{TV series}Review: Helix

A team of scientists are thrust into a potentially life-or-death situation in this thriller, which begins with the group being deployed to the Arctic to secretly investigate what could be a disease outbreak.

This is a roller-coaster ride of a series.  I loved it!  Each episode had you believing another version of what the truth might be!  The whole series is played out in a “secret” arctic science lab where more that just lawful experimentation might be going on.    A group of CDC scientists are up against a decease that not even the director of the lab can (or want to) fully explain.  The first season ended on a cliffhanger of sorts and I am very happy that a second season will follow in 2015.

{Audiobook} Review: 14

14
by Peter Clines
Genre: Mystery, Horror, Science Fiction
Date Read: 07 May 2014
Reading with my ears
Narrator: Ray Porter
Unabridged audio - Length: 12 hours 38 minutes

Padlocked doors. Strange light fixtures. Mutant cockroaches.
There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment.
Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much.
At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
Because every room in this old Los Angeles brownstone has a mystery or two. Mysteries that stretch back over a hundred years. Some of them are in plain sight. Some are behind locked doors. And all together these mysteries could mean the end of Nate and his friends.
Or the end of everything...

My thoughts:
This book was such a nice surprise.  I had started the ebook a while back but had to set it aside for a shiny new title and totally forgot about it until a friend suggested I give it a try.  I expected horror (I love horror!).  But this story was more of a mystery.  The first three quarters of the book, we are trying to figure out where the crazy was coming from (and there are a lot of crazy!).  Huge illuminating cockroaches anyone (I would have not even unpacked!)
Very soon, the tenants of the apartment building getting to know each other, having fake movie-nights so that they can discuss the mystery without the supervisor noticing.  I loved the way that all the friends had their own story and background explained.  There were not many that were not very quickly a beloved part of the story.  

This was a four star read for me until just a few chapters from the ending.  I do not want to give away spoilers, so I will just say that the book took a strange turn that I did not enjoy.  But all in all it was an enjoyable experience.
Audio:  I really enjoyed the voice of Ray Porter.  I think I could listen to him read the phonebook.  His voice is so smooth – it just flows over you.  I just felt sorry for him when he had to read some of the drama in the last few pages – wonder what he was thinking

{Movie}Review: The Tall Man

The Tall Man (2012)
Starring:  Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, William B Davis

This film is about a legend that has been started by the town folk of Cold Rock. Since the children in the town have been going missing, people have said it's an entity known as 'The Tall Man' who has been taking them. Julia Denning ('Jessica Biel' ) is the local nurse whose husband died years earlier. She is soon personally involved as her child is taken. She tries to track down where the child is taken, but finds that there's more to what's happening than she knew. The towns-folk start to turn on her and the truth comes out. But there's still more to the story--who is 'The Tall Man'? And what is the truth behind the disappearances?

My thoughts:
This movie started out very slowly.  Everything was so bleak.  What a sad life the citizens of Cold Rock had fallen into.  Since the mine closed down, life has been pretty bad for everyone in town. Stores are closing down or abandoned.  Everything (and everyone) is run down, dirty or broken. Money is tight or non-existent.
Julia, a trained nurse, has stayed on even after her husband, the beloved town doctor, has gone. She is trying to keep the town going. But children are going missing. More and more rumors are circulating about "the tall man", the one everyone believes are stealing the children.
One of the best aspects of this movie is that it will take you completely by surprise with it’s plot twists.  So no spoilers from me!  This is a movie that you have to go in blind.  And when all is revealed at the end, you will want to start a debate with your friends about the ethics of it all.
  

{Audiobook} Review: Gone Girl

 

Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn

Genre: Physiological Thriller, Mystery
Date Read: 18 March 2014
Reading with my ears
Narrator: Julia Whelan and
Kirby Heyborne
Unabridged audio - Length:
19 hours 17 minutes

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

My thoughts: 
I am having a really hard time trying to review this book without giving away any spoilers.  I have written this review and deleted it and written it again . . .   I just want you to be so blown away as I was, so I am not going to give you any of the facts of the story.  Let’s just concentrate on my feelings about the book.  I will try to keep it as spoiler-free as I possibly can.

I picked up this book on a recommendation of my audiobook group on Goodreads.  I have found some gems that I would usually not even have considered and I am loving that my reading horizon are being expanded into genres that I would not usually look at.  I love book clubs!  
When I pressed play, I had no idea about the book except for the blurb and then I only scanned that before I got a copy.  After the first few chapters I was bored and I really hated Nick.   In fact, I was thinking that I did not understand what all the hype was about.  Nick has obviously murdered his wife – what was the big mystery?  This was just going to be a “how-he-did-it” with occasional comments from his wife via her found diary.  Oh my goodness, was I wrong!  I am so glad that I kept going.

This book turned into a psychological thriller like I have not read before (and that I hope I will find more of).  It was awesome!  So many twists and turns!  The ending was a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping everyone would get their due, but this is still one of my favourite reads so far this year.

{Audiobook} Review: Joyland

Joyland
by Stephen King



Genre: Crime mystery; Fantasy
Date Read: 01 February 2014
Reading with my ears
Narrator: Micheal Kelly
Unabridged Length:
07 hours; 31 minutes 

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

My thoughts:
Stephen King books are a curiosity these days.  You just never know what you are going to get.  I am sure that he has already touched every genre there is (including time travel!) and this time we get a type of cozy crime mystery with tones of fantasy.  

In comparison with some of his epic novels, this one is a shorty (almost a novella) but I am not sure if it packed the punch we were hoping for.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this novel and it kept my attention but it did not have the wow-factor that I was hoping for.  

We meet Devin at a juncture in his life.  He has taken a summer job at a carnival with history in a neighboring town.  Here he comes to know and love this fellow carnies and some of them will stay with him for the rest of his life.  There is a murder mystery connected to one of the rides and it has become a ghostly legend.  The story follows Devin's journey into adulthood while trying to uncover the strangeness of Joyland.  I think this was more about the journey of the characters than a serious murder mystery. 

I cannot really say more because I might give some of the uniqueness away, so let's just say that this is a quietly flowing river that will fill a few lazy hours in your vacation.  If you have nothing against audiobooks, I would recommend that version.  The narrator, Micheal Kelly, has a beautiful raspy voice that complements the story beautifully.  He definitely added to the story.