Ironwood by Michael Connelly

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Ironwood (2026) is a crime thriller novel written by one of our best working authors, Michael Connelly.

The 2nd instalment in his Catalina series.

The book follows the investigative exploits of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Sergeant Stilwell on Catalina Island, California.

A nighttime drug drop goes terribly wrong. Two cops are shot.

Another thread follows the cold case of female hiker who mysteriously disappeared on the island 4 years prior.

It’s Michael Connelly, so good.

Reviews are great.

BUT … for me, I find Stilwell less intriguing the Bosch or Renée Ballard series. And even the Lincoln Lawyer series.

Renée Ballard is in this one. Bosch mentioned.

Some were unhappy with the unresolved ending. BUT I’m keen to read book #3 and find out what happens next.

Immersive ➙ Arte Museum, Las Vegas

On By Rick McIn Art and beauty, music, travelLeave a comment

I do like these immersive audio video attractions.

Arte Museum is a South Korean immersive art franchise.

… self-guided exhibits spread across thousands of square feet. They use projection mapping, multi-image control, and sensor-based interaction technology …

I wandered the many rooms for about an hour.

When I visited their Las Vegas location in 2026, the current exhibit was partnering with the band BTS.

One room feature a 15-minute montage of some of the boy band hits. Visuals great. I wasn’t much impressed by the music, however.

As of September 2025, Arte Museum had received over 10 million visitors globally.

Click PLAY or watch it on Instagram.

Zoox Vegas

My First Robotaxi

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

Zoox is an American subsidiary of Amazon developing driverless vehicles.

I tried one of their robotaxis in Vegas.

A free public trial on the Strip has been ongoing since September 2025 running only 2 fixed loops.

They are symmetrical and bi-directional, meaning it’s not obvious which direction they will travel next.

I felt very safe over my 25 minute ride. But there have been accidents. Collisions with bicycles and scooters. A Zoox hit a car door while the driver was opening it, injuring the driver.

Certainly they are far, far safer than human operated vehicles.

Zoox Vegas
A.I. generated

Blue Man Group, Vegas

On By Rick McIn music, travelLeave a comment

I finally saw a Blue Man Group performance.

Launched in Manhattan 1987, Cirque du Soleil acquired Blue Man in 2017.

Three performers—called “Blue Men“—do not speak. They use music, colourful paint, and funny physical comedy to entertain the audience.

It’s worth seeing once, but I feel the novelty would wear off in a second viewing.

My main takeaways:

  • ideal for children & young people
  • percussion music is very good. Blue Man backed up by a 4 piece live band.
  • juvenile humour, but I had a lot of laughs
  • plenty of audience interaction. None of the victims are plants, as they are in some other Cirque shows.
  • ticket prices are way down in Vegas summer 2026. Fewer tourists.
  • acts change over time and are different in shows around the world

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The impossible song we’ll remember in 500 years

On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Although critical reaction was initially mixed, retrospective reviews have acclaimed “Bohemian Rhapsody” as one of the greatest songs of all time, and it is often regarded as the band’s signature song. 

So weird. So long. So original.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Amazing using the technology of 1975.

The band worked HARD on this track. Recorded at 5 different studios between August and September.

May, Mercury, and Taylor reportedly sang their vocal parts continually for 10 to 12 hours a day.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rami Malek was the perfect actor to play Freddy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Cycling Iowa in 2027

On By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

The largest bike-touring party in the world is surprisingly … in Iowa.

RAGBRAI, short for Register‘s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is a non-competitive bicycle tour across the U.S. state of Iowa from its western to eastern border. …

2023 had over 60,000 riders.

A new friend — Marco — has done it 3 times. And he’s planning on 2027 driving out to Iowa in his own support vehicle. Marco would like to put together a “team” as that’s easer, cheaper, and more fun than signing up with a company.

Count me IN. This adventure looks fantastic.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich

On By Rick McIn books, moviesLeave a comment

The Recovery Agent is the first book in an adventure-mystery series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich .

Launched in 2022, the series introduces Gabriela Rose, a professional recovery agent who specializes in finding lost treasures and stolen heirlooms for wealthy clients.

Something of a silly Indiana Jones clone.

Suspend your disbelief.

I probably won’t continue with the series — though ex-husband, Rafer, is very entertaining. Laid-back, charming, and infuriating to Gabriela, Rafer is a slovenly surfer dude.

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to Janet Evanovich’s bestselling Recovery Agent book series for a feature film adaptation, with Gal Gadot producing and potentially starring as globe-trotting agent Gabriela Rose.


Murder at the Patel Motel by Maulik Pancholy

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Entertaining.

The murder mystery itself is silly, however.

Co-writers Zackary Grady and Achilles Stamatelaky.

Estranged son, Milan Patel, organizing the Met Gala in NY City finally returns home to small town Montana.

At the arrival party, his father dies mysteriously.

Accident? Murder?

Murder at the Patel Motel is an Audible Original audio play with multiple narrators and sound effects, often described as feeling like an “old style radio play” …

… a lighthearted cozy mystery, “extra cheesy,” and genuinely funny rather than intense or gritty. …

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

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The novelty is starting to wear off for me.

Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police and the first official apprentice wizard in sixty years.

The dialogue still amusing. But lack of a clear story line in these books is frustrating.

It’s mostly police procedural.

Foxglove Summer (2014) is the 5th novel in the Peter Grant series by English author Ben Aaronovitch.

Peter Grant travels to rural Herefordshire, where the disappearance of two eleven-year old girls is a media sensation, the focus of an intensive police search – and might have grave magical implications as well. …

He finds that unicorns are all too real and that their horns are deadly weapons; that fairies do exist and even in the 21st century they do sometimes kidnap human children and replace them with changelings …



Clifton Chronicles Series by Jeffrey Archer

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One of my favourite series, I decided to reread most of them from the start.

Better the second time, I found.

Only Time Will Tell(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
The Sins of the Father(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
Best Kept Secret(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
Be Careful What You Wish For(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
Mightier Than the Sword(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
Cometh the Hour(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
This Was a Man(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.ca