No Plan B – Lee & Andrew Child

The 27th book in the Jack Reacher series was released October 2022.

I enjoyed it. As I enjoyed the rest of the audio books, most read by Dick Hill.

The worst thing I can say about No Plan B is that the audio book is read by Scott Brick, one of my least favourite narrators.

In this one Reacher deals with a gruesome private prison conspiracy in Mississippi. An interesting premise.

As usual, Jack Reacher stumbles into the situation.  He happens to see a woman murdered.  Pushed under a bus.  Chasing that killer leads him to another recent death in the town — a man believed to have died a natural death from a heart attack. 

He was also murdered.

Reacher books are typically very simple.  But the plot of this book is more complicated: 2 additional subplots that play out in parallel — until they intersect.  

If you like Reacher, you’ll like this book.

YES the story is absurd, as are they all. 😀

Friendship – Good ol’ Days

Professor Galloway explains that friendship is in decline in 2022.

Since 1990, the percentage of Americans who report having fewer than three close friends has doubled, from 16% to 32%. The share who report having no close friends at all has gone from 3% to 12%.

Covid; political polarization; fewer random encounters, as we no longer go to the mall/theater/office; social media raising a generation of disconnected people.

Personally, I’m OK with having fewer friends than when I was younger. But I definitely feel it’s unhealthy for society in general.

I love this song about friendship.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s MACKLEMORE FEAT KESHA – GOOD OLD DAYS.

I wish somebody would have told me babe
That some day, these will be the good old days
All the love you won’t forget
And all these reckless nights you won’t regret
‘Cause someday soon, your whole life’s gonna change
You’ll miss the magic of the good old days

Wish I didn’t think I had the answers
Wish I didn’t drink all of that glass first
Wish I made it to homecoming
Got up the courage to ask her
Wish I would’ve gotten out of my shell
Wish I put the bottle back on that shelf
Wish I wouldn’t have worry about what other people thought
And felt comfortable in myself …

Never thought we’d get old, maybe we’re still young
Maybe we always look back and think it was better than it was
Maybe these are the moments
Maybe I’ve been missing what it’s about
Been scared of the future, thinking about the past
While missing out on now
We’ve come so far, I guess I’m proud
And I ain’t worried about the wrinkles around my smile
I’ve got some scars, I’ve been around
I’ve felt some pain, I’ve seen some things, but I’m here now
Those good old days

You don’t know, what you’ve got
Till it goes, till it’s gone
You don’t know, what you’ve got
Till it goes, till it’s gone …

Light It Up by Nick Petrie

ACTION !

This is the 3rd book in the series featuring American war veteran Peter Ash, who suffers PTSD.

He can’t go indoors without physically suffering.

… Ash leaves a simple life rebuilding hiking trails in Oregon to help his good friend Henry Nygaard, whose daughter runs a Denver security company that protects cash-rich cannabis entrepreneurs from modern-day highwaymen.

Henry’s son-in-law and the company’s operations manager were carrying a large sum of client money when their vehicle vanished without a trace, leaving Henry’s daughter and her company vulnerable.

Then, when Peter is riding shotgun on another cash run, the cargo he’s guarding comes under attack from hijackers and he narrowly escapes with his life. As the incidents mount, he has to wonder: for criminals as sophisticated as these, is this money really worth the risk?

And if not, what about his cargo is worth more? …

NickPetrie.com

Good plot.

The best character is his buddy Lewis, the most dangerous person in the world. A Black man with a library card.

Where the Crawdads Sing – the movie

The book is fantastic.

The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine.

The first describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated, parentless in the marshes of North Carolina from 1952–1969.

The second timeline follows a murder investigation of Chase Andrews, a local celebrity of Barkley Cove, a fictional coastal town of North Carolina.

I liked the film, even if it is a bit schmaltzy in places.

David Strathairn was my favourite character, as lawyer Tom Milton.

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Catherine “Kya” Clark is great, as well.

Reviews have not been good. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

I really liked Kenneth Branagh’s film Death on the Nile (2022).

The film is a much better version of the story than the book published 1937.

A lot of changes were made for the movie. For the better.

Salome Otterbourne, a romance novelist in the book, becomes a Black blues singer in the film. My favourite character.

Christie speaks very little of the tourist activities on the Nile while the film makes excellent use of the scenery.

My VIDEO Highlights 2022

Happy New Year!

To celebrate, I’m posting my hiking highlights of the past year.

I got a cheap drone December 2021 and most of the clips are from the drone.

My favourite music of 2022 was by Odesza — so it’s appropriate that the soundtrack is one of their songs: Wide Awake.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Three Pines – season 1

It’s very good. One of my favourite TV series of 2022.

Of course there are many things that fans of the books will criticize, especially the cast.

Too few francophones for a village in Quebec.

Most miscast was Tamara Brown as Myrna Landers.  Myrna should be bigger, happier, and older. 

Initially, I was disappointed in British-American actor Alfred Molina as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Too anglo. And he doesn’t look how I picture Gamache — BUT I was wrong.

Molina really does convey the unique philosophical approach to solving murders that we read in the books. Warmth and gravitas.

As many agree, Sarah Booth as Yvette Nichol is BETTER on screen than the character in the books. Comic relief.

Yes this TV series has absurd, ridiculous plot lines. There are no grizzly bears in Quebec — but that’s my main complaint with the books, as well. The book plots are absurd. The show consistent with that.

If you are generous, you could say there are traces of magic realism.

Of the many insights I’ve seen into the horrors of the Canadian Indian residential school crimes, this was the one that moved me most.

Of 150,000 children placed in those by the Canadian government over 100 years, estimates range from 3200 to over 30,000 who died there.

Many more lived having been abused. During a penitential pilgrimage to Canada in July 2022, Pope Francis reiterated the apologies of the Catholic Church who administered many of them, including the fictional one in Three Pines, Quebec.

First Nations Canadians are still suffering from that evil legacy. And that’s spelled out in this show.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

THE TRUTH by Peter Grainger (2021)

After 18 months retirement — DC Smith felt obliged to return to investigate a charge against a friend’s son.

Fact is … DC Smith is by far the best part of the entire Kings Lake investigation book series.

When DC Smith is not there, the books are far weaker.

DC Smith is glad to be back. His partner Jo is glad he’s back.

And now he has some kind of phoney Private Investigator card.

Thank God!

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

This is a very good debut novel.

Already picked up to be adapted for screen.

The author IS a corporate attorney in ATLANTA. She’s writing what she knows.


Family. Secrets. Murder.

When Atlanta lawyer Ellice Littlejohn discovers her boss dead in his office, she walks away instead of calling the authorities.

Why?

Because she has been keeping a cache of dark secrets including a small-town past and a kid brother who’s spent time on the other side of the law.

Also, she’s had a long term affair with her boss. And doesn’t want that coming to light.

After that, her life gets … complicated.

The Capture – season 2

The Capture is a British mystery crime-drama staring Holliday Grainger.

Perhaps my favourite TV series of 2022.

The ending is superb, something rare to see in television.

Holliday played Robin Ellacott in Strikeanother excellent recent British TV series.

If you are worried about deep fake video, this show will terrify. The hackers seem to be able to change whatever they like, whenever they like.

Paapa Essiedu is excellent as Isaac Turner.

Ron Perlman is superb too.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.