Jeffery Archer is a terrific story teller.
His most recent series features Detective William Warwick. In book 1 he’s a stumbling, bumbling rookie. But with potential.
I enjoyed it.
William somehow becomes intrinsically involved in two separate — simultaneous — court cases. It’s an interesting plot.
Best advice when visiting Lisbon is to eat MOST of your meals at Time Out.
It’s a massive place where you have a lot of choices at reasonable prices.
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Over a couple of weeks, I ate there perhaps 6 times.
My favourite was something billed as a traditional Portuguese meat sandwich. I tried several variations.
Last time I Portugal, my favourite was the Francesinha ( ‘Little French Girl’). It’s a high calorie feed.
My friend Paulo recommended I try a traditional Portuguese light lunch. Cod croquettes alongside a beans dish.
Of course PORK is a mainstay in Spain and Portugal. This was a delicious dish … of some kind.
The traditional desert is a custard tart.
Published August 2021, this book is set about 6 months before the pandemic.
It got great reviews and I do recommend it for everyone.
Stephen King is one of the most popular authors all time. Net worth is $500 million plus.
Though nobody ever called his books literature, he is one of the best story tellers. And Billy Summers is a great story.
Billy Summers is a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out.
But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done.
So what could possibly go wrong?
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I like King’s political activism. He hates Trump and most things GOP. Feels rich guys (like himself) should pay more tax.
I’m looking forward to exploring the northern half of Vancouver Island by bike.
Sometime.
I’ll do some variation of the Tree to Sea Loop, 1000-kilometres on gravel around the lesser-known areas on the north end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It’s 90% unpaved.
Highlights include massive valleys, oceanside villages, towering coastal mountains, and deep fjords via an impressive patchwork of forest service roads.
Right now the route requires a water taxi from Tahsis to Zeballos, which will be replaced by the Unity Trail that will eventually connect the two communities.
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This is book #26 in the Jack Reacher series. Quite good, in my opinion. Better than the previous Andrew Child book.
As always, Reacher stumbles into an incredible scenario … by accident.
He bumps into Michaela Fenton, an army veteran turned FBI agent, trying to find her twin brother, who might be mixed up with some dangerous people.
Fenton is a badass herself, a good compliment for Reacher.
This book kept me going from start to finish.
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Good book. I’m not sure I’d call it Young Adult, however. though it’s often listed amongst the top YA novels of all time.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a coming-of-age young adult novel by American author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza is the main protagonist.
He’s a typically angry, bored and confused teen. A loner.
Set in El Paso, Texas in 1987, the story starts when Ari meets another Mexican-American teen, Dante Quintana.
Dante is an admirable person in every way. It’s his influence and their friendship which finally helps Ari grow up.
A happy ending.
Several themes feature prominently. These include Mexican-American identity, gender and sexuality, particular masculine gender roles and homosexuality, intellectualism and artistic expression, as well as family relationships and friendship.
Now that the shock of Villanelle being an emotionless psychopath has been established, season 2 is not nearly as good as season 1.
One good plot thread concerned finance manager Aaron Peel. But it ended in an unsatisfying way. Writers couldn’t come up with anything better?
And the weird relationship between an MI6 specialist nerd and a Russian professional killer isn’t convincing.
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Good TV.
This is the 13th in a series of ITV mini-series featuring notorious British murder cases of the past two centuries.
Pembrokeshire Murders is a British three-part television drama miniseries, based on the Pembrokeshire murders by Welsh serial killer John Cooper. …
In 2006, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins decided to reopen two unsolved 1980s murder cases linked with a string of burglaries. New advances in technology for Forensic DNA analysis, witness reports and artists impressions of the suspect …
Luke Evans is excellent in the lead.
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I was happy to get my hands on the sequel to Thursday Murder Club.
Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim—the Thursday Murder Club—are still riding high off their recent real-life murder case and are looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet at Cooper’s Chase, their posh retirement village. …
The writing is witty. The old folks endearing, especially Ibrahim.
It’s a lark. Don’t take the plot — or the murders — too seriously.
And soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg. It will be more like Best Exotic Marigold Hotel than a murder mystery.
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Rick McCharles 