From BOAT to TABLE 😀

On By Rick McIn food, McCharles familyLeave a comment

Delicious.

We caught this salmon a few hours earlier out of my favourite French Creek Marina near Parksville, B.C.

My brother Rob and friends had invited me along as general dogsbody.

I’d been out in charters murdering salmon in the past — with great success. But this was my first time in a personal boat out of French Creek.

Our skipper, Wayne, keeps a shipshape craft.

Out of French Creek we had our lines in the water within 15 minutes.

Most of the time, we had 2 fishing. Two inside navigating.

Then someone would switch off, front to back.

We ended up taking out only 2 salmon — having released many more for being the wrong species for our permits. Or the wrong size.

Weather was fickle. Perfect conditions could quickly switch to gusty with whitecaps.

We came in after about 4 hours. Wayne cleaned the fish at the marina.

I would have enjoyed the scenic boat ride even if we hadn’t caught anything.

BUT it was delicious a few hours later. 😀

Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Excellent murder mystery. An easy read.

Fast paced. Interesting construction.

Highly recommended.

Quinn Alexander has committed an unthinkable crime.

To avoid spending her life in prison, Quinn makes a run for it. She leaves behind her home, her job, and her family. She grabs her passport and heads for the northern border before the police can discover what she’s done.

But when an unexpected snowstorm forces her off the road, Quinn must take refuge at the broken-down, isolated Baxter Motel. The handsome and kindly owner, Nick Baxter, is only too happy to offer her a cheap room for the night.

Unfortunately, the Baxter Motel isn’t the quiet, safe haven it seemed to be. The motel has a dark and disturbing past. And in the dilapidated house across the way, the silhouette of Nick’s ailing wife is always at the window. Always watching.

Amazon

I’m not a fan of all the McFadden books.

For example, I got about 1/3 of the way through her book The Tenant — then quit because the protagonist, Blake Porter, was so annoying. 😀

She is very popular, however.

Hacks – season 3

On By Rick McIn hiking, TV1 Comment

Still very funny.

Perhaps the best season, so far.

Both Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a legendary (aging) Las Vegas comic, and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, her young comedy writer, are hilarious.

They are the world’s worst hikers, though. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Shadow Woman by Thomas Perry

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Excellent.

The chase takes them to Glacier National Park. A Grizzly shows up.

Shadow Woman (1997) is 3rd book in the Jane Whitefield series by Thomas Perry.

Jane Whitefield is a Native American (Seneca) who has made a career out of helping people disappear.

When her latest client, a Las Vegas gaming executive who has lost the trust of his criminally-connected bosses, asks for help, Jane Whitefield gets him out of town with a spectacular display of casino magic.

Then she keeps her promise, gives up her dangerous trade, marries her loyal doctor, and settles down to live peacefully in upstate New York.

As if.

… her client screws up.

Jane’s highly developed code of honor makes her leave her bridal bed to rescue him from an eerily psychotic Los Angeles couple who use everything from sex games to attack dogs to track him down.

Secret Prey by John Sandford

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Another great Lucas Davenport book. He’s morose and unmotivated at the start, his future wife having just left him.

John Sandford:

Secret Prey, the ninth of the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport, is the most intricately plotted of my books, at least so far …

… Secret Prey, starts with a murder, and then expands to a whole batch of murders, extending more than twenty years back in time. There are numerous suspects.

There are at least three subplots, unrelated to the main story, but fitting within it (the after-effects of an old romance, the beginnings of a new romance, the detection and arrest of a bunch of improbable opium junkies) and the main plot itself has a couple of subplots, including a continuing case of domestic abuse, and another new romance. …

JOHN SANDFORD ON SECRET PREY – Author’s Introduction

Die Twice by Andrew Grant

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

The first book in this trilogy was excellent ➙ Even.

Though still entertained by David Trevellyan, something of a British naval intelligence officer James Bond, I found the plot of this one much less skilled.

Die Twice (2010) is 2nd in the David Trevellyan trilogy.

He’s one of the best undercover agents in the world. A seasoned operative for British intelligence.

But when he finds a body in the streets of New York, David Trevellyan is a prime suspect.

Arrested by the NYPD, interrogated by the FBI, Trevellyan swears he had nothing to do with it. But no one believes him―especially when the victim turns out to be a federal agent.

Now his country won’t help him. His contacts can’t save him. But that won’t stop a man like Trevellyan. Whoever set him up is going down.

Even if it kills him…

Lael’s Record Cycling Around the World

On By Rick McIn cycling, moviesLeave a comment

Full Documentary.

Lael Wilcox is my cycling inspiration.

Incredible positive and upbeat.

In 2024, Lael Wilcox set a new world record for circumnavigation of the earth by bicycle.

For 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes she rode, joined by friends and fans, with her journey documented by Rugile Kaladyte.

This is the film of that ride, filled with highs and lows, incredible roads, friends and fans. Beyond the record, it’s about the experience and the connections made, and how the bicycle makes it possible.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (90min.)

Even by Andrew Grant

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Excellent

Andrew Grant is the brother of bestselling thriller writer Lee Child. When he writes Reacher, his pseudonym is Andrew Child.

Even (2009) was his 1st published novel. And it’s great. Much different than Lee Child.

Our hero is David Trevellyan, something of a British naval intelligence officer James Bond.

He’s one of the best undercover agents in the world.

A seasoned operative for British intelligence.

But when he finds a body in the streets of New York, David Trevellyan is a prime suspect.

Arrested by the NYPD, interrogated by the FBI, Trevellyan swears he had nothing to do with it. But no one believes him―especially when the victim turns out to be a federal agent.

Now his country won’t help him. His contacts can’t save him. But that won’t stop a man like Trevellyan. Whoever set him up is going down. Even if it kills him…

Amazon

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Dune: Prophecy – season 1

On By Rick McIn books, movies, TVLeave a comment

Worth watching. But not essential unless you a Dune nutcase.

Too much palace intrigue. Too dark. Too confusing.

There are some beautiful visuals, of course.

A big Dune fan, I was sceptical whether I’d enjoy the TV spinoff on one of the universe’s most appealing elements: the Bene Gesserit.

Dune: Prophecy is a prequel to the Denis Villeneuve films Dune and Dune: Part Two, taking place approximately 10,000 years earlier.

It draws upon, but is set after, the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy (2012–2016) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. 

The show was met with mixed reviews, with a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes and an even lower 66% Audience Score. ..,

… it “lacks the spice of Denis Villeneuve’s films,” …

What Went Wrong With Dune: Prophecy

I wasn’t really cheering any of the characters. But Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart is intriguing.

Perhaps more humour would have helped. The dialogue is dry.

I expect season 2 to be much stronger. This epic TV series has potential.

House on Fire by Joseph Finder

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Quite good.

An easy read. But with some entertaining twists.

House on Fire (2020) is 4th in the series.

Nick Heller, private spy, exposes secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden.

At the funeral of his good friend Sean, an army buddy who once saved Nick’s life and had struggled with opioid addiction since returning wounded from war, a stranger approaches Nick with a job.

The woman is a member of the Kimball family, whose immense fortune was built on opiates. Now she wants to become a whistleblower, exposing evidence that Kimball Pharmaceutical knew its biggest money-maker drug, Oxydone, was dangerously addictive and led directly to the overdoses and deaths of people like Sean.

Nick agrees instantly, eager to avenge Sean’s death, but he quickly finds himself entangled in the complicated family dynamics of the Kimball dynasty. …

JosephFinder.com