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Showing posts from August, 2018

Lethal Licorice: An Amish Candy Shop Mystery by Amanda Flower

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Image provided by Kensington Books.              When I saw the second book in the Amish Candy Shop mystery series was coming out, I was eager to give it a try.   With a mix of characters who are Amish and English (Englisch), and those who live in the town and those from New York City, I was curious to see how everyone was going to get along in this second book.   I’m sad to say, not well.                           New York City chocolatier Bailey King has entered the Amish Confectionary Competition in place of her deceased grandfather.   While this would not seem like a problem since Bailey does work in her family’s Amish candy shop, not everyone is happy Bailey is in the competition.   She is what the Amish call an “Englischer”.   Despite where she works, and being fully willing to follow the contest’s Amish candy making rules, some of the contestants do not like that a non-Amish person is in the competition.   The most vocal about her displeasure is Josephine Weaver.  

Loch Ness

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Image provided by Acorn TV.           With a show called Loch Ness (also known as The Loch ), you would think this show was about the Loch Ness Monster in some way, but it’s not.   At least not in the traditional sense.   That’s because this time the monster is not a creature living in a lake.   The monster is a serial killer.                 In a small town located on Loch Ness, the body of a local piano teacher has been found.   At first glance it seems the death of Niall Swift (Jordan McCurrach) could have been an accident.   He was found not far from a cliff edge.   It would have been easy for him to slip and fall, or even take his own life.                 An accident or suicide is probably the way Niall’s cause of death would have been determined if the investigators had not discovered something strange.   Niall’s brain is missing.   To have your brain missing is not the result of an accident.   Add the missing brain to the human heart that was found at a Loch Ness Mons

Death Overdue: A Haunted Library Mystery by Allison Brook

              I’ve probably said this before, but I really am starting to wonder about small fictional towns.   So many murders happen in them!   In Death Overdue , the first book in the Haunted Library mystery series, a murder has occurred before the book even starts, a long time before the main character ever moves to town.   Then another one happens not long after she arrives.   For a small town, I would think that would be a lot of murder.                 Carrie Singleton is not sure about staying and living in the town of Clover Ridge.   She’s spent her adult life moving from town to town, and now that she has been in Clover Ridge for a little while, she feels it is time to move on again.   The problem is, she has just been offered the job of Head of Programs and Events at the library.   It is a good job that her aunt and uncle convince Carrie to at least give a try before moving on.   They advise Carrie that if it turns out she doesn’t like the job, she can always leave

The DUFF

              I’m really starting to think I have a problem with movie and TV trailers.   All too often I watch a trailer and come away either completely turned off or with zero interest in what I have just seen.   Then someone else wants to see what I have made my mind up about, or I come across it by accident, and I find I really like what I rejected when I saw the trailer.   This is exactly what happened with the movie The DUFF .   All the commercials I saw made it seem as though The DUFF was going to be a cruel, depressing film.   Then when I watched it, I found that this movie was clever, funny, and empowering for those who dare to be different.                 Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) is going through high school just fine hanging out with her two best friends, Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca Santos).   Yes, her friends get a lot of attention, but as Bianca is with them all the time, it feels as though the group is getting the attention, not just the two of t