Excellent.

Ashley Elston was a YA author before this HIT adult novel in 2024.

I assumed First Lie Wins would be just another in the predictable series of psychological thrillers.

It’s much more than that.

“This fast-paced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mouse game that kept me guessing the whole way through.”
—Reese Witherspoon

“Prepare to trust no one on this high-speed thrill ride through timelines, identities, and motives as you work to piece together Elston’s expertly crafted puzzle. First Lie Wins is a fun, clever spin on the con artist novel …
—Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour

For me, it started to drag before the end. Many of the twists and turns needed explaining.

She also wanted to set-up for an inevitable sequel.

It’s already being adapted for TV.

Tracker is … based on the 2019 novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, one of my favourite authors.

The series stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a skilled survivalist and tracker who earns his living by assisting law enforcement and private citizens in exchange for reward money.

Justin Hartley is that super charismatic guy from This Is Us.

He’s a credible action hero.

This is a cable TV drama on CBS, not streaming.

Therefore it’s written in scenes between commercial breaks. (I don’t watch ads. It now streams on Disney+.)

Simple stories that have to wrap-up in hurry. Easy to watch.

All that said — it’s very popular.

It’s set all over North America, while being filmed in British Columbia.

I quite like Eric Graise as Bobby Exley, Tracker’s hacker.

Tracker is one of the few current cable scripted TV show’s I can recommend.

Jeffrey Archer is a terrific story teller.

Now age 84, he’s determined to finish his William Warwick series.

• Nothing Ventured (2019)
• Hidden in Plain Sight (2020)
• Turn a Blind Eye (2021)
• Over My Dead Body (2021)
• Next in Line (2022)
• Traitor’s Gate (2023)
• An Eye for an Eye (2024)

William begins his career, after leaving university in 1970, as a constable on the beat. You follow the lives of William, his friends, family, colleagues and adversaries over five tumultuous decades, until William finally becomes Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 2022, not without many setbacks along the way.

He first becomes a detective in the art squad, and through his career moves through drugs, murder, royal protection, Olympic Games security and finally counter terrorism – with several triumphs and a few disasters in between.

A backdrop of colourful characters, including his remarkable wife Beth, The Hawk, his boss, Inspector Ross Hogan, his closest friend, and often the cause and sometimes the solutions of his problems, Princess Diana, The Crown, and Miles Faulkner, a brilliant and resourceful criminal who dogs his path and chance of promotion at every opportunity.

An Eye for an Eye is a drama revolving around a potential arms deal between Saudi Arabia and Great Britain. William is now Scotland Yard’s Chief Superintendent.

The arms deal is complicated by a murder — and international intrigue.

Meanwhile, villain Miles Faulkner has been released from prison, intent on ruining the lives of William and his wife Beth.

This one is excellent, as are all in the series.

A TV adaptation is planned.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Watch it.

When season 3 dropped all 10 episodes, I was obliged to rejoin Netflix. 😀

I’d say, Lincoln Lawyer season 3 is even better than season 1 and season 2.

Certainly one of the best TV shows of 2024.

The editing is flashier. Dialogue smarter and funnier.

Entertaining — BUT this is one intense courtroom drama. I can’t recall better.

The cast is ALL excellent.

Izzy Letts and Andrea “Andy” Freeman play big roles in season 3. They are not in the book — but certainly add more depth to the primary story line.

Though I love the book — this is one of those rare cases where the adaptation is superior.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I quite liked the YA books — but wasn’t sure I’d want to watch the TV adaptation.

WHEN it turned out to be Emma Myers playing Pip Fitz-Amobi, I was 100% in.

And it is excellent TV.

Darker than the book, seems to me.

Emma Myers played my favourite character on Wednesday.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a British mystery thriller television series based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Holly Jackson …

Pip Fitz-Amobi is not satisfied that the killing of a local school girl has been investigated sufficiently and takes matters into her own hands …

Rotten Tomatoes 84%

I expect it will be renewed for season 2.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Entertaining.

I’m no particular fan of Vince Vaughn — but he’s well suited to the annoying role of Andrew Yancy, a one-time detective turned restaurant inspector in this comedy.

I AM a huge fan of author  Carl Hiaasen who wrote the 2013 novel of the same name.

A severed arm is discovered by a fishing boat off the coast of the Florida Keys.

Ex-detective Andrew Yancy, suspended for having assaulted the husband of his lover, is tasked to deliver the arm to the Miami morgue.

The arm is identified by Dr. Rosa Campesino as having belonged to Nick Stripling and is returned to his wife Eve.

Eve’s step-daughter Caitlin believes she killed her father for his money. …

There’s a parallel story on Andros Island, where fisherman Neville Stafford consults with the local Obeah, the “Dragon Queen” to put a curse on the developers trying to replace his home with a resort. 

Plenty of humour. Quite a few very likeable characters.

Scott Glenn as Jim Yancy, Andrew Yancy’s father, is hilarious.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.