Agatha has a new neighbor. And this time it isn't a handsome gentleman, it's a 67 year old woman who wants to work for Agatha's new detective agency. OhAgatha has a new neighbor. And this time it isn't a handsome gentleman, it's a 67 year old woman who wants to work for Agatha's new detective agency. Oh, did I forget to tell you she's finally opened her own agency? Well, she has. And high time, too. Thanks to "the Paris incident", in which she was treated shabbily (or so she thought) by the Gendarmerie after her purse was riffled while she was on public transit, Agatha has decided to go legit.
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This story had depth! I mean, in as much as an Agatha Raisin story can have depth. But I was pleasantly surprised at some of the ways the characters (one in particular) developed and changed throughout the story. Would love to elaborate but that would be a spoiler.
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The gist is that Agatha is trying to juggle a new business, jealousies, friendships, and her own feelings of inadequacy. Now that I think about it, the only new thing here is the business. And yet, I love her. Go figure. Recommended for fans....more
But the only things that haunted this book were continuity errors. What the hell was up with Charles having childreI love a haunted house story.
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But the only things that haunted this book were continuity errors. What the hell was up with Charles having children with his ex-wife? In the last book, it was plain that his then-wife had tricked him into thinking she was pregnant with twins when she wasn't pregnant with anything but bloat, and then ran off and got an annulment once she found out what a cheap bastard he was. Where was Beaton's editor?!
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I think we're also starting to see Agatha run through one-and-done men instead of trying to beat the old relationships to death. Which is fine with me. Except it's almost as inconceivable that James' old house keeps getting sold to one hot middle-aged man after another, as is it that Agatha seems to stumble on every single dead body in the entirety of England.
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Oh well. Wish fulfillment isn't something I'm docking points for with these books. And on the plus side, the mystery was a bit more interesting this time around.
Yes. I do intend to keep reading these. Recommended for Raisinets only....more
When the hot new curate is found dead, Mrs. Bloxby's husband is the #1 suspect. Ever the good friend, Agatha decides to clear the vicar's name. <--evenWhen the hot new curate is found dead, Mrs. Bloxby's husband is the #1 suspect. Ever the good friend, Agatha decides to clear the vicar's name. <--even though he pretty much can't stand her Still. This is for her bestie, Bloxby.
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Unfortunately, Agatha is still missing James. And Charles. Hell, she misses Roy enough to ask him down for a visit. It's frustrating to see her still spinning her wheels looking to men as her main source of comfort. But I'm guessing that's also part of the reason I love her. She's a hot mess of nowhere near the right amount of self-esteem. And then I remember that I'm still checking my weight every day as though that were some kind of sign of mental health and body acceptance. Ugh. Rock on, Aggie. We've all got problems.
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I did enjoy the mystery this time around. Especially as the body count started piling up. And I loved that the police chief (or whatever they're called across the pond) suggested she might want to go ahead and get her private detective's license.
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Also, is the mystery writer John Armitage really out of Agatha's life? I guess I'll find out soon enough. Recommended for Raisinets....more
This was just an awesome dramatized adaptation of the first Murderbot book.
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I'm listening to them willy-nilly as they come in from library holdsThis was just an awesome dramatized adaptation of the first Murderbot book.
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I'm listening to them willy-nilly as they come in from library holds (see postscript before you freak out), and have actually listened to the graphic audio version of Network Effect, which is the adaptation of the full-length Murderbot novel. For whatever reason, and I'm sure a lot of people will say that it's because these work better as short stories, I preferred this to that one.
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If you're a fan, these are so much fun. Unnecessary, but fun. Recommended.
PS - I'm listening to the audiobooks in the correct order for those of you whose OCD can't take the idea of just grabbing random books in a series!...more
Oh, Agatha. I have mixed feelings about this book. Maybe that's how I'm supposed to feel, though?
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The shock of those first few pages! (view spoileOh, Agatha. I have mixed feelings about this book. Maybe that's how I'm supposed to feel, though?
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The shock of those first few pages! (view spoiler)[The book opens abruptly with the announcement that Charles Fraith ran off and got married to some French beauty half his age. WHAT?!
And Agatha is still pining over James Lacey. <--that's fair. as he did leave her to join a monastery in France at the end of the last book. So, of course, Agatha takes a trip to parts unknown in order to not have to deal with living across from his cottage.
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While abroad, she makes friends with a family on holiday AND sees a couple on their honeymoon that strikes her as...odd. She later learns (from the woman she made friends with) that the man killed his young bride for money. Back at home, she sees another couple that reminds her of the ill-fated couple from her trip. So when the bride-to-be is found floating in the river in her wedding dress after a major flood, Agatha takes up the case.
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She also meets her new handsome neighbor, who happens to be a famous mystery writer. Ooooh. Ok, Aggie. Cool, cool, cool. But (and here's the part where I have mixed feelings) she starts fantasizing again about this man as something that he hasn't shown himself to be yet, AND dreaming of their relationship being the thing that makes James regret leaving her. She also completely disregards all the good advice from her friend, Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar's wife. And perhaps that's what I have such a hard time with?
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Because of course she's going to secretly pine for James, and of course she's going to fantasize about her hot new neighbor, and of course she wants James to rue the day he left her. We all do that sort of thing, right? It's more that she angrily dismisses Mrs. Bloxby as someone who couldn't possibly understand, and then proceeds to plunge headlong into one embarrassing encounter after another.
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There's a really good chance that I keep reading these to see if Agatha ever decides to grow up. But for whatever reason, I am going to keep reading them. Recommended for Raisinets. <--we are calling ourselves this now, btw...more
This time around we're in Dr. Mensah's head as she grapples with PTSD.
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For reference, this takes place after Exit Strategy and is what leads upThis time around we're in Dr. Mensah's head as she grapples with PTSD.
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For reference, this takes place after Exit Strategy and is what leads up to our Secbot on a ship guarding her daughter in Network Effect.
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Very short, but very sweet. It was nice to get a peek at Mensah's feelings towards everything - including Murderbot. You can certainly skip this one, but I think any fan of the series would really enjoy it. Recommended....more
I was sort of surprised to find out that this one takes place beforeNetwork Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5), making this a prequel of sorts. And while it was a oh! that's different! in a good way sort of surprise, I was a tad let down that I wasn't getting an ART and Murderbot adventure.
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Alright, so this one shows what happened right after MB decided to hang around on Preservation Station after the end Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4). It should be a peaceful kind of life for them from here on out, but humans are going to human, so naturally, one of the damn things turns up dead. And not from natural causes.
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So this is the story of Murderbot solving a murder. And of course, he's got to win the trust of the human security officers who don't trust our SecUnit not to start rampaging all over the place.
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As far as the mystery goes, there were enough clues sprinkled in to let me guess whodunnit, but the why remained a mystery for me till the big reveal at the end.
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Overall, another fun installment. Recommended!...more
This one might be my favorite yet, as the culmination of the will-they-won't-they relationship between Agatha & JGood riddance to James Lacey.
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This one might be my favorite yet, as the culmination of the will-they-won't-they relationship between Agatha & James finally gets resolved. If you've been reading along so far, you know that he unromantically proposed marriage to her in the last book and she said yes. Well, be careful what you wish for, Agatha. Because marriage to a cold fish isn't all it's cracked up to be for a woman who has been used to her independence. Especially when your spouse decides that you need to change everything about yourself. Clothes too tarty, makeup too heavy, heels too high, smoking too disgusting, and god forbid she wants to take a job!
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Not for nothing, but this one takes some WEIRD turns. <--even for an Agatha Raisin book! Very early in the story, James(view spoiler)[ gets diagnosed with a brain tumor, doesn't tell Agatha, and then (hide spoiler)]proceeds to cheat on her with the new chick in town. After being confronted by Agatha and lying about it, the reader sees him stumble around injured and then leave the country on a friend's yacht. Meanwhile, Agatha and Charles are left to discover the body of his ex-lover.
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Agatha refuses to consider that James might have done it, and she and Charles set out to clear both Agatha and James' names in the murder. It's a wild story that ends with the two of them in a monastery in France. That's all I'll say about that.
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As someone who has been frustrated by the storyline for quite some time now, this is the book I had been waiting for. Recommended for Raisinets....more
I have to say that I thought the author was trying to put James forward as some kind of romantic hero Ok, Beaton. I see what you're doing now.
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I have to say that I thought the author was trying to put James forward as some kind of romantic hero this entire time, and it was kind of pissing me off. But. At the end of this, I get what she's trying to say. He's an asshole. He's narcissistic, cold, and only wants Agatha because she's so full of life that she makes his life more interesting. There's no effort made to woo her, wow her, or make her feel special. He's that guy who shows up on your doorstep at 9 pm because he's got nothing better to do on a Tuesday night. And all of her friends can see it. Which is what makes the ending of this book tolerable.
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As for the mystery? Well, this time around Agatha has taken a vacation to the town of Fryfam, maybe finds fairies in her backyard, runs across a few dead bodies, and solves the case with the help of Charles Fraith. Speaking of... I'm really starting to enjoy Charles! I wasn't sure how I felt about him at first because he's your classic wastrel. But he's at least an honest booty call who genuinely likes Agatha and doesn't want to change her into something she's not.
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I'm pretty excited for the next book, to be honest. I think it's going to be a complete trainwreck and I can't wait to see how everything resolves itself! Recommended for fans....more
I've already reviewed the actual audiobook, so this is just a review for the dramatization. I listened to this directly after, and have to say it does I've already reviewed the actual audiobook, so this is just a review for the dramatization. I listened to this directly after, and have to say it does a good job of capturing the book. As always, I think these should be used as companion pieces for fans, not as replacements for the books, because they are edited versions.
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Sci-fi is one of the genres that really lends itself to these graphic novelizations. Beep-beep, boop-boop! Pew, pew! <--etc. I mean, while it is cool to hear tea cups clinking and doors shutting in period pieces, walking through a field of grass and having a firefight with laser guns is like comparing apples and chicken wings.
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Graphic Audio's tagline is A Movie in Your Mind and I think that's a fair assessment. If you like to listen to books in your spare time, these are well worth your while. Recommended...more
DNF 13% I might come back to this but I doubt it. I wanted something that gave me facts- or as close to facts as we have at the moment. You know, what aDNF 13% I might come back to this but I doubt it. I wanted something that gave me facts- or as close to facts as we have at the moment. You know, what archeologists have found over the years and when, and what do we know about Akhenaten and Nefertiti's reign? What's the best guess about this famous ancient couple? How do other Egyptologists think it all went down and how does that differ (if at all) from what you think?
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But the authors seem to be trying their hands at giving the reader a bit of historical fiction and have inserted storyline "scenes". The one that stuck out to me was the queen getting pregnant by her god-husband. What? You obviously know that nothing that happened in said scene is based in reality and it's just a way to engage the reader and put them in ancient Egypt, but I find this kind of thing annoying. I just want to learn something and you're dragging it out with some sort of might-have-been fairytale. Blech....more
Did you know James & Deborah Howe didn't write Bunnicula? Sure, their names are on the title, but the manuscript was actually dropped off at their doorDid you know James & Deborah Howe didn't write Bunnicula? Sure, their names are on the title, but the manuscript was actually dropped off at their door by the story's narrator, Harold the dog.<--it was a lot easier to get away with this back in 1979
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In his own words, Harold describes what happened to the Monroe house after a fluffy baby bunny appeared in their home. The tale mainly revolves around his long-time feline friend, Chester, who endeavors to prove that Bunnicula is a vampire while being thwarted by fate at every turn. Chester spirals. As cats do when they don't get their way.
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Alright. The skinny gist is that Chester is SURE this baby bunny is a vampire. <--and to be fair, he probably is! But if his greatest crime is sucking the juice out of veggies, the cat probably needs to calm the fuck down. Now, I don't know how many of you have cat overlords at home, but I'm speaking from experience when I say that telling them they need to straighten up and stop acting crazy just isn't an option. And Harold knows this. So how is he going to save his human family, save Chester's sanity, and maybe even save a tiny vampire bunny?
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I won't spoil the ending for you, but it's cute.
Ok, this was adorable and stands the test of time. As in, you can read it to your kids and not have to scrape your tongue afterward to get that horrible children's book taste out of your mouth. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.
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Highly Recommended.
PS - I listened to the audiobook version with Victor Garber as the narrator, and it was fantastic....more
Excellent second book in The Expanse series. James Holden and his crew are back, still out in the stars trying to do a little good. And along with them,Excellent second book in The Expanse series. James Holden and his crew are back, still out in the stars trying to do a little good. And along with them, some new faces step into the spotlight.
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Bobbie Draper is a marine from Mars who is the only survivor of what looks to be more of the freaky alien thingamabob from the first book. Because of this, she ends up as a pawn by her superiors, thrown into shark-infested political waters without knowing how to swim, and has to learn a whole new skill set. She needs to figure out how to not only survive but how to make a difference.
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Chrisjen Avasarala is a big muckety-muck politician from Earth. I loved her. She's ruthlessly cunning and willing to underhand things to get shit done. But if you scrape the layer of ice off the top, she has a soft & gooey center. She's my favorite character by far and I want to be her when I grow up.
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And these aren't the only new additions. There is also Prax Meng, botanist on Ganymede, whose young immunocompromised daughter has been taken off-world by the very doctor he trusted to keep her alive. The planet he calls home is collapsing because the alien protomolecule is spreading, but he refuses to give up, determined to search the universe to find her. All he needs to do is find a crew willing to risk everything for one little girl.
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There's no point in trying to explain the plot because this is one of those books that is dense with realistically flawed characters, intense political machinations, high-stakes action, and a cameo at the end that will knock your socks off.
I thought I knew what had happened very early in the story, and by the 50% mark, I was sure I knew whoThe writing wasn't bad but the plot wasn't good.
I thought I knew what had happened very early in the story, and by the 50% mark, I was sure I knew whodunnit. The answer was just glaringly obvious and the only thing left was to sort out the details. And that's a loooooong time to wait around on scraps.
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There are 4 POVs in the story. The 3 siblings and then the voice of their now-deceased mother. The backstory is that the whole family was basically shattered when their father up and left for no discernable reason, never to be heard from again. The children don't have good relationships with each other as adults and were apparently not even close when they were younger. Michael left their small town to become a successful tech entrepreneur, and both of his sisters are jealous of him. Beth stayed, got a job at the factory, has a grown daughter she's not close with, and took care of her mother until her dying breath. Meanwhile, Nicole became a drug addict and wrecked her life. She and Beth have a strained relationship due to the whole crazy addict shenanigans.
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Ok. While going through their mom's things, they find an old VHS tape and pop it in. Their mother was one of those who always had that giant camcorder on her shoulder, recording everything. But on this evening, she forgot to press stop and ended up recording her husband frantically telling her they had to get rid of the body of their neighbor's little girl, who had gone missing earlier that day from the town fair-thing. Aaaaand away we go!
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Except not really. Because once you get to know the characters just a little bit, the motivations just click (or in this case, clunk) into place. (view spoiler)[ You can see very early on from the children's memories that they had two loving parents. Laura, their mother, also tells about how she was married to the love of her life, and her memories of him are consistent with a loving husband and father. Of course, the mistrust over getting rid of the little girl's body eats at her because he keeps saying that she's better off not knowing why they had to do it. In her memories, he doesn't seem to take any pleasure in getting her to help him, it's just something that he needed her help with. Ok. So I'm betting a lot of you (like me) have already guessed what was going on just from that little bit. Because what would cause a normally good person to hide a child's murder, lie to their best friends, and cause untold grief that will cascade down over the years? My immediate thought was that (view spoiler)[a parent would do almost anything to protect their children, and one of his must have somehow been involved in the girl's death. Now it's just down to which one. Then Michael tells his sisters that the reason he never came back was because he and his father were at odds with each other and their mother told him to stay away. That's why he was just sending her money, instead of helping Beth take care of her. Yeah. Ok. Why does a mother tell her kid to never come back? Because they've done something so horrible you can't look at them anymore. So yeah, it's Michael. And not for nothing, but in the audiobook Michael just sounds like an unlikeable snarky narcissist. (hide spoiler)] The author tried to toss out a red herring, but it didn't even remotely make any real sense. Did Beth's high school boyfriend kill his little sister? (view spoiler)[No. Because if so, Beth's father wouldn't have frantically tried to hide the fact. It's not his kid! (hide spoiler)](hide spoiler)]
We eventually find out that the little girl was not the only person to go missing around that time. And piece by slow piece, the story of what happened is revealed.
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The bottom line is that the mystery wasn't a mystery. So what you're left with is a story about a bunch of sad, fucked up people spinning their wheels and whining about their shitty lives. Recommended for fans of family drama....more
I've already reviewed Magic Burns, so there's no need for me to recap the story. But I will say thaAnother great adaptation from Graphic Audio.
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I've already reviewed Magic Burns, so there's no need for me to recap the story. But I will say that if you're a fan of audiobooks, these take the story up a notch.
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If you're unfamiliar with Kate Daniels and her world, or you found the first book to be too dry for you to get into, then I'd highly suggest going with this version. You still get the full story, but it's condensed just a bit due to the lack of "he said, blah, blah, blah & she replied, blah, blah". Instead, the actors just say it.
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If you're a huge KD fan, you owe it to yourself to try these out. Highly Recommended....more
What if you believed a fortune teller who predicted you would be murdered?
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In 1965 that's what happened to Frances Adams. Now, she didn't completWhat if you believed a fortune teller who predicted you would be murdered?
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In 1965 that's what happened to Frances Adams. Now, she didn't completely believe the woman at first, but after living through some spoilery events that took place in the next year of her life, she eventually became the townfolk's worst nightmare. How? She started spending her considerable fortune ferreting out everyone's darkest secrets in an attempt to find the person who might murder her. That's not going to go over well, is it?
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Fast-forward. When Annie Adams receives a letter telling her to report to her aunt's lawyer about her inheritance, she's understandably confused. Her mother has always been the one who would inherit. Right? No. Her aunt has reinterpreted what the fortune teller told her all those years ago and has now decided to make her inheritance a race to find her killer. But her aunt is still alive.
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Except she's not. When Annie arrives with the rest of the family at her aunt's house, they discover her body. Was it murder?
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Of course it was! Why else would we be here? And it seems as though her aunt has pitted her and her cousin by marriage against each other in a race to find her killer. Winner takes the inheritance!
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Ok, while you do have to suspend disbelief with this one, once it gets going, it's not as wacky as I thought it would be at first glance. The whole fortune teller thing is pretty well explained and the batty aunt turns out to be not as insane as she looks from a distance.
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No guarantees, but if you're into cozy mysteries, this might just scratch your itch. I know I'd certainly read another book from this author. Full disclosure, I was sick and listened to this in one day, bless audiobooks. Recommended....more
Cozy. This has a different kind of gimmick than the last four books, and I appreciated that he used a new format to keep things from getting stale. I haCozy. This has a different kind of gimmick than the last four books, and I appreciated that he used a new format to keep things from getting stale. I have to say that I liked this one better than the last book, as I felt a lot of what the fictionalized Anthony did when he was accused of murder was incredibly silly. This time around the only thing I felt was silly was that Anthony didn't just Google who the murderer was and save himself some frustration.
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See, in Close to Death Anthony is on a deadline to turn in a new H & H book, so he contacts Daniel and asks him to retell one of the murders he had previously solved before the two of them met. But in true Hawthorne fashion, even though he solved the case years ago, he will only give him access to the case files in bits and pieces. This is where Google would come in handy, imho. But you just have to roll with it, I guess.
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The case is about a group of people who live in a neighborhood with something called a close (apparently a thing in England), and are all suspects in the death of their annoying new neighbor. The mystery is eventually solved but justice is served in an unconventional way that leaves the reader in suspense until the very end. I was able to figure out who did it and why earlier than I expected, so the ending twist of what happened to the killer was really all I was waiting for by the end of the book.
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As cozy mysteries go, these are pretty good. There's just something oddly satisfying about the author inserting a fictional version of himself into the stories. Recommended....more
You know what the world needed? A full-length Murderbot book. And that's what Martha Wells gave us.
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The skinny gist of the story? Ok, so MurderbotYou know what the world needed? A full-length Murderbot book. And that's what Martha Wells gave us.
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The skinny gist of the story? Ok, so Murderbot is on a mission with some of Mensah's family and friends from Preservation as their hired security when things go completely tits up. They're attacked and boarded by what looks to be humans who have been infected with some sort of alien virus.
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In an escape attempt, MB and Mensah's daughter, Amena, find themselves trapped on a transport ship. BUT NOT JUST ANY SHIP. Now, a Murderbot does not have friends. Gross. But if they did have a friend-adjacent sort of "relationship" (also gross), it would be the research vessel named Perihelion that helped them when they were trying to pass as a human security agent. So there's some history between these two. And even though MB refers to Perihelion as ART (Asshole Research Transport) they have emotions (ew) when it seems like these aliens have deleted ART's programming.
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So what happens? Well, I'm not telling you. That would be a massive spoiler! For god's sake, what's wrong with you? Read the book, it's fun. You may or may not have "feelings" (yuck) by the end of it. <--entirely up to you, no pressure
Highly Recommended.
Kevin R Free does a fantastic job as the narrator of this audiobook, but if you're a fan who is looking for something extra, there is also a version from Graphic Audio with a full cast and sound effects that was a lot of fun, as well....more
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. My opinion had always been that you don't have to believe Jesus was the Son of God to believe he wTalk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. My opinion had always been that you don't have to believe Jesus was the Son of God to believe he was a real historical figure who lived and died. One of these things does not have to equal the other.
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I wasn't sure who was even asking this question, but this was one of those books that I found after falling down a rabbit hole. I read The Case for Christ and one of the things Lee Strobel "debunked" was that Jesus never existed. I was like, oh? is this a thing people are actually saying?, and I decided to check into it. Hence, this book.
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Ehrman is an agnostic professor of the New Testament who undertakes the task of pointing out why most historians believe the probability that Jesus actually walked the earth was high. In doing so, he sets out to disprove the mythicists who claim that Jesus wasn't a real person but only concocted later on as a mystic figure to head Christianity. And I think he did.
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Turns out there really aren't that many people claiming Jesus wasn't a historical figure. As I originally thought, it's kind of a stupid thing to postulate. And as long as I'm throwing my personal 2 cents in, I think it's mainly done by angry atheists. Who hurt you, honey? I get the frustration, but coming up with and promoting cockamamie theories like this isn't helpful. You're becoming the very kind of person that you don't like.
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I'm not sure who would be interested in this because it's kind of a niche subject, but I thought it was a very well-done book for the layperson on this subject matter. Recommended. If you're into this kind of thing....more
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