Book Review: Butchery In The Bayou

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Butcher and the Wren is a debut thriller from Alaina Urquhart and is a promising introduction of a new voice in the genre.

Dr. Wren Muller is a talented forensic pathologist in Louisiana and is understandably troubled when a string of corpses turns up in her lab and seems to be the work of one killer who uses a variety of methods to hone his brutal craft. The perspective throughout the novel shifts from Wren’s to the murderer known as Jeremy. As the story unfolds, the reader starts to realize that Wren has a more personal connection to the psycho than she wants to acknowledge. Wren has a tragically complicated past as well and her reasons for wanting Jeremy taken down go beyond than just doing merely her duty.

Urquhart is a pretty good writer. She apparently has worked as an autopsy tech for some time and has some authority when the science is addressed.

Some of this feels a little cliche, however there may not be much to be done for the author to avoid it. Some of the revelations are presented a little clumsily at times. Wren is happily married, but I was not impressed with how the husband was written and how he was kind of passive when he understood the danger his wife was facing. He was concerned and seems to be a super nice guy, but I was kind of bored by him. There is a follow-up to this novel, so I hope I like him better if he shows up again.

Overall, the novel was pretty good and kept me interested enough to likely obtain the sequel. Jeremy is a pretty awful, sadistic lunatic, but he is not that unusual for this genre.

The lead character, Wren, is a standard troubled heroine and does little to stand out among her literary counterparts.

It’s still not a bad first novel, and as mentioned before, I am still interested in how this story resolves itself in the next volume. Urquhart still did a capable job of entertaining this particular reader and quite a few others. I would still recommend crime fiction fans to give her a try, so those are my thoughts on The Butcher and the Wren.

Next up will be another murder mystery, but with a more familiar heroine. Jessica Fletcher is set to relate the unraveling of the mystery surrounding The Queen’s Jewels with the help of author Donald Bain in my next read from the Murder, She Wrote novel series.

Film Review: The Wizard May Not Be So Wonderful

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Wicked: For Good is a reasonably enjoyable film that brings the curtain down on the cinematic adaptation directed by John M. Chu. Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox are the scriptwriters, which is ultimately inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel. The stage play was written by Holzman and Steven Schwartz.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo continue to do well in carrying as the lead roles of Glinda and Elphaba, who are more familiar in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Jeff Goldblum gives his usual distinctive, offbeat performance as the Wizard himself. Michele Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, and Marissa Bode are also included in this extravagant cinematic feast for the senses.

This piece of the story picks up a year after Elphaba has defied the Wizard and fights for the rights of the animals of Oz. The famous Yellow Brick Road is about to open. Glinda is about to be married. A lot is going on as Glinda and Elphie’s friendship is tested to its limits. Meanwhile, a young girl has crashed into the mystical land when a storm brings a house hurling through the sky. This young girl and her little dog become unwitting key figures in the tumultuous destiny of Oz.

So, I finally saw this conclusion to this latest attempt at an epic cinematic experience. It does fall short of being a mind-blowing theatrical experience, but there are quite a few bright spots that keep me from regret.

Erivo and Grande do have a pretty distinct chemistry. Ariana herself seems to have surprisingly astute comedic instincts. I was also impressed with Erivo’s singing during her musical moments. Goldblum remains to be an interesting presence whenever he appears. There is no shortage of real talent in this cast.

The artistry in the sets, which makes heavy use of CGI, is also quite visually appealing. I am not sure how much was actually physically built, but I think I would have loved to hang out on the set if I were a part of this project.

The performances were pretty good on the whole. The writing was not great but not outrageously bad either when compared to much of what Hollywood has been peddling lately.

The film still felt a little too padded at times with scenes that droned on longer than needed. I am not sure that talking animals really needed to represent the oppressed populations when one could come up with the notion of using a group of people.

The idea of making traditionally villainous characters as being merely misunderstood is getting a little stale.

The film still left me with the sense of it lacking in real originality in many ways. I saw it and had my curiosity satisfied, and now I can shrug it off and go on to the next one…after I complete this blog of course.

I will grant it with one admission though. I am now a bit more intrigued enough to read the book by Gregory Maguire at some point and may actually follow through on that.

Book Review: Jack Reacher Doesn’t Stay In The Shallows

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

In Too Deep is a recent Jack Reacher written by Lee and Andrew Child and was a little bit of a disappointment. It wasn’t a terrible reading experience, but there have been better entries into this series.’

It starts off promising enough when Reacher awakens handcuffed to some kind of gurney with a broken wrist and not sure how he landed in this predicament. He does manage a brutal escape, meets a suspended lady detective on a mission of vengeance, and unravels a plot that may have gotten a federal agent killed.

Andrew Child is apparently slated to take over the series started by his brother. It’s possible this installment is proof that the novelty of this fictional creation has worn off.

There are still some clever and amusing moments in spite of my overall sense of being underwhelmed.

The characters were not all that compelling. The female sidekick was not all that memorable. It was more of the same in that Reacher picks up another woman with an axe to grind as an ally. Of course, they hook up at some point.

I don’t necessarily mind writers sticking to some of their traditional schticks in their series, but this was getting a little too obvious.

Anyway, there is just not much to make this any sort of stand-out. Better luck next time, guys.

The next reading indulgence will take me to the bayous of Louisiana where a particularly nasty serial killer is indulging his perverse passions with The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart.

Big Finish Audio Review: The Professor Between The Master And A Captain

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Dark Gallifrey: The War Master Part Two is an audio drama released by Big Finish Productions and continues this intriguing range that is a spin-off from Doctor Who. Scott Handcock directs this piece written by James Goss. Lisa Bowerman is back as Professor Bernice Summerfield and has to contend with the attentions from both Derek Jacobi’s version of the Master and James Marsters reprising his Torchwood role of Time Agent Captain John Hart.

Jason Forbes, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, and Tariye Peterside round out the cast.

Back to lecturing at Braxiatel University, Professor Bernice Summerfield has befriended the new Provost and has started a relationship with a student named John. John has started showing an interest in something the professor had once found, and he wants her help to get him to Dark Gallifrey. The Provost is also not who he claims to be and is indeed one of the Doctor’s most persistent enemies. Captain John Hart and the Master go from rivals to reluctant allies to get Bernice to once again seek out the secrets of Dark Gallifrey. Bernice may also have her own agenda and may be able to spring a trap of her own.

The story is a bit hard to follow sometimes, but it still works. Jacobi is just too fun in his performance for me to mind a bit of confusion. Marsters is also pretty amusing. There is a bit of a comedic and compelling fight scene between the Master and Captain John that is quite amusing.

Jacobi does give a delicious performance as the Master before he fled the Time War and hid so well that he had forgotten his own identity. He indulges himself with another clever disguise.

The chemistry between the lead trio is quite engaging and at times quite comical.

The Master did not really appear in the previous episode; however, the familiar charm and ruthlessness are in full supply in this one.

The other cast members are solid enough, but Derek Jacobi in particular is quite hard to keep with. Also, Lisa Bowerman also gives a masterclass in audio performance.

The sound design is expertly executed as well, thanks to Rob Harvey.

One more episode before this phase of the Dark Gallifrey closes out, and another one kicks off.

Book Review: Terrorists In The Suburbs

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

An Unlikely Hero is a pretty decent thriller from Tierney James and kicks off a range known as the Enigma Series.

Tessa Scott is lovely housewife three children and in a somewhat trained marriage. Terrorists are camped nearby, and a bomb ends up in her backyard after her family leaves her behind while they head out for vacation. A secret government agency known as Enigma foil the plot and neutralize the bomb, however Tessa is swept up in the operation. The team is led by the mysterious, tortured Captain Chase Hunter, who awakens some temptations for the surprisingly resourceful Tessa Scott. Meanwhile, her husband and children become unwittingly targets themselves, and Tessa is going to need some help protecting her loved ones as well as her own life.

I actually met this author during a book signing recently and decided to take a chance. There is a little bit of a cliche setup here with the characters, but I actually started to be more forgiving of that the more I delved into this novel.

The relationships between the main characters does take some atypical turns for this genre of novel. In spite of how the novel begins, there is the affirmation of marital commitment and forgiveness woven into the stories, and some of the characters are a bit more redeemable than expected as the story unfolds.

There are a few scenes that feel a bit bogged down with exposition, but it’s not as challenging as reading something from a century ago.

In spite of the genre and the violence depicted, I got the sense that Tierney James is someone of faith, which did come out in a way that was subtle yet profound. I certainly found that to be pleasantly surprising.

There are times when Tessa and Captain Hunter sort of irritate each other in the midst of their forced alliance, and the banter between them was rather witty. I also found some of the other team members’ reaction to Tessa’s presence in this caper to be somewhat interesting. A cantankerous elderly neighbor of Tessa’s gets swept up into the chaos as well, and he turns out to be more relevant than expected as well.’

‘Some elements of the plot seem a bit ludicrous, but that’s to be expected. I found it to be more enjoyable than I expected. The author has an acknowledgement to those who work in the shadows to keep our nation safe, and I certainly can concur with that sentiment.

It has been a while since I have joined Jack Reacher on one of his exploits, so I think I will next see how authors Lee and Andrew Child have dropped him In Too Deep.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Vengeance Crossing Time And Space

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: Operation Vengeance is a new audio drama released by Big Finish Productions and stars Tim Treloar, stepping into the shoes of the late Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. Treloar also has the distinction of co-writing the script with Nicholas Briggs, who is also directing this piece.

Jon Culshaw returns as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who was originally played by the late Nicholas Courtney. Sadie Miller reprises the role her mother originally portrayed in the television series, Sarah Jane Smith. Katy Manning returns to her role as Jo Grant. Gareth Armstrong, Hannah Blaikie, Max Bowden, and Bronte Alice-Tadman are included in the rather lengthy guest cast.

The Doctor has been to the planet Konzomia, previously accompanied by Jo Grant. An old enemy thought dead has revealed himself to be among the living and has a wicked plan of vengeance to execute. The Doctor has Sarah Jane Smith at his side and determines that he has to return to Earth during the period where the Second World War was being fought. He is able to stop and collect his stalwart and courageous friend, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in order to find Jo Grant’s father, who is in the midst of battle. The brilliant but maniacal scientist known as Raelchun is also displaced from his time and home planet and has his own plan to erase Jo from existence by killing Private Terry Grant. The Doctor, Sarah, and the Brigadier are determined to protect one of the Time Lord’s most cherished companions in the midst of one of the most terrible conflicts in Earth’s history.

There is quite a bit going on that keeps this from being a generally unpleasant listening experience, however I doubt I am going to count this among my favorites. In spite of how exciting the plot sounds, it seems to drag at times. Gareth Armstrong’s performance as Raelchun is pretty good, but he seems kind of a cliche Doctor Who villain at times.

Treloar’s efforts to emulate Jon Pertwee are quite effective. It’s not quite so hard to imagine that Pertwee himself is delivering the lines. Also, Sadie Miller is really sounding more and more like her late mother, Elisabeth Sladen.

Sometimes, the action was not that clearly depicted in the soundscape, but that’s bound to happen in an audio play.

There are some moments that are compelling, such as when we learn a bit more about the Brigadier’s past.

Although there some merits to this release, I still had some trouble staying with it all the way through.

I do applaud Treloar’s efforts to stretch himself as a writer, but it was a good thing that Briggs was there as his writing partner.

Even though I have a few criticisms of this episode, it still had some interesting ideas and themes. The chemistry between the main characters was still evident and made this more than bearable. The irony here is that very few of the characters are played by the original actors.

Anyway, it’s not the greatest thing that Big Finish has produced, but it’s still not necessary to pass it by completely. There is some still enjoyment that is not hard to find.

Book Review: The Dirt On Mrs. Dart

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Dirt is an interesting crime novel from the late Stuart Woods and features Stone Barrington, who is a somewhat strange combination of attorney and private investigator.

This is a pretty lengthy series which is still continuing with the aid of ghost writers. This particular novel was written by the man himself and published in 1996.

A syndicated gossip columnist named Amanda Dart is being harassed by faxes that expose some of her extracurricular activities. Her reputation is on the line, and Amanda isn’t used to being the one on the receiving end of embarrassing revelations. She turns to Stone Barrington for some help in identifying the perpetrators. Barrington is an ex-police detective who retired early and joined the legal profession. He now works somewhat unique cases for a law firm and does well. Stone contends with some dangerous people to help his seductively headstrong client, but he is certainly no stranger to trouble. An old friend gets murdered during the investigation, and Stone is even more motivated to run these miscreants down.

The plot itself is pretty compelling. Amanda Dart is certainly not in a panic about her situation, but she is kind of hard to sympathize with. Barrington is pretty sharp and fairly interesting as a lead character, but there isn’t that much to make him stand out in the pantheon of fictional detectives.

I am not sure if this is a regular component in a Stuart Woods novel, but I was caught a bit flat-footed by the gratuitous sex going on, particularly at the beginning. At the risk of coming off as a bit prudish, I found some of these scenes a bit jarring and distracting. I think Woods would have done better to allow more to be left to the imagination.

Even Barrington was displaying some remarkably poor judgment when it came to a couple of these liaisons.

As far as writing style, Woods is competent with his prose. It’s an easy read but not so much so that it seems insulting.

Other than the random sex scenes, there is not much that I will find memorable about this particular literary venture.

A couple of months ago, I was in a bookstore where a signing was occurring, and I went ahead and bought one from a local writer. I think it’s time to allow author Tierney James to introduce me to a An Unlikely Hero.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Early Days With Ace

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Wicked! is an audio boxset which takes the audience back to when Ace first joined the Doctor in the TARDIS in this trilogy of episodes. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred once again prove themselves to be more than capable of replicating the enthusiasm they displayed when they started out on the television series almost four decades ago.

The guest cast in this set is comprised of Luke Barton, Tom Alexander, Alexandra Barredo, Simon Callow, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Ekow Quartey, and Paulo Vieira. Samuel Clemens returns to the director’s seat for all three episodes. I was not sure about the notion of going all the way back to the beginning of Ace’s travels in the TARDIS, but the set is overall quite good.

Alison Winter kicks off the set with Backwards and in Heels, which takes place in 1920s Soho. Ace and the Doctor are swept up into a [peculiar treasure hunt, and an alien presence has the young companion questioning her decision to accompany the Time Lord.

This story was a decent one if not the most memorable. I like the setting, and Ace being kind of impressed with a 1020s flapper. The friendship between the two lead characters starts to solidify as Ace gets a taste of what like traveling with the Doctor could entail.

Katharine Armitage follows up with The Price of Snow which takes place in the futuristic ski resort where some guests have disappeared, and the authentic snow seems to have some suspicious origins. There is also an unfortunate rift between a daughter and father.

This story is a bit better than the previous one. The alien menace at the heart of this one is new and not that badly realized. Tom Alexander is pretty compelling as the owner of the resort and the architect of the dangers as he uses some pretty ruthless calculations to keep his alien guests fed.

Finally, it is Alan Ronald who brings this set to a close with The Ingenious Gentlemen as Simon Callow delivers a hugely campy yet powerful performance as Don Quixote. In this case, the windmills may be something that is needed to be fought. Ace begins to notice some strange parallels between the partnership of Don Quixote and Sancho and her association with the Doctor.

Callow is absolutely magnificent, and the Doctor’s childlike joy at meeting him is perfectly performed by McCoy.

Obviously, this is the episode I consider to be the best in this collection.

I have to say that Sophie Aldred being able to pull off her younger voice when she is now in her sixties is quite impressive. I know that Aldred is a well-practiced voice artist, and I shouldn’t be that surprised, but her precision is still something to appreciate.

McCoy has also not missed a step here, and he is much older.

The idea of returning to Ace’s early travels seems like it should have been done earlier, but Big Finish continues to develop their stories and characters quite masterfully.

Book Review: An Old Murder With New Clues

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Telling Tales is the second novel by Ann Cleeves to feature the disheveled but shrewd Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope in which she looks into a murder that occurred a decade before.

A teenager in a remote English village was murdered, and there was a conviction soon after, but it seems that new evidence does indeed exonerate the unfortunate Jeanie Long after she takes her own life after denial of her parole.

Vera knows that a murderer is still at large, especially when a new crime occurs. She and her sergeant, Joe Ashworth, are compelled to reopen old wounds and unearth secrets that the other residents would rather keep buried.

There is not much action here, and it story seems to drag a bit; however, the mystery itself was pretty good. Vera is an interesting enough heroine. Cleeves does spend quite a bit of time laying out the side characters before the inspector is drawn in properly.

This is the second novel I have read in this series, and I am interested enough to keep going with it. I have also been watching the occasional episode of the television series in which this has been adapted. Cleeves does take her time establishing the relationships between the characters upfront, which is a tried-and-true way of laying out these kinds of mysteries.

Cleeves does have an easy-going prose style without feeling too elementary or bland. She is certainly a reliable and prolific writer, and I can understand why she has such a following. I am not likely to be an overly enthusiastic follower, but I can be a reliable one. I am certainly interested enough to wish her well and hope she has plenty more books to produce for some years to come.

The next reading selection brings me back to the States with another long-running crime fiction author who is also a relatively recent addition to my literary queue. I am about to be introduced to Stone Barrington, who is the is the creation of the late Stuart Woods. Let’s dig up some Dirt.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Why The Doctor Never Goes Back

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Return of the Doctor is an audio drama from Big Finish Productions with a rather humdrum sort of title, but the episode is actually better than it would appear. Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill return to the mics as the Doctor and Yasmin Khan in a story written by Rory Thomas-Howells and directed by Bethany Weimers.

The guest cast is comprised of Stephan Bessant, Charlie Kelly, Will Kirk, and Belinda Stewart-Wilson.

The Doctor and Yaz have just stopped an alien invasion menacing the Zaarians, who apparently resemble armadillos or something. Anyway, a young Zaarian is injured but is expected to recover, so the Doctor does what she always does and takes off. Yaz talks her into returning to help with the recovery, however the TARDIS takes them ten years into the future, and another more insidious alien presence is feeding on their guilt and sowing deep suspicion. It all starts with a whisper.

Jodie Whittaker’s turn as the Doctor on television really isn’t my favorite era of the program. This episode, in spite of the dubious title, is actually pretty good. Gill and Whittaker do have a pretty compelling chemistry which is performed quite well. My issues with Whittaker’s time on the television series had more to do with the writing and production choices than her as an actress.

Also, a new race and new adversary is introduced, and they are well written and realized.

I have said for years that Big Finish Productions successfully rehabbed the Sixth Doctor, who suffered low popularity ratings among the fans until he was able to showcase his talent with the aid of much better writing. It’s possible that Whittaker can enjoy the same experience.

Anyway, this episode was quite nicely done, and I may finally be able to appreciate the Thirteenth Doctor a bit more.