Tag

mystery

36 reviews

Books

Lullaby

Chuck Palahniuk
- 2002
- mystery
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Robin Sloan
- 2012
- mystery
And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie
- 1939
- mystery
La Sombra del Viento

Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I embarked on this (silly) goal to read ten Spanish-language books in 2023, but stupidly picked this 555-page monster with plenty of challenging Castilian vocabulary as my first book. Unsurprisingly, my reading speed in Spanish is far slower than English, and I discovered how much of my love of books is due to reading quickly. I kept on pausing this book to read other quick (English language) reads, so it took me about a year and half to finish this. I enjoyed the book, though my Spanish isn’t quite at the level to fully appreciate the quality of the writing.
Number One Ladies' Detective Agency

Alexander McCall Smith
A Case of Need

Michael Crichton
Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia Owens

I do not get the hype
The Spare Man

Mary Robinette Kowal

Had to force myself to finish this, I don’t know why this was nominated for a Hugo. There are some interesting ideas, but in the end this is a detective story where the main character is an unlikable Space Karen that uses her money to bully everyone around her.

Movies & TV

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Fun, better than the original.
See How They Run

A nice, fun murder mystery
Zootopia 2

Not as good as the first, but still a great family watch and better than many “grown-up” movies.
The Sheep Detectives

This was great. Knives Out, but you can watch it with kids and there are talking sheep
Death on the Nile

Not amazing, but the cast is great and I like the genre
Enola Holmes 2
Confess, Fletch

Not as good as the originals, but Jon Hamm makes this watchable.
A Haunting in Venice

Not as good as the first two, but still enjoyable
Black Bag
Weapons

Had heard a lot of good things before watching; didn’t live up to high expectations, but I still enjoyed it.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Not as good as the first two, but still fun.
Uncharted
The Thursday Murder Club

Easy watch for when you want a cozy mystery
The Wrecking Crew

Solid action movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously
They Cloned Tyrone

Fun, original premise
Don't Worry Darling

Better than expected, great cast, but don’t think about it too much because it doesn’t really make sense.
The End of Oak Street

Points for originality and being the best dinosaur movie since the original Jurassic Park.
The Batman
Amsterdam

Lots of talented, big names completely squandered
Maggie Moore(s)
Wicked Little Letters
Fountain of Youth

Another acceptable family watch. I can only assume naming the main character “Purdue” was purposeful, given how much it borrows from Indiana Jones.
The Housemaid

A bit campy at times, but this was better than expected.
Encounter

Intense, Riz Ahmed great as always.
Watchmen

Needless remake.
1. Watchmen: Chapter I
2. Watchmen: Chapter II
Honey Don't!

Neo-noir set in post-COVID California. Has a little of the Coen Brothers feel, but with a disjointed, messy plot and an abrupt ending.
The Accountant²

The first was decent. This one I didn’t enjoy.