The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Stuart Turton’s debut novel, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, is a twisty book that requires readers to pay close attention to what’s happening in order to catch the murderer.

Evelyn Hardcastle is going to be killed tonight. This isn’t the first time she’s been killed though and it probably won’t be the last.

Evelyn’s parents have invited the same people who were at their house for a weekend nineteen years ago back to their house for a party to celebrate the return of their daughter Evelyn from Paris. Why the nineteen year gap? Nineteen years ago to the day, their son Thomas was murdered by the lake near Blackheath, their home. Seldom returning to Blackheath, this party is a reunion for all.

The party is meant to be a celebration, but as the clock strikes 11:00pm, Evelyn is killed by the reflecting pool as fireworks explode overhead. As one of the guests brought to Blackheath eventually realizes, that is not the first time Evelyn will be killed and it won’t be the last. Until he can solve her murder and until he delivers the name of the murderer to an interested party, this guest is destined to repeat the day of Evelyn’s death over and over.

How is this possible, you may ask? This book isn’t your typical murder mystery. The main character repeats the same day eight times. If he doesn’t solve the crime by the end of the eighth day, his memory is wiped and he begins the loop again. Every day, he is told that if he brings the name of the murderer to a person waiting at the edge of the lake at 11pm, he will finally be allowed to leave Blackheath. He must fight against many forces beyond his control in order to stay alive. He only has 24 hours in each host, but if he is killed in a host before his 24 hours are up, he bounces to the next host. As each day begins anew, he wakes up in the body of a different guest with the task to solve Evelyn’s murder. He finds himself struggling against the hosts he has inhabited and also against the people working to stop him from ever leaving Blackheath.

This high concept murder mystery is certainly not for the faint of heart. Like I mentioned before, readers must pay attention to what is happening in the book in order not to be lost amidst the many shifting plot lines. Read this book and let me know what you thought! I’m curious what others think of the plot structure and the many twists and turns.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Battlefield V Video game

- Atticus Leave a comment

Battlefield V is the newest entry into the Battlefield series. Battlefield is one of the longest-running first-person shooter (FPS) franchises in all of gaming. Don’t let the number next to the title fool you, there are way more than five entries in this franchise dating back to Battlefield 1942 back in 2002. Battlefield V returns the franchise to its WWII roots. Continuing on their single player theme from the previous game Battlefield 1 (I told you the numbering of this franchise is weird), the War Stories episodic singeplayer format returns. Multiplayer, as always, is the main focus of this game. Wage massive 64 player battles on land, air and sea across a myriad of landscapes and locales in extremely destructible environments. The final mode is one that was recently added only a few months ago and that is the battle royale mode Firestorm where squads parachute into the map then fight for survival as a ring of fire surrounds and encloses the map.

War Stories is Battlefield’s way of tackling single-player campaigns. These standalone stories send you to different corners of the global conflict and play through a handful of missions from different soldiers perspectives. This serves as a great change of pace from campaigns of old where players were tasked as playing as one man armies who traverse the globe doing anything and everything. With war stories players are treated to far more grounded encounters and far more variety of gameplay and story experiences.

Multiplayer is big, beautiful and deep as always from entries in the Battlefield franchise. Traditional 64 player Conquest is back as well as a continuously updated list of gamemodes that are constantly being added and removed to keep the gameplay experience fresh. From massive open 64 player combat to squad focused close quarters deathmatch, there is going to be a mode that caters to every playstyle. Teamwork and destruction are the name of the game in this FPS.

Firestorm is another fun addition to the Battlefield franchise with DICE’s take on battle royale. Scavenge, destroy, and work together to be the last squad standing at the end of the match. Once you die, you’re out in this free for all gamemode.

Battlefield has a lot to offer FPS fans, especially those that love to play WWII shooters. Fight across the European and Pacific theater in this fun squad-based massive battle shooter.

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones

- Michelle Leave a comment

My genre of choice over the last couple of years has been of the psychological and suspense thriller variety.  Each are memorable in their own way with the expected twists and turns.  The First Mistake by Sandie Jones is a standout in this genre for the usual reasons, but the twists and turns at the end had me exclaiming out loud with shock and disbelief by asking myself how this twist could be possible!

The story begins with successful businesswoman Alice who seems to have it all – a great interior design firm that she founded, a gorgeous home outside London, a dedicated husband and two typical teenage daughters.  But Alice’s life had not always been so perfect.  Her first husband’s tragic accident weighs heavily on every aspect of their lives, from the business that Alice and her first husband started, to their teenage daughter that they shared (who was a toddler when her father was taken away).  In her free time, Alice makes time for her best friend, Beth, whose children attend the same school.

Alice is juggling a potential career changing interior design commission along with her home life, when she starts to notice a change in her husband, Nathan.  Distant and secretive, Alice is convinced that he is having an affair.  With evidence that she cannot ignore, Alice confides her suspicions to Beth that something is not right with Nathan.  Alice soon learns that Beth’s background is just a tumultuous.  As secrets are shared, Alice wonders if Beth is all that she seems and if she is hiding something.

If you are a fan of this genre, add The First Mistake by Sandie Jones to your list.  You may think that you have the plot figured out but I am confident that when the final twist arrives you will be exclaiming out loud as well!

Superman: The Unity Saga Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis

- Atticus Leave a comment

Superman: the Unity Saga Vol. 1 is the first run written by Brian Michael Bendis away from Marvel Comics. If you have ever wanted to get into reading comic books but the giant wall of backstory and previous issues makes jumping in to a run seem daunting? Fear not! Brian Michael Bendis is here to save the day! All you need to know to enjoy this run is Rogol Zaar is a bad guy who doesn’t like Kryptonians, Supermans son Jon and wife Lois Lane are away on an intergalactic field trip, and the Phantom Zone is a space prison for space bad guys. That is it! All you need to know to enjoy this book.

If anyone has read anything from Bendis before this run (if you haven’t read anything from Bendis, you should, he’s great!) you should know that he is known for his compelling and well-written dialogue and this book is no exception. Every character has a distinct voice and the witty dialogue doesn’t stop from page one to the cliffhanger ending.

Power and responsibility are the themes that Bendis plays with in this story. Is Superman doing enough with the powers that he has or is he wasting his potential on extinguishing fires and saving cats from trees? Bendis expertly weaves this question throughout the story, putting Superman in more and more compromising positions and making Superman confront his place in the world.

Ivan Reis does fantastic penciling as always, he really gets to shine in the full page splash panels later on in the action set pieces. Ivan also does a fantastic job of capturing the look and feel of a Superman comic.

I also never knew how much I would love seeing Superman as a father either but Bendis does a fantastic job writing the scenes with Clark and his son. Some of the best writing in the entire volume is in those scenes where Clark is teaching lessons to his son that Superman learned from his father.

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

- Ann Leave a comment

A forbidden love, a mystery shrouded in superstition and myth, a clash of cultures and generations – all of these elements and more make up The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo, recreating the long-gone world of colonial Malaysia shortly before World War II.

Several main characters are at the center of the book. There is Ji Lin, an apprentice dressmaker who moonlights as a dance-hall girl to earn extra money to pay off her Mother’s mah-jongg debts. Ji Lin wants more from life than to become a wife, but her stepfather has denied her request to further her education. Instead, her step-brother (by marriage) Shin, who she has fallen in love with but believes he will never feel the same, is the one sent to medical school.

Then there is Ren who once worked as a houseboy for an elderly English doctor. Before the doctor dies, he asks Ren to find his missing finger which had been amputated years ago; the doctor believes the local superstition that if missing parts of a body are not returned and buried within 49 days, the soul will be doomed to wander forever.

And then there is William Acton, the doctor that Ren now works for (and that Ren believes has the missing finger). Acton has secrets of his own including why he has been banished from his wealthy family estate in England.

The Night Tiger is part romance, part murder mystery, part coming-of-age. These different story lines slowly begin to intersect until the book comes to an explosive finish. The descriptions in the book are vivid from describing the ordinary – the fragrant, delicious food, to the overwhelming – the lush tropical jungle, to the mystical – the countless superstitions and myths from the meanings of numbers to the many stories about tigers and men who turn into tigers. You’ll fall a little bit in love with the characters, especially Ren and Ji Lin and this long gone world of colonial Malaysia.  All of this adds up to a colorful and fascinating novel. Highly recommended.

Destiny 2 Video Game

- Atticus Leave a comment

Many people give the Borderlands franchise credit for the creation of the “Looter Shooter” genre as we now know it, but I think credit should be given to Destiny for how Bungie has been able to perfect it. Destiny 2 is going free-to-play on September 17th of this year. That means that you won’t have to purchase or check out the game to play the base game on your console of choice. Swing by the Davenport Library and check out the game before that date to get a head start on your friends!

Destiny 2 is a Looter shooter, that means you are going to be shooting a lot of aliens, robots and alien robots. As you are blowing up those bad guys, you are going to level up and get newer and shinier equipment and weapons so that you can continue to blow up aliens, robots and alien robots. This grind is made even more fun if you have a few friends to tag along with. Co op in Destiny 2 consists of 3 total players (or 6 if you are trying to tackle Raid content) and I think the game is the most fun when tackled by a full party.

There is also the competitive crucible mode that pits players against each other in a variety of modes that cap out at 6 v 6 competition. Being that Bungie are the initial developers of the Halo series, the gunplay is quick, smooth and very well executed.  There is something for everyone’s playstyle in Destiny 2 and it is a great game if you are looking for something to sink a lot of time into. There is always something to do in Destiny 2 and it is constantly being updated with new DLC expansions.

If grindy loot quests are your cup of tea, then look no further than Destiny 2.

Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Do you read your star signs? Do you follow what your stars tell you? I’ll admit I sometimes check my star sign (Gemini over here), but it’s not something I do every day. None of my friends really live by their astrological signs either, so when I read Minnie Darke’s debut novel, Star-Crossed, I was pleased to see that I was going to be learning more about horoscopes throughout this novel.

Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke tells the story of childhood sweethearts Justine and Nick. Justine is a major skeptic and a Sagittarius, while Nick is an Aquarius  and an astrological devotee. Specifically Nick is a true believer and follower of the horoscopes by his favorite astrologer in a local magazine. After bumping into each other, Justine realizes that Nick’s favorite astrologer works for the same paper that she works for! Moving up as a coffee runner, Justine finds herself with more responsibilities at the newspaper. One of those responsibilities: inputting in the horoscopes for each issue.

Justine and Nick continuously run into each other, leading Justine to believe that the two will eventually fall in love with each other. Nick’s actions continuously prove otherwise. He IS NOT falling in love with Justine. Feeling torn up about this, Justine decides to tweak his horoscope in order to lean Nick more towards her loving arms. By changing Aquarius, Justine is changing fate. What Justine fails to realize is that Nick is not the only astrological devotee of her newspaper. Other Aquarius are making very important life decisions and changes based on Justine’s new horoscopes.

This novel takes fate and destiny and turns them upside down by charting Justine’s meddling throughout months of the newspaper’s horoscopes. By discussing horoscopes, Darke shows readers how going through life on your own is overwhelming, so finding friendship and help through the stars helps people make choices that are hard to figure out when it feels like you are alone.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Online Reading Challenge – Mid-Month Check

- Ann 1 Comment

Hello Fellow Readers!

How is August treating you? Have you found something great to read for the month of Art? I’ve already finished my book (Stolen Beauty by Laurie Albanese) which I’ll talk more about at the end of the month, but if you’re still looking, I recommend you take a look at this title.

If you haven’t found anything yet for August and are looking for something relatively quick, I have some movie suggestions for you.

Monuments Men with George Clooney and Matt Damon (and many other famous names) follows the World War II platoon that went into Germany to try and save and recover some of the thousands of art and artifacts stolen by the Nazi’s. Not the greatest film ever made, but the history of this real life group of men (based on fact) is riveting.

Mr Turner stars Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner, Britain’s most famous and revered landscape painter. Turner wasn’t exactly the most pleasant fellow, and this film doesn’t gloss that over.

Pollock with Ed Harris depicts the story of Jackson Pollock, the first great American modern painter. With success comes fame and fortune, but a volatile temper and emotional instability brings self-doubt and threatens his life’s work.

Doctor Who, Series 5, Episode 10 – “Vincent and the Doctor”. OK, this one is not a movie, but an episode from the television series Doctor Who and even if you’re not a Doctor Who fan (Really? Come on!), this is well worth tracking down. The Doctor and his companion Amy travel back in time and try to help Vincent Van Gogh. He is plagued by terrible visions (which turn out to be a terrible monster from another planet only he can see, but just go with it) While the story is science fiction, the human elements – Van Gogh’s suffering, the Doctor and Amy’s compassion, the impact of Van Gogh’s legacy is brilliant, beautiful and ultimately, heartbreaking. Highly recommended.

Travel Talk – Iowa, Part 3

- Ann 1 Comment

Hello again! Here we are with our third installment of exploring Iowa for Travel Talk. This month Michelle and I are talking about some great museums. I love museums – art, history, science I love it all. In my experience, museums are beautiful places filled with endlessly interesting and inspiring displays. Guess what – the museums in Iowa are no different. Bonus – these are all within in an easy day trip of Davenport!

Here are Michelle’s picks:

The University of Iowa Natural History Museum in downtown Iowa City is a free and fascinating look at Iowa’s history.  The museum offers an up-close look at hundreds animals from around Iowa and the world.  The Hall of Birds and the Hall of Mammals are especially worth a visit. When visiting the Hall of Birds, visitors can view over 1,000 birds, many who make their permanent or seasonal residence in Iowa.  These specimens were collected throughout the years by University of Iowa professors. Make sure you find the Laysan Island Cyclorama which replicates a 1914 bird sanctuary in Laysan, an outpost of the Hawaiian atoll.  In 1914, the sanctuary was the home to over 8 million birds of 22 different species.  Across the museum is the Hall of Mammals which displays animals from around the world.  Among the highlights is the skeleton of a 47 foot Atlantic Right Whale.  A final stop should be Iowa Hall, which allows visitors to travel through Iowa’s 500 million year geological, cultural and ecological history.

The Des Moines Art Center is a gem both inside and outside, with noteworthy art on its walls along with the architects who designed the structure in three parts.  The building is designed by world famous architects Eliel Saarinen (portion built in 1948), I.M. Pei (structure completed in 1968), and Richard Meier finishing the museum in 1985.  Inside, the Art Center has a stellar permanent collection which includes works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper and Alexander Calder along with rotating special exhibitions.  A second part of the Art Center is the Pappajohn Sculpture Park located in downtown Des Moines.  Admission is free for both!

And here are my recommendations.

National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids. Completely rebuilt after the devastating 1993 flood, the Czech Museum is a gorgeous tribute to the craftsmanship and beauty (don’t miss the crystal chandelier in the lobby) of Czech art. There are also extensive displays of the history of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These include full size reproductions of a Communist watch tower and steerage rooms that immigrants would have stayed in on their voyage to America. There are also stunning examples of crystal, porcelain and needlework on display.

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch. His Presidency might not have been a success, but Herbert Hoover was a great statesman. He was instrumental in providing food relief to Europe and Russia during and after World War I and later after World War II, saving millions of lives. He and his wife Lou traveled extensively and many of the things they collected on these travels are on display. There is also a lot of information about Lou who was brilliant in her own right (to this day, she is the only First Lady to speak an Asian language – in this case Mandarin Chinese)

This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are loads of great museums throughout the state – and in Davenport itself! (the Figge, the German American Heritage Center and the Putnam, to get you started) Here’s a tip for you – keep an eye on the website of any museum you might be interested in – most of them have exhibits that run for a short period of time as well as their permanent displays. These can be a great opportunity to see art and artifacts from far-flung museums, right in your own backyard!

Now what about you – what museums in Iowa would you recommend?

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

- Ann Leave a comment

Tiffy needs a place to live, now, but her low-paying editorial assistant job doesn’t exactly allow for posh digs. Or anyplace that’s habitable really. So, against the advice of friends, she takes a flatshare. It’s a nice apartment in a great location in central London and she can actually afford the rent, what’s not to like? Ok, her new flatmate is a guy and there’s, um, only one bed but! He works nights as a pallative care nurse and spends the weekends at his girlfriends’ place so they’ll never see each other. Right? Great! Problem solved!

Leon needs some extra cash. He loves his job but it takes most of his energy and time so a second job isn’t the answer. He’s almost never at his flat except to sleep during the day so why not share the space? It’s a great plan! Leon’s girlfriend shows the potential roomie the flat and assures Leon that Tiffy is dull and unattractive. Perfect! Leon doesn’t even have to meet the flatmate, it’s all tidy and anonymous and great! Except, Tiffy brings some of her things to the flat – which, ok, to be expected – but they’re bright and girly and the opposite of dull. Huh.

Then the post-it notes begin. At first it’s formal and impersonal – “Help yourself to the leftover cookies!” – but pretty soon their notes become friendlier and bits of their personalities shine through. Tiffy is bright and funny and optimistic and Leon is kind and patient. Of course, inevitably, they run into each other, in the flesh. Literally. Sparks fly. Tiffy is not dull and unattractive. Leon has recently broken up with his girlfriend. Can Tiffy and Leon move from flatmates to friends to something more?

The Flatshare is a fun romance. The final outcome is pretty much inevitable but the path these two take is interesting and adds a lot to the story. There is the shadow of domestic abuse (NOT between Tiffy and Leon) and the long term damage it causes, staying loyal to someone when everyone else has doubts, taking a risk and walking through that door, opening yourself up to love again. Leon and Tiffy are great characters that you’ll root for, and their supporting cast are fun and interesting. Plus, it’s set in London. Blimey! What’s not to like?

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