Jack steals the show. Keanu Reaves figures in this also.







Sightseers - was the black, dark comedy-thriller of the month. A 2011 film from Ben Wheatley who also directed last year's slightly weird A Field in England which we watched in black and white. 



TV was a mixed bag. The rest of the gang have been watching the new series of Silent Witness, which for some reason I can't seem to get into. I think I took a dislike to "Harry" in the old series and so I kind of mentally tuned it out. He's gone but I'm still not liking it.

We caught up a bit on Bates Motel and American Horror Story series 2. I have sort of had one eye in a book and one eye on the TV during these. Jessica Lange is fabulous.








I might have seen the last episode of Sherlock in January. I do like Martin Freeman. I'll likely never read ACD again, so this will scratch any Sherlock itch.



Favourite new show is Brooklyn Nine-Nine - absolutely hilarious! Only 20-odd minutes long, but it tickles me - we've seen maybe 3 of them so far.

JANUARY 2014 READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

One month in to the new year and I managed to read 8 books, which feels kind of disappointing. My pace has slowed a bit from last year, but as long as I mainly enjoy what I read, do the numbers and challenges matter that much.......not really.

January's best! 

Of the 8, Penance blew me away - ticking every box with McFetridge's Black Rock a close second. Interesting that they were both set in a similar period....Montreal, 1970 and Chicago, 1971.

Most of the rest were really good, with one book a so-so read and another which I might have been better flushing down the toilet for all the enjoyment I derived from it!

A few more stats...............

USA - 7, Canada - 1, (I do love America),

Males - 7, Females - 1 (no change there),

USA State Reading Challenge - 2, other challenges  - NIL,

New to me authors - 5

Net Galley books - 6, Own books - 2,

I think the last statistic sums up my mini-slump. I went a bit cray cray on Net Galley biting off more than I can chew. My reading seems pressured to meet deadlines and gives me less choice in what I want to pick-up next. Oh well, only about another 10 to go, then the vice-like grip will slacken.

Book of the month - Dan O'Shea - Penance!

The full January bunch below,

Collin Wilcox - Bernhardt's Edge (4)

David Putnam - The Disposables (4)

Stephen Graham Jones - Flushboy (2)

Dan O'Shea - Penance (5)

John McFetridge - Black Rock (4)

Adam Sternbergh - Shovel Ready (3)

Annette Dashofy - Circle of Influence (4)

Jake Hinkson - Saint Homicide (4)

JAKE HINKSON - SAINT HOMICIDE

Synopsis/blurb....

“The other inmates call him Saint Homicide, the murderous man of God who heeded the voice of wrath when it told him to do the unthinkable.

Many consider him a fanatic. Others see him as a prophet. And some simply think he’s insane.

Here, he tells his story.”

I needed something short and sharp to kick-start my reading this year into life – it’s the back end of January and I feel like I’m in a slump already – even though the books I have read so far have, with just the one exception all been pretty palatable.

Last year, I read and enjoyed Hinkson’s Hell on Church Street and despite having his Posthumous Man already waiting on my kindle. I plumped for his latest offering which I recently acquired from the Crime Factory guys in Australia.

Totally irrelevant to my reading pleasure – but the cover for this isn't as eye-catching as the previous Hinkson book I enjoyed.

Hell on Church Street review is here.

Saint Homicide is a quick, easy read and focuses on the same theme as Hell on Church Street – religion of the bible-thumping Evangelical type.

Daniel, our narrator tells his story from his prison cell. He’s a man of God, a lay preacher with an unshaken faith in serving his lord. In Daniel’s world - tolerance, forgiveness and compassion is in short supply. You batten down the hatches whilst struggling against your own lustful demons and you wreak vengeance on the sinners that displease your intolerant saviour............and then you get to languish in the joint.

Funny, dark, grotesque and a little bit scary........people like this actually exist! Now where’s my box of snakes?   

4 from 5

Bought late last year direct from The Crime Factory. Their website is here.

The author's blog is here.

ANNETTE DASHOFY - CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE

Synopsis/blurb.......

Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President’s abandoned car. 

As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also those closest to them.

Books in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series:

CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE #1

LOST LEGACY #2 (on sale Fall 2014)

Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Annette Dashofy, a Pennsylvania farm gal born and bred, grew up with horses, cattle, and, yes, chickens. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT for the local ambulance service. Since then, she’s worked a variety of jobs, giving her plenty of fodder for her lifelong passion for writing. She, her husband, and their two spoiled cats live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy. Her short fiction, including a 2007 Derringer nominee, has appeared in Spinetingler, Mysterical-e, and Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology. Her newest short story will appear in the Lucky Charms Anthology (December 2013).

Advance Praise

“The texture of small town Pennsylvania comes alive in Annette Dashofy's debut mystery. Discerning mystery readers will appreciate Dashofy's expert details and gripping storytelling. Zoe Chambers is an authentic character who will entertain us for a long time.” – Nancy Martin, Author of the Blackbird Sister Mysteries

This is my 7^th read of the year and despite a 2014 resolution to increase the number of books I read that have been written by female authors, this is the first of the year to date. (I’ll have to sneak another in soon to keep on course for the 20-25% I’m aiming for.)

We have another debut book and another small town mystery, this time set in Pennsylvania. Our main lead is Zoe Chambers - a single lady. She’s a paramedic, often works nights, loves horses and is a good friend to many in her small town. We have Pete Adams, the head of the local police, a friend and sometime poker playing partner of Zoe. They could be more than friends though nothing has happened just yet.

Into the mix strides pantomime villain Jerry McBirney. McBirney is chairman of the township’s resident’s committee. He has some authority over the town’s finances and police department and he’s thick-skinned and hard-headed enough to implement and push through changes that may be beneficial to Jerry McBirney and less so to the folks of Vance Township. Jerry forces Pete to arrest his secretary, Sylvia over the misappropriation of an old council-owned computer, much to the ire of the town’s residents and Ted Bassi, Sylvia’s son. Later that night, Bassi is discovered dead in McBirney’s car.

McBirney is an immediate suspect in the enquiry, which Pete undertakes. Pete’s position though is somewhat compromised by the fact that Marcy, his ex-wife is none other than the current Mrs McBirney.  We now have another police force and detective involved – Wayne Baronick of the Monongahela County Police Department, much to Adams chagrin.  

Our growing cast of characters further expands as we are introduced to Ted Bassi’s family - his children - Allison and Logan and his wife Rose. Logan, his son convinces Zoe that his dad’s death must be connected to McBirney’s obsession with the computer. Logan steals the hard drive from the PC and Zoe, with a previous unpleasant history with McBirney, against her better judgement agrees to help him try and prove Jerry’s involvement in the murder.

Secrets, small town gossip, snow blizzards, town politics and old flames all collide with further crimes  committed before the climax in this busy little book.

Circle of Influence was an entertaining read, populated by interesting characters in an intriguing small-town setting. I wasn’t totally blown away by this one, but was sufficiently engaged to consider trying the next book in the series when it comes out later this year. A little bit softer and cosier than my usual crime fiction fare, but nothing wrong with that.

4 from 5

I assessed this one via Net Galley. The book is published in March, 2014

I’ll be crossing off Pennsylvania on my 2014 USA State Reading Challenge now.

The author's website is here.

    

2 BY WILLIAM MCILVANNEY

In the absence of having completed a book in the past few days - anyone seen my reading mojo? - I'll post a couple more soldiers from the ranks of the unread Criminal Library.

I can't actually recall where and when I heard of McIlvanney, but from my less than comprehensive notes, I acquired his three Laidlaw books back in the second half of 2012.




Laidlaw was read back in October, 2012. For some bizarre reason I scored it a 4 from 5.


Numbers 2 and 3 are as yet unread, though I have signed up to a Read Scotland Challenge and will hope to tackle them this year at some point.

THE PAPERS OF TONY VEITCH

Originally published in 1983 and nominated for an Edgar Award in 1984, a prize which was scooped by Elmore Leonard's La Brava.

McIlvanney once again sets out on the dark side of Glasgow with Detective Jack Laidlaw. "The wine he gave me winsy wine" were the final words of Eck Adamson to Laidlaw, his only friend. Laidlaw is convinced the Eck was murdered and that an elusive young student, Tony Veitch, holds the key to the mystery

STRANGE LOYALTIES

Third and last in the series, published originally in 1991.

A detective story that searches for answers to deep questions about life's injustice seeks to find out why Glasgow investigator James Laidlaw's brother stepped in front of a car.

ADAM STERNBERGH - SHOVEL READY

Synopsis/blurb.........

The futuristic hardboiled noir that Lauren Beukes calls “sharp as a paper-cut” about a garbage man turned kill-for-hire. 

Spademan used to be a garbage man.  That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, and before the city became a blown-out shell of its former self.

Now he’s a hitman.

In a near-future New York City split between those who are wealthy enough to “tap in” to a sophisticated virtual reality, and those who are left to fend for themselves in the ravaged streets, Spademan chose the streets.  His new job is not that different from his old one: waste disposal is waste disposal.  He doesn’t ask questions, he works quickly, and he’s handy with a box cutter.  But when his latest client hires him to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist, his unadorned life is upended: his mark has a shocking secret and his client has a sordid agenda far beyond a simple kill.  Spademan must navigate between these two worlds—the wasteland reality and the slick fantasy—to finish his job, clear his conscience, and make sure he’s not the one who winds up in the ground.  

Adam Sternbergh has written a dynamite debut: gritty, violent, funny, riveting, tender, and brilliant.
 

Not my usual read in that I’m not a fan of books set in the future, albeit a future just around the corner, with enough of today’s realities present that it wasn’t a totally alien landscape. I just don’t like, get, understand or enjoy sci-fi-type fiction full of gizmos and gadgets and techno-doodahs that I can’t visualise – though to be fair on this occasion there is not a lot of that present. (I’m just having a bit of a rant.)  Why read it then? Well I do have a soft spot for hitmen and the premise would indicate that there’s a guy doing a lot of hitting here and in a noir-ish fashion.

Well it was okay in a time filling, not the worst thing I’ve ever encountered way. It started brightly and I wanted to read on and see how things played out and at no point did I feel like quitting. I just wasn’t emotionally invested in the outcome.

Our hitman was a former garbageman, like his father and in some respects he’s stayed true to his vocation, only the garbage now is of the human kind. New York – post dirty bomb, he’s lost his wife, he has no children and few friends. I couldn’t feel his motivation for his work. He’s hired for a job that he takes, until he realises that it conflicts with his rules, which then sets him at odds with his employer. The story then continues until it doesn't and we have a resolution.

Dynamite? No

Gritty? Sort of

Violent? In places

Funny? Not especially

Riveting? Not particularly

Tender? Didn’t think so

Brilliant? Nah

Verdict 2 or a 3, 2 or a 3, 2 or a 3? Hmm........3 on balance.

 A bit of credit due for trying something a little bit out of the box, and like I said I didn’t ever feel like throwing in the towel and quitting. Hopefully others enjoy this one a lot more than me.

Shovel Ready is available now for kindle and I believe is published in July in paperback.

Another Net Galley book.

JOHN MCFETRIDGE - BLACK ROCK

Synopsis/blurb............

Montreal 1970. The “Vampire Killer” has murdered three women and a fourth is missing. Bombs explode in the stock exchange, McGill University, and houses in Westmount. Riots break out at the St. Jean Baptiste parade and at Sir George Williams University. James Cross and Pierre Laporte are kidnapped and the Canadian army moves onto the streets of Montreal.

A young beat cop working out of Station Ten finds himself almost alone hunting the serial killer, as the rest of the force focuses on the FLQ crisis. Constable Eddie Dougherty, the son of a French mother and an Irish-Canadian father, decides to take matters into his own hands to catch the killer before he strikes again.

Set against actual historical events, Black Rock is both a compelling page-turner and an accomplished novel in the style of Dennis Lehane.

This is the third novel I have read by Canadian crime fiction author, John McFetridge following on from Dirty Sweet and Swap aka Let It Ride.  McFetridge’s books have been compared in the past to both Elmore Leonard and Ken Bruen, both favourites of mine, so it was pretty much a no-brainer that he would make it onto my reading radar at some point.

Black Rock takes us back to the early 70’s in Montreal and a time of social unrest not just in Canada; but worldwide, with protests in the US and Europe mainly against America’s involvement in Vietnam, but also race riots, student riots and a more prolonged period of unrest in Ireland.

Being of an age where I would have been 6 when the events described within Black Rock happened and having no knowledge of the political situation in Canada at the time, I was happy to get myself a bit of an education. The Front de libération du Québec was a terrorist organisation committed to seeking independence for Quebec from the rest of Canada. In the late 60’s and early 70’s there were a multitude of bombings, riots and eventually kidnappings for ransom with safe passage to Algeria or Cuba demanded for the perpetrators as well as $500,000 in gold bar.

Black Rock is set against this back-drop where police resource and attention is diverted away from investigating crime to chasing around after the FLQ and reacting to the bombing campaign. Our focus in the book is Eddie Dougherty a young patrolman who is frustrated in his duties and wants to make a difference. For Eddie making a difference will be catching the Vampire Killer who so far slain three women. Eddie gets the attention of a homicide detective when a local girl in his childhood neighbourhood disappears, a suspected victim of the elusive killer.

Dougherty is a well-drawn character with depth to his persona. We learn about his upbringing, his childhood and education, as well as run-ins with his peers in the neighbourhood. There’s the previous conflict with his father over his choice of career, his on-going relationship with his parents and the continuation of family squabbles, this time between his parents and his younger sister Cheryl. Family drama is realistically portrayed. Eddie now a man has reconciled with his father and after a degree of separation is back in the family fold having attained a measure of equality with his dad, now more tolerant and accepting of his son’s choices.     

Eddie under the tutelage of Detective Carpentier progresses the investigation. Along with his girlfriend, Ruth and her studies and interest in the killings and her theories on progression, Eddie moves closer to catching his man.

An interesting book, with McFetridge expertly weaving fact and fiction together to produce a satisfying read. Some enjoyable pop culture references, even though I wouldn’t claim to be a big fan of Joplin, Hendricks or Morrison.

 I still have a few McFetridge books to get to. Below the Line, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and Tumblin’ Dice await me, hopefully later this year. (Potential Canada Challenge?)

4 from 5

Another Net Galley read. Black Rock is published by ECW Press in May, 2014.