Though not as good as Nile, I do have a lot of respect for the 3rd film. It feels true to the Agatha Christie formula.
Film students should study the cinematography and audio.
Branagh portrays the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. An ego trip.
Tina Fey is Ariadne Oliver, Poirot’s friend and a crime novelist (something like Christie).
Having lost faith in God and humanity, Detective Hercule Poirot lives in retirement in post-war Venice, employing ex-police officer Vitale Portfoglio as a bodyguard.
On Halloween, novelist Ariadne Oliver convinces Poirot to attend a séance at the palazzo of opera singer Rowena Drake and help expose medium Joyce Reynolds as a fraud. …
Gathering the other guests together, Poirot exposes _______ as the murderer. …
I tried a super popular local restaurant near a train station. AMERICAN portions.
Tastiest of all — however — was a small portion of lasagna I had with Les and Tam at a random tourist restaurant in Venice. I couldn’t recall better.
Bologna
Outside Italy, the phrase “Bolognese sauce” is often used to refer to a tomato-based sauce to which minced meat has been added. As kids in Canada we ate spaghetti and meatballs — thinking it a kind of spaghetti bolognese.
One of the most popular tours for tourists visiting Iceland is called South Shore Adventure. 11 hours hitting as many of the most popular spots as possible.
Eyjafjallajökull Glacier was quite clear the day we were there.
The Eyjafjallajökull volcano is the one that erupted 14 April 2010, shutting down flights in Europe for days.
Skogar ➙ Skógafoss
As I was there with a tour bus, middle of the day, it was too CROWDED to get isolated Instagram ego pics. Also … NO drones allowed at Skógafoss. 😀
IF I had hiked to here — as originally planned — I could have had the waterfall to myself very early or late in the day. Like this …
Not me. 😀
This is the best I could do.
Vik
Inspired by this edited photo, I climbed up above the church for lunch.
The 2nd book in the Swedish series featuring Detective Inspector Joona Linna.
Police discover the lifeless body of a young woman on an abandoned yacht.
The next day, a man is found hanging in his apartment.
When Detectives Joona Linna and Saga Bauer uncover a surprising connection between the two deaths, they will be forced to confront a relentless killer who’s always one step ahead and a ruthless business tycoon who preys on his victims’ worst nightmares to achieve his sinister ends.
I’ve been to Reykjavik a number of times now. Always enjoy the small, arctic city.
Part of Reykjavik in Iceland with the modern Hallgrimskirkja Church in the background
First thing to know ➙ Reykjavik is expensive. In 2023 I found it much more expensive than Norway, for example.
Sleeping in a hostel dorm bed is the easiest way to reduce cost.
By coincidence, Laura and John from Victoria, Canada were there on holiday. We had a fun day and a good meal — at their expense. Thanks!
The highlight was Perlan — Pearl — a natural history museum. Ticket price over U.S. $35 — but well worth the cost. In fact, we agreed that this should be the first stop for first time visitors to Iceland: Wonders of Iceland, Flight over Iceland video, Volcano video, Water in Icelandic Nature, a planetarium show called Áróra … John and I may have dozed through some of that one. 😀
This Lutheran church is a symbol of national identity since its completion in 1986.
The statue is explorer Leif Erikson (c.970 – c.1020).
This time to Reykjavik, I visited two of the local geothermal swimming complexes. Laugardalslaug has several small pools, each at a different temperature. Hottest was 44℃ the night I was there.
The word I use most often to describe Iceland is weird.
Weird landscapes, in particular.
But it’s a place of contrasts. It ain’t easy living on a remote island that might blow up at any time. The most recent volcanic eruption was only 30km from Reykjavik.
It ain’t easy living on an arctic island with this harsh climate.
Wandering the streets we stumbled on to this scene.
More random pics.
Harpa Concert Hall
Solfar monument
Until next time, Reykjavik.
I’m considering returning in 2024 with my touring bike.
I do feel she’s better than either the original — Stieg Larsson — or books 4,5, and 6 David Lagercrantz … BUT this book suffers from many of the same flaws as the first six.
Firstly, not enough Salander. That’s why I’m here. WHY does she appear so late in this book?
Why does she not do more hacking?
David Denby of The New Yorker stated that the character of Lisbeth Salander clearly accounts for a large part of the novels’ success.[17]
Deirdre Donahue of USA Today referred to Salander as “one of the most startling, engaging and sometimes perplexing heroines in recent memory.”[18]
The New York Times‘s David Kamp called her “one of the most original characters in a thriller to come along in a while.”[19]
Likewise, Muriel Dobbin from The Washington Times dubbed her one of the most fascinating characters to emerge in crime fiction in years; “Her remoteness and her capacity for anger and violence are in contrast with a desperate vulnerability that she reveals only to the most unlikely of people.”[20]
By coincidence, both Salander and Mikael Blomkvist end up in Sweden’s far north.
Neither is doing well at the start of the book.
Blomkvist for his daughter’s wedding. Salander hiding her 13-year-old niece Svala, whose mother has disappeared. Incredibly, Lisbeth accepts the role of guardian.
One of the few upsides of this story is that Svala is something of a child genius. She could be the next Salander.
Blomkvist’s beloved magazine Millennium has had to go digital: podcast, vlog. Disgusted, he takes a break from the job.
“Greenwashing”, and the damage caused by ostensibly green companies, is a major theme.
I’ll keep reading. But Smirnoff could have done much better with this material.
“Set in 1922, Edgar finalist Massey’s second whodunit featuring Bombay attorney Perveen Mistry is even better than the series’ impressive debut… The winning, self-sufficient Perveen should be able to sustain a long series.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Massey does a superb job of combining a fascinating snapshot into 1920s British-ruled India with a top-notch mystery. She has created a strong, appealing heroine who is forging her own path in a rapidly changing world… Highly recommended for fans of other intrepid women sleuths such as Elizabeth Peters’s Amelia Peabody and Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily.” —Library Journal (starred review)
India, 1921. It’s rainy season in the lush, remote Sahyadri mountains, where the princely state of Satapur is tucked away. A curse of deaths has fallen on Satapur’s line of maharajas. The state is now ruled by an agent of the British raj on behalf of Satapur’s two maharanis. The royal ladies are disputing the education of the young prince, and a lawyer’s counsel is required. Enter Perveen Mistry. She is determined to bring peace to the place and make a sound recommendation for the young prince’s future. Yet when she arrives she finds the palace is full of cold-blooded power plays and ancient vendettas. Too late, she realizes she’s walked into a trap…
… Detective Superintendent at the Swedish police’s National Operations Department …
The Hypnotist is book #1. (2009)
This couple are recently the best-selling authors – Swedish or international – in Sweden, across all categories.
I do like the Detective Inspector Joona Linna.
Personally I found this book a bit slow. There is some repetition that could have been avoided.
GET AN EDITOR is what I’m saying.
I have those same complaints with many of the Nordic Noir books—also called Scandinavian crime fiction. It was true of the Dragon Tattoo books. True of Hypnotist.
Rick McCharles 