The Sultan’s Seal by Jenny White

It’s my understanding that this is Jenny White’s first jaunt into the mystery genre. It is a very good first attempt, and it offers a glimpse into a world that is not often visited by mystery writers. It is uneven at times, and the switch between storytellers a bit jolting in places, but overall it is an enjoyable read and a good mystery.

The Sultan’s Seal takes place in nineteenth-century Istanbul, where a young English woman has been found on the shores of the river, stripped of her clothes and drowned. It looks like murder to Kamil, the magistrate, who enters into an investigation that might end in more than the loss of his job. He discovers the murder might be tied to a prominent family, or perhaps even as high as the Sultan’s household, and also might be tied to another English woman murdered 12 years before. Sybil, the daughter of the British Ambassador, her cousin Bernie, and his coroner, Michel, aid Kamil in his investigation.

I like that the mystery is slowly uncovered, with the perspective switching between Sybil, Kamil, and another woman, Jaanan, who has some connection to the murdered women, although you don’t know how they are connected until almost the very end. It’s the best-kept mystery of the book, and adds depth to the story that other popular, M is for Murder type mysteries don’t usually have. You are slowly introduced to the world where these murders have taken place, and you get a good sense of the struggle the Ottoman Empire was having at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The new world and customs from England and the like are butting heads with the traditional Muslim and transplanted Jewish customs, and Kamil tries to straddle those worlds and solve the mystery.

Kamil is a more rounded character than what you regularly find in mysteries, and so is Jaanan, but Sybil is not very fleshed out. Her character feels two-dimensional, especially in comparison with the other two. It was a disappointment, because she is a very important character, but just seems lacking. The tone of the book was uneven at times, and switching between the perspectives of Jaanan, Kamil, and Sybil was sometimes not very smooth.

Other than that, I really enjoyed The Sultan’s Seal. It took me to a place I hadn’t visited, the mystery (or at least the deeper one) wasn’t obvious from the first. If you are looking for a mystery with a little more to say than say, a top 10 type like Sue Grafton, you should try Jenny White’s The Sultan Seal. It’s rich in history and details, with some really beautiful prose.

Rating: 4 Purrs

The Wicker Man (Remake)

When I first heard they were remaking The Wicker Man, I was a bit excited. I really liked the original mostly for its campiness and Christopher Lee’s turtlenecks, so I didn’t have a lot invested in the original to get riled up about in a remake. As luck would have it, I have not been so disappointed in a remake in a very long time.

The plot of the movie follows fairly closely to the original. Nicolas Cage is Edward Malus, a policeman who is called to the remote island of Summersisle to help an old flame, Willow find her missing daughter. What he finds there gets his back up, as he finds an island filled with women who laugh at him and have men as second class citizens. No one will help him, and he digs deeper and deeper to find the truth. Little does he know the truth will be deadly.

Neil La Bute has directed several movies about the battle of the sexes, and so this time around, The Wicker Man is all about men vs. women instead of Christian vs. pagan. I have to say that is probably my biggest beef with the whole remake. The battle of the sexes feels very outdated, and in these times, a commentary on the religious right would have been very applicable.

I did love the visuals in this movie. The costuming is beautiful and the locations are enchanting. Beyond that, I didn’t find much to like. The actors, even though there were several of note, were just deadpan. Nic Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Conroy, and Molly Parker all are excellent actors, but for some reason they were all cardboard this time around. LeeLee Sobieski was completely wasted. I was shocked.

I wouldn’t recommend this remake to anyone, especially to any die hard fans of the original. Heck, I wouldn't recommend it to people who just saw the original. It’s just not worth the two hours. There was so much possibility here, and it was just not realized in any way.

Rating: 1 Hiss, for totally missing the mark this time around

Black Harvest by Josh Howard

I found Black Harvest accidentally. I had heard of Dead at 17, but I hadn’t read any of them before, and when I saw this on the rack at Titan it looked cool so I snatched it up. I wasn’t disappointed, and now I have the husband looking for all of his Dead at 17 issues in his long boxes so I can catch up on all of Josh Howard’s work.

Black Harvest takes place in Jericho, Texas, where the yearly Jericho Lights bring out the alien watchers and tourists to stare at the skies. This year, Internet blogger Daniel Webster has come out to see the Lights and see if he can find out their cause, but instead he finds Zaya Vahn, a girl who vanished mysteriously 3 years before. The people of Jericho think maybe Daniel had something to do with it, and he is strangely drawn to Zaya on his own. Something’s afoot in Jericho, and Zaya has come back to make things right, with Repent etched into her skin and vengeance in her heart.

I loved this graphic novel. I know I can’t marry it, since I am marrying Snakes on a Plane already, but I would at least date it regularly. I like Josh Howard’s art style, and I love the fact that he’s a Texas guy who writes about Texas without making us look like freaks. If you like tough chick comics with a weird supernatural slant, pick up Black Harvest and give it a try.

Rating: 5 Purrs for hot Texas chicks in comics and the Marfa lights

Book Meme

Instructions: in bold=have read the book; in italics=want to read the book; with crosses=own the book; with asterisks=unfamiliar with the book. Snagged from The Little Professor.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. †Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. †To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. †The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. †The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. †The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. †Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. †Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. †The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. †Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. †The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. †Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. †The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. †Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. †The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. †1984 (Orwell)
35. †The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. †The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. *Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. †Bible
46. †Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. †The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. †A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. †Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. †The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. †The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. †The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. †Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)
66. †One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. †Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. †Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. †The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. †Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. †Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. †Emma (Jane Austen)
86. †Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. †Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. †The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. †Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. †Ulysses (James Joyce)

Spirit Trap

I found Spirit Trap on NetFlix, recommended because of the plethora of other horror movies I rent from them. It wasn’t a complete waste of time, but it wasn’t amazing either.

Spirit Trap is about a haunted house. Four college students are contacted about some cheap college housing. They arrive to an old spooky house and are greeted by Tina. Strange things begin happening. Nick fixes a what we find out is a spirit clock in the front hallway, and soon after, Jenny, who happens to be psychic, starts having dreams that tell about a murder. Nick is Jenny’s love interest and helps her solve the mystery. He's just your average joe college kid. Tom and Adele are a couple, and Tom also happens to sell drugs. His box o'drugs disappears from their room, and this starts a chain of events that brings the house’s history up front and the students discover they are in danger.

You figure things out pretty quickly. You know who will be the killer and what the history and ghosts are. The whole idea of a "spirit trap" is new to me, but a haunted house is a haunted house, even if you do need to be out of there real quick. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the 13 Ghosts remake in the idea of a haunted house that is also a trap for the living. I would embarrassingly have to say 13 Ghosts was better.

Everyone is an okay actor in this, but no one really breaks out of TV actor quality. Billie Piper is there, and Dr. Who fans may “squee” in excitement at that. Luke Malby is here, the prince from Prince and Me and a small part in 28 Days Later. Everyone else is okay, but the only one I really liked Emma Catherwood, who hasn’t done much before or after.

All in all, Spirit Trap is really not all that impressive and not really all scary. It’s sub par straight to video fare, and it doesn't bring anything new to an already very popular genre. Production values were low but not dollar menu low, so if you really like scary movies and straight-to-video doesn' t scare you off, you could check it out. Just keep in mind, this straight-to-video isn't Sci-Fi channel quality with man-sharks or killer ants, so don't get your hopes up.

Rating: 3 Purrs for average Brit horror with a pretty predictable plot and scares

Alone in the Dark (1982)

I can’t remember how I found out about this movie, all I know is it was highly entertaining. How can it not be with Jack Palance, Donald Pleasance, Martin Landau, and an appearance of a punk band called The Sick F*cks?

Alone in the Dark is about a psychiatrist who has just been assigned to working at the local sanitarium with Dr. Bain (Donald Pleasance). Dr. Bain is a little bit of a hippy, and on the fourth floor of his hospital he houses a group of men who are very dangerous. Dr. Bain, of course, has all sorts of rosy ideas about these guys, and doesn’t believe they are capable of violence anymore. The new doctor, Dr. Potter isn’t so sure. Not only is his family a little high strung, his sister, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, has come to town. Needless to say, things are a bit sticky at home, so when the guys on the 4th floor get it into their heads that the new doc actually killed the old doc and replaced him, and like only a movie can do, there’s a huge power outage, the psychos escape and head towards the new docs house to seek revenge.

There are some very good scenes here. Not only do the babysitter and her boyfriend have a pretty tense dispatching (excellent imagery here folks), the little girl gets to have a tense knifing scene and a scary pedophile in the guise of a babysitter scene, the sister gets to have some claustrophobic breakdown revisits, and there’s of course the twist ending that may not be so surprising anymore but is still good. The best parts go to Martin Landau, Donald Pleasance, and Jack Palance chewing up the scenery in their parts. They all look like they had a great time filming this movie. And honestly, what could be scarier: your family, locked up in your house with no weapons, no phone, no electricity, and a group of psychos armed to the teeth outside? Yikes!

Like I said, it was much better than I expected, and well worth a visit in the sanitarium. Just don’t get any psychos convinced you killed off their old doctor. It might mean trouble.

Rating: 5 Purrs for punk bands with cardboard axes singing “chop up your mother” and the nuclear power plant protest. Oh the 80’s.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I like Wilkie Collins a whole lot. He’s one of those writers that even though he wrote in the last half of the 1800’s, you can still read him like he’s a modern suspense writer. His plots are tightly written and his characters are fairly modern. People even credit Collins as creating the first true English detective novel, although I really am not sure I completely agree with them on that.

The Moonstone is a cursed Indian blue diamond with a dubious past. It was stolen from an Indian shrine, and later passed on to Rachael Verinder as a birthday gift. With it brings mystery and danger, first with strange juggling Indians showing up to steal the diamond, and then, with the diamond being stolen and Rachael trying to cover up the crime. Sergeant Cuff is called to the case. He is sort of an early Sherlock Holmes character, but he doesn’t stay around long enough to really make a huge impression. Franklin Blake is in love with Rachael, and he was the one who delivered the diamond to Rachael and who pushes the mystery through to its conclusion.

A different narrator tells each section of the mystery and takes you through their parts of the story. I love that you can hear each character’s voice strongly in their sections, and each is so individual. Some are comic, like Betteredge the house steward, who always finds the answers in his copy of Robinson Crusoe, and Miss Clack, cousin to the Verinders, an old maid who is steadfastly devoted to Christ and is devoted to saving her cousin by leaving pamphlets in secret places around the house. Some are straightforward, like Sergeant Cuff, who looks through people to find the truth, but who still has time for his roses. Each character is unique and vividly drawn, and each adds to the story.

If you enjoy older mystery stories, but are looking for something easy to read but still worthwhile, you should check out Wilkie Collins.

Rating: 4 Purrs, if only for Betteredge and Mr. Crusoe

Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan, Art by Niko Henrichon

Jeremy, the guy at the local comic shop, Titan Comics, insisted I pick up this graphic novel. It is simply remarkable in all ways. The art, the story, the dialog, everything gels in Pride of Baghdad to tell a story of life during wartime told through the eyes of a pride of lions.

In the spring of 2003, a pride of lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during a bombing raid to wander the streets starving and confused. In Pride of Baghdad, they have voices to tell you how they are feeling, the fears and confusion, the desire for freedom and what it can mean, and never do you feel like you are reading a Disney version of events. Vaughan doesn’t skimp on the details, but there is never any point where you feel like it is gratuitous.

The art by Niko Henrichon is beautiful. Each lion has character, each animal has human characteristics, and the backgrounds showing the decimated beauty of a great city is striking. You feel drawn into a world you will probably never see on television, no matter how long the war continues. It’s a vivid, orange-hued landscape; some images I still can’t get out of my head.

I can’t recommend reading Pride of Baghdad enough. It’s never preachy, never makes a serious judgment over the right or wrong of the war itself, but it does question what is freedom? How do you truly get it? Can you get it as a gift or do you have to fight, dig, roar, and struggle to get freedom that truly lasts and is deep inside you? Is it something someone can take away, or once you earn it, is it always present? My husband looked over at me after reading this and saw me sniffling. I’ll admit it; Pride of Baghdad brought tears to my eyes. For the struggle those beautiful creatures faced, the young men and women fighting the war, and the people it affects every day. It still is with me, and I am sure it will be for many months to come.

Rating: 5 Purrs for making me tear up with such a beautiful and touching story

Vampires: The Turning

I picked Vampires:The Turning up on my TIVO because I had a friend who loves bad horror movies as much as I do recommend it to me. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much.

Connor and his girlfriend have come to Thailand for vacation. Since Connor is a Muay-Thai boxer, he of course wants to see some real fights, and of course, his girlfriend Amanda get smacked with blood and she throws a fit about going to the fights (never mind that he’s a muay-thai fighter and him wanting to see a fight would not be a surprise). She breaks up with the guy and storms off in the middle of the city, with no idea where she is or how to speak the language. This girl is not the smartest in the pack. Of course, she’s prime meat for the local vampire hood. Connor sees her get hauled off to be a human blood factory, and after some muay-thai fighting, he of course gets beat up. Connor isn’t scared away though, after all, he loves this girl. He tracks down a vampire den, only to discover these are GOOD vampires, who only partake in animal blood, and who are mortal enemies of the bad vampire gang. The head of the clan, a beautiful Thai princess who is mother of all of these Thai vampires, has a plan to destroy the bad guys, but it involves some big thing about going back to her original palace and dying in the sun or something. Connor, after temporarily forgetting the girl he loves, makes it with the vampire princess, becomes a vampire so he can help her fight, and they all go off to kick some bad guy vampire ass, muay-thai boxing style. Oh wait, I forgot. There’s also Raines, a tie in to the original John Carpenter’s Vampires movie. Raines leads the current band of vampire hunters and has teamed up with the good vampires to kill the bad guys. Or wait, has he? Will the good vampires kick ass, will Connor’s girl be saved, and will he be able to magically return into being human? Or will he keep the beautiful vampire princess alive and stay with her? (That would be my vote. She’s better looking and less whiny.)

Well, I won’t tell you what Connor does. You have to see it to believe it. Just know that there are several scenes of silly muay-thai boxing thrown in between some really silly vampire nonsense. In other words, I loved it so much for it’s downright nonsense of a plot and very bad acting. Seriously. I doubt there’s another vampire muay-thai boxing movie out there that I could love so much.

Rating: 4 Purrs, with a hee-ya, turn kick, a total waste of a girlfriend, and a couple of fangs

The Maid

The Maid is a new entry into the Asian Horror catalog from the Singapore. It doesn’t have a whole lot new to offer to the genre, but there is enough fresh here to warrant a look, if you like Asian horror.

The Maid is the story of Rosa, a young girl who comes from a rural area in the Philippines to work as a maid for a family who run a Chinese Opera and have a mentally challenged son. She arrives in Singapore just in time for the Chinese Seventh Month, believed to be the time when the gates of hell open and the spirits walk. There are lots of rules on how to appease the spirits, and many traditions and ceremonies that must be followed. However, Rosa is unfamiliar with these rules, and slowly she starts seeing spirits and other things she can’t explain. She fears for her life as she uncovers the true story of the maid who lived with the family previously, and the spirits come in for the final say.

There are no stringy haired ghosties in this story, but there are plenty of ghosts. Ghosts who want their families to recognize them, ghosts reliving last moments, and ghosts who seek vengeance for past wrongs. People are haunted by their traditions and their family ties. There is also a very well done subplot of the young, unsophisticated girl in a city, not only unfamiliar with the customs of city living and territory, but the customs of a culture.

Like I said before, there’s not a whole lot new in The Maid to offer the Asian horror genre, but there are plenty of nods to the masters to catch while watching and a couple of really good scares. (The scene with the food court and the next-door neighbor comes to mind.) I like Asian horror, and I really liked that the ghosts here weren’t of the Ringu variety that you see everywhere lately. I’d like to see more from the Singapore, just to see what they can offer the genre from here on out. The Maid is a good start.

Rating: 4 Purrs for the oh crap, that's a ghost moments

The Walking Dead Trades, Volumes 1-5

When I stumbled across this series on Amazon, my toes wiggled with happiness. Seriously. A zombie comic book? (okay, okay, graphic novel) Really! Really? I was intrigued, and I snatched up the first trades I could find at my local comic shop, Titan. When I got close to finishing Volume 3, I made my husband commit to an early comic shop visit so I could get the final two out in print. That’s how much I liked this series. I am chomping at the bit to get Volume 6, so hurry up Mr. Robert Kirkman and give me more.

The Walking Dead Volumes 1 through 5 cover a whole heck of a lot of ground. Volume 1, Days Gone Bye, introduces you to the new world, a world where, much like 28 Days Later, our hero Rick Grimes wakes up to find himself in a hospital, all alone. He wanders about and discovers the dead are walking, and his wife and son have disappeared. He heads to Atlanta to find his wife and son, and along the way discovers just how much he slept through, and not only are the zombies scary, but some people are too. Volume 2, Miles Behind Us, has Rick and his rag tag group of followers leaving their campground for safer digs. During their journey they hook up with some new characters, and come across a farmer who has a really bad way of dealing with the zombies. Volume 3, Safety Behind Bars, has the group of travelers moving into what looks like an abandoned prison complex, only to find out the few living people left are not guards but inmates. Can the travelers make their home here? What about the other groups of living people outside the complex? Volume 4, The Heart’s Desire, has the characters settling down into somewhat more of a normal life, with consequences. There’s drama when the inmates release a bunch of zombies into the complex, and a new girl shows up to the complex, bringing in some more tension to the otherwise settled couples. Volume 5, The Best Defense, has our hero Rick leaving the prison with some others to investigate signs of other survivors, and in doing so, gets scooped up by the sadistic Governor, who rules his group of folks with a scary determination. Volume 5, like the others, leaves off on a cliffhanger, and I am really anxious to find out what’s going to happen next.

I like how Robert Kirkman mixes horror with some real what if’s. The characters aren’t as well developed as they could be, but they are getting there. They face real concerns, like how can we eat, where will we stay, can I really sleep with the undead crawling around? You end up asking yourself, what would you do if zombies roamed the Earth? Cause you know, it could happen. You never know.

Rating: 5 Purrs, cause how can I not love a zombie comic with heart? And brains.

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak

Ever since I was a girl, I just loved Nancy Drew books. I started off reading my mother’s original printings that she picked up during her childhood, and from there, I was hooked. Nancy Drew is probably the reason I am still hooked on reading as an adult. In Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak writes a behind the scenes history of Nancy Drew and her creators. She asks why has Nancy Drew survived through the Depression, World War II, the sixties upheaval, feminism, and still captured the hearts and minds of girls throughout all of these changes in our social structure. Who created her, and how did they influence the world of our girlhood?

Melanie Rehak introduces us to the Stratemeyer clan, the creators of Nancy Drew and many other childhood 50-cent novels beginning in the early 1900s. Edward, the father, began writing stories like the Bobbsey Twins and developed the idea of Nancy Drew, but his daughter Harriet carried on the dream of Nancy Drew way into the 1980s. The Stratemeyer clan hired ghostwriters to work on their novels based on detailed outlines; Mildred Wirt Benson was hired to write the first Nancy Drews. Mildred created the character of Nancy, and she used much of her own character to build Nancy. After awhile, Mildred broke off her association with the clan, and other writers took over, including eventually Harriet Stratemeyer herself.

Harriet protected Nancy Drew through the years, including protecting her basic character during the1960s and forward, when publishers wanted her to be sexier and boy-crazy. Then came trouble in the business, and a big question over which author was the real creator of Nancy Drew. Melanie Rehak digs through all of the history to bring out the truth. She never judges and presents an equal side for each woman involved. She even follows the history of Nancy into the 80s and 90s, into the new Nancy Drew Files, the new novels I remember from my teenage years.

I loved this book. Not only did it bring back wonderful memories of Nancy Drew (I actually found copies of all the books and the Nancy Drew Files and added them to my Amazon Wish List), I found another series I remember from my aunt’s childhood that unexpectedly was written by Mildred Wirt Benson. I found out more about the girl who captured my imagination and the vibrant, intelligent, and forward thinking women that created her and formed so many girls hopes and dreams throughout the 20th century. Melanie Rehak wrote with passion but never overstepped and made judgments. If you ever loved reading Nancy Drew, or knew a girl who did, you should read this book.

Rating: 5 Purrs

Recent Acquisitions to the Library

It's been a week since I posted. I have no excuse except for laziness and being head-first into catching up on my comics, books, TIVO, and NetFlix. Here's what I have recently grabbed and added to my shelves.

• The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (by the same guy who wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil)
• Beauty and The Beast by Marianna Mayer (One of my favorite illustrated children's books)
• Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, and The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (books 2-4 in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series)
• Killer on the Road by James Ellroy
• In the Night Room by Peter Straub
• The Courage Constort by Michel Faber
• Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander ( Book 4 in the Prydain series)
• Lisey's Story by Stephen King
• Eccentric Circles by Rebecca Lickiss
• 7 Steps to Midnight by Richard Matheson
• The String of Pearls by Anonymous (the original story of Sweeney Todd)

The Descent

I kept hearing that the The Descent was the best horror movie out last year, and so I rented it as soon as it came out. I was definitely not disappointed. In fact, I would have to say it’s one of the only movies outside of some Asian horror (Audition) that actually made me squeal and cringe into a little ball on the couch. My husband kept laughing from upstairs in our loft at the little Media Kitten ball on the couch. I was much upset at him, but I forgave him when he came home one day from work with a sparkling new copy of the DVD of my very own.

In The Descent, a group of adventure loving women get back together for a spelunking trip after one of them has a terrible (and icky, awesome opening scene) accident the year before. Juno, the leader on this trip, promises a real adventure, while the others aren’t terribly sure of themselves, but they are friends, and game for trying it out. Things start out great, despite some discomfort and some sparks between Juno and Sarah (the woman who had the accident). Eventually, the women realize something is wrong when the cave starts looking unfamiliar. Panic sets in, things start coming out of the walls, and the survival instincts set in. That’s when things start getting really fun. Will they make it out alive?

All of the women were great and I really hated to see any of them get killed off. You don’t usually feel that sort of connection with characters in a horror movie, so it was surprising to me to actually get drawn into these women’s plight. To be honest, I’m not really sure which half was scarier, the part before the creepies came out and they were just freaking out to the different aspects of the cave or afterwards when they were fighting off the flesh hungry beasties. There is certainly plenty of gore to tide the blood lovers over and plenty of tension to make you crawl into a ball on the couch. The beasties are second-hand to the true horror – being trapped underground with no way out and no one to trust but yourself.

I can’t recommend The Descent enough. It’s creepy in almost every bit, the characters are well drawn despite the limited playing time, and the survivor instinct true to your heart. You’ve got elements of all sorts of films here, including Alien, The Hills Have Eyes, and a few other classics, but it doesn’t diminish from the worthiness of this film. I can only recommend you see the uncut version, and not the cut American version. Why test audiences always insist on a happy ending for Americans to see I will never understand. The original is so much more true to the movie.

Rating: 5 Purrs, it’s about darn near perfect, but the caught in a hole scene, the ouch my leg scene, and scenes at the end made my day

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

I found A Dirty Job completely by accident. My paperback book club sent it to me because I forgot to send in my card. I find the most interesting books that way. A Dirty Job is one of the funniest and sweetest books I have read in awhile.

A Dirty Job tells the story of Charlie Asher. Charlie is one of those guys who fades into the background. He runs a secondhand store and is constantly imagining the worst. On the day his wife gives birth to their daughter, he returns to her room to see a tall man in mint green standing over her. His wife is dead, and now Charlie has another problem. People start dying around him, and random objects start glowing red. Charlie discovers he’s a Death Merchant, one who guides the soul of one person to the next. His daughter starts behaving weirdly, the agents of evil are trying to rise up into San Francisco, and his sister wants him to just find a girl to go to bed with. Life just keeps getting more and more complicated the more Charlie finds out.

Christopher Moore writes a multi-faceted story full of truth disguised in humor. It’s laugh out loud funny, but in the next minute you are so very sad. Charlie is one of those characters that sticks with you. He is Everyman, and his daughter Sophie is so much more complex than your normal 6 year old. Regardless of that, she’s never unbelievable. In fact, despite his characters being a part of a comedic story, they are never caricatures. They are honest, and the book itself is such a lovely story about death and dying. It addresses your fears and your sadness over lost loved ones, all while making you laugh. Rarely do I find something so good to read, with so much that sticks with me long after.

I really must get more of Christopher Moore’s books. A Dirty Job reminded me of Good Omens and the like. There’s a story there with a lot of good things to say, but it never preaches. It lets you follow along and discover the points of the story on your own. I’ve got to see if his other books are as good.

Rating: 5 Purrs for giant hell hounds, little animal dolls, lesbian sisters, and Minty Fresh

Italian Giallo Three-Fer

One thing I just love about Giallos is the wonderful title of each film. Another thing: Edwidge Fenech. She is such a beautiful woman.

5 Dolls for an August Moon

Mario Brava brings us a version of Agatha Christie’s 10 Little Indians. It’s a very stylish movie, with very modern furnishings and very 70’s chic fashions. A group of people are out on an island with a very wealthy scientist who has some secret that these various people want to buy from him. (Edwige Fenech stars as one of the guests.) He refuses, and one by one the different people are murdered. There’s plenty of blood to go with the twist ending. It’s an average Giallo, and you shouldn’t miss it if you are a fan of the genre.

Rating: 3 Purrs

What Have You Done to Solange?

A teacher at an all-girls school is having an affair with one of his students, and while they are out frolicking, the girl sees a flash of a knife and possibly a murder. After the police find a dead girl from the school in those same woods, the girl comes forward and then one by one, more girls are killed most brutally. A group of girls at the school seem to have a secret, one that someone wants to kill them for. It’s an excellent entry to the Giallo genre. If you don’t mind seeing movies with overdubbing, and you like a good mystery, check it out.

Rating: 4 ½ Purrs

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh

Edwige Fenech stars in this lovely Giallo as the wife of a stockbroker with some seriously naughty sexual vices. A straight razor serial killer is stalking her and other beautiful women in Venice, and she thinks it could be one of the men in her life. Her ex-lover, Jean, is the one who used to satisfy her sadomasochistic vices, and he thinks he can win her back. Her husband may be jealous of her past life, and might be killing women to revenge his love. George, the cousin of a good friend is newly rich and very handsome, but he seems to be hiding something of his own. There’s lots of nudity in this one, and lots of razor slashing. The atmosphere is gloomy and mysterious. Jean is creepy, George is seductive, and Edwige is luminous if somewhat too trusting. The twist here is old school, but perfect. This is my favorite of the three I just watched. It’s very much worth your while.

Ratings: 5 Purrs

Scoop

I am not a huge fan of Woody Allen. I loved Match Point, and Manhattan Murder Mystery was great. But after awhile, I get tired of Woody Allen playing Woody Allen. Match Point was near perfect, and a great part of that was because there was no Woody Allen acting. Scoop was funny, but there was something missing from it. It had potential, but it fell flat in the end.

Scoop is a light comedy. Sondra Pranski is a journalism student in Lonodn visiting friends. Through a magic show, she ends up in contact with a dead journalist who has a tip. He thinks the Tarot Card serial killer currently active in London is a Lord’s son. Sondra decides to take on the job of getting the scoop. The trouble is, naturally, that she falls for the guy she’s investigating. Is he guilty? Will she care either way?

What did I like about Scoop? Well, there was Scarlett Johansson. She was funny and sweet, just like the journalism student role called for. Hugh Jackman was delicious as the aristocrat. Romola Garai was funny as Scarlett’s upper crust friend. Some of the dialogue was just hilarious, and some scenes between Woody Allen and Scarlett were right on. Ian McShane was funny in the scenes he had as the spectral journalist intent on getting his scoop even beyond the grave.

What did I not like about Scoop? I though the ending was off tone. Woody Allen hammed it up way too much. Scarlett and Hugh had very little chemistry, and for the majority of the time, the chemistry between Woody and Scarlett fell flat. Scarlett’s costuming was awful and just did not fit the character at all.

I’m not disappointed in the movie completely. It had its moments. I just feel that it could have been so much more than it was. It could have been another Manhattan Murder Mystery, which is what I was wanting. Unfortunately, to me, Woody Allen has become beyond a parody of himself, and with no Diane Keaton to play opposite (Nothing against Scar Jo; Love her. It’s just those two had chemistry. Bam!), the whole film was missing a big chunk of what would have made it perfect.

Rating: 3 Purrs for getting Scar Jo and Hugh in swimsuits, and a few Woody Allen perfect one liners

See No Evil

See No Evil is one of those non-important horror movies released in the last year, starring the WWE star Kane. It’s even produced by WWE. I saw this intro credit when the movie started, and I thought to myself, “Uh oh.” What an understatement of the year.

See No Evil involves 8 teenage delinquents and their minders, one of which, the cop, faced the same crazed killer in the past and lost an arm while doing so. These 8 delinquents are being offered a shortened sentence if they help clean up an old hotel that is being converted into a shelter for the homeless. These teens don’t care much for actual work; they’d rather drink whatever booze they can find, smoke weed, and fool around. Somehow, the crazy killer that the cop fought before has ended up in the hotel and he is now stalking the teenagers and their handlers. The killer seeks them out one by one and kills them because of their sins. He uses the normal big guy weapons: axes, big hooks, his body slams.

There are pluses and minuses to this movie. The movie has all of the elements of some nice gory horror, but it’s not very original in any way. There’s plenty of gore, worthy of a nice icky Italian horror (the killer has an affinity for eye removal). The site of the old Blackwell Hotel is nice and spooky. A few of the deaths are unusual. You are surprise at who lives, but not who dies. Some of the characters are just marked. As for the minuses, the characters are all your normal horror movie teens. There’s the rich blonde, the geeky kid, the tough girl, the Goth chick, the animal lover, the drug dealer tough, the hoodlum, and the red shirt (Yes, that is a Star Trek reference). The character list reads like The Breakfast Club. The bad guy is such a retread of almost everything else you have ever seen before, an extreme version of the “movie rules” from Scream. He’s not even scary, just a hulky beast, stomping around with a permanent growl. He’s even got Jason syndrome, with the torturous mommy in the background. The “twist” they throw in is just obvious. But my biggest minus is the fact that Kane, the big bad scary guy, throws his victims around like they are in the wrestling ring, accompanied with big boom, smack sounds. He does it to every single one of those victims. It’s ridiculous.

Overall, I wouldn’t waste a rental on this one, unless the idea of a big wrestler skulking around, slamming victims into walls, is your cup of tea. There’s not much original here, but I did like the Goth girl’s tattoos. It’s not as bad as some horror I have seen, but there is nothing really new here. You can do better, just rent one of the classics instead.

Rating: 3 Purrs for lots of icky eyeballs

Gloom Cookie Trades, Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4

If you have ever been to a Goth club or have been a part of the Goth culture, then you will probably enjoy Gloom Cookie on some level. I picked up the Gloom Cookie trades, volumes 1-4, because I really like Ted Naifeh and his Courtney Crumrin character and this was recommended to me as being similar. It was in a way, with Ted Naifeh drawing Gloom Cookie Volume 1, and some similar subject matter, but overall Courtney still wins first place in my heart.

I really like Ted Naifeh’s art style, and a different artist drew each volume after Volume 1. I never really took to any of the other artists like I took to Ted. They just seemed overly messy, especially John Gebbia in Volume 2 and Harley Sparx in Volume 4.

The characters were all perfect examples of some of the people you meet in the Goth club, but that doesn’t mean you really like them, or even want to read about them.There’s the queen of the club, who’s Gother than Goth, her boy counterpart, her sidekick, who is much more interesting, of course, the pretty girl who isn’t as noticed and never seemed to get the guy she wants, and my least liked (because it’s oh so true) and yet, most funny character of Vermilion, the Goth poet who thinks he is a vampire.

The writing is downright awful, especially the dialogue. The plots themselves are a bit inventive, but you read these characters’ talking to each other and you cringe. I’ve never heard anyone, much less a Goth someone, call his or her friends “Sweetie” constantly, or say “Oogie.” It’s exaggerated baby talk. Thank God it lessens up in Volume 3 and 4.

Overall, Gloom Cookie is an okay lark, if you are familiar with the Goth culture. I won’t say that if you are, you won’t be offended, even though Serena Valentino is obviously a Goth herself. The writing is just too poor, and the art too inconsistent to give it more than a average rating. I’ve seen better, and it is Courtney Crumin.

Rating: 3 Purrs, but mostly because of Vermilion the Vampire Prince

Dario Argento, Asia Argento, and Three Mothers

I have known for awhile that Mr. Argento had decided to go ahead and finish up his Three Mothers trilogy, started with the most amazing Suspiria, but I just noticed on IMDB that Asia will be playing the lead, Daria Nicoldi will be back as Asia's mother, and Jessica Harper is rumored to be involved somehow. I think my head just exploded with happiness!

It definitely makes up for the fact that Eli Roth talked Edwige Fenech into being in Hostel 2. One of my favorite Giallo actresses being in Hostel 2 means I will have to see it, and this makes me mad at my OCD self for having to see everything she's in.

Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite mystery writers. He’s funny but never neglects the mystery or the characters. Double Whammy is one of his earlier works, but it still shines bright compared to the later books of his I have read.

Double Whammy is all about bass fishing. R.J. Decker used to be a professional photographer, but due to some bad luck he ends up working as a private eye and living in a trailer park guarded by pit bulls. Decker is hired by Dennis Gault to prove Gault’s big competition in the bass tournaments is somehow cheating. The problem is, the first guy he hired ended up dead. Decker ends up teaming up with Skink, a crazy hermit who loves to cook up road kill, to figure out who killed the first guy, who wants to kill him, and who wants to frame him for another murder. If that wasn’t enough, he’s still in love with his ex-wife, a TV evangelist wants his head and his fishing show to make the top of the list, and a crazed red neck with a dead pit bull attached to his arm wants a revenge kill. He has to figure out who killed whom, who benefits, and why before the FBI ends up arresting him. He ends up discovering that bass fishing is more than just a relaxation sport, in fact, the competition is fierce and violent.

Hiaasen creates the very memorable characters and places. Decker is a funny guy, but he’s not just surface. Hiaasen hints at some deeper characteristics that aren’t fleshed out as much as you might find in a different type of novel. Skink is over the top, but you also realize by the end there is more to the man that just the caricature he presents to the world. Coon Bog, Florida is just what you would expect a bass obsessed little Florida town to be like. It’s like the L.A. of James Ellroy with a bit of Margaritaville thrown in the mix.

I find Hiaasen’s work to be refreshing. It’s a good murder mystery without all of the dark, angry places you can get in crime drama these days. He’s a tree-hugger whose books always touch on some environmental aspect that Floridians face, but he never preaches. It’s part of the story; it’s matter of fact. I respect a man who has values, but decided to not beat you over the head with them. On top of all that, he makes me laugh. You can’t beat that package.

Rating: 4 Purrs

Books Read in 2006

Fiction – General

The River King Alice Hoffman

The Horned Man Robert Ladsun

And the Earth Did Not Devour Him Thomas Rivera

Dragonwyck Anya Seton

The Ice Queen Alice Hoffman

Less Than Zero Bret Easton Ellis

A Dirty Job Christopher Moore

Fiction – SciFi, Fantasy, Horror

One Door Away From Heaven Dean Koontz

The Adventures of Samurai Cat

More Adventures of Samurai Cat

The Association Bentley Little

Reliquary Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

The Historian Elizabeth Kostova

The Resort Bentley Little

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Stephen King

Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three Stephen King

Dark Tower: The WasteLands Stephen King

Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass Stephen King

Dark Tower: The Wolves of the Calla Stephen King

Dark Tower: Song of Susannah Stephen King

Dark Tower: The Dark Tower Stephen King

Prey Michael Crichton

The Collection Bentley Little

Coraline Neil Gaiman

Smoke & Mirrors Neil Gaiman

Velocity Dean Koontz

We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson

Lost Boy Lost Girl Peter Staub

For Us, The Living Robert Heinlein

Life Expectancy Dean Koontz

Anasi Boys Neil Gaiman

Dearly Devoted Dexter Jeff Lindsay

Cell Stephen King

The Return Bentley Little

The Door in the Hedge Robin McKinley

Fiction – Romance

Kiss Them Goodbye Stella Cameron

When the Storm Breaks Heather Lowell

The Color of Death Elizabeth Lowell

Decoy Jasmine Cresswell

Tell Me Why Stella Cameron

Light in Shadow Jayne Anne Krantz

Three Fates Nora Roberts

Firestorm Iris Johansen

Someone to Watch Over Me Judith McNaught

Truth or Dare Jayne Anne Krentz

Killing Time Linda Howard

Countdown Iris Johansen

No Escape Heather Lowell

Always Time to Die Elizabeth Lowell

Touching Evil Kay Hooper

The Secret Sister Elizabeth Lowell

Whisper of Evil Kay Hooper

Born to be Wild Catherine Coulter

Sense of Evil Kay Hooper

Kiss Me While I Sleep Linda Howard

Fiction – Mystery/Thriller

Codex Lev Grossman

State of Fear Michael Crichton

Deja Dead Kathy Reichs

The Mystery of the Blue Train Agatha Christie

Foucault’s Pendulum Umberto Eco

Murder in Mesopotamia Agatha Christie

The Italian Secretary Caleb Carr

They Came to Baghdad Agatha Christie

So Many Steps to Death Agatha Christie

Passenger to Frankfurt Agatha Christie

The Alienist Caleb Carr

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor Stephanie Barron

Death du Jour Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions Kathy Reichs

The Big Over Easy Jasper Fforde

The Angel of Darkness Caleb Carr

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse Robert Rankin

Murder at Christmas Agatha Christie

The Hollow Agatha Christie

Blood on the Moon James Ellroy

Maisie Dobbs Jacqueline Winspear

Death & Restoration Iain Pears

The Big Nowhere James Ellroy

Double Whammy Carl Hiaasen

Murder in Retrospect Agatha Christie

Fatal Voyage Kathy Reichs

The Sultan’s Seal Jenny White

Classics

The Beautiful and Damned F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Passage to India E.M. Forester

In the Lake of the Woods Tim O’Brian

SlapStick Kurt Vonnegut

No Country for Old Men Cormac McCarthy

Deadeye Dick Kurt Vonnegut

In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu

The Haunted Hotel Wilkie Collins

The Master of the World Jules Verne (Audiobook Podcast)

The Road to Oz Frank L Baum (Audiobook Podcast)

The Woman in White Wilkie Collins

Nonfiction

America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines Gail Collins

Lucky Alice Sebold

I Knew a Woman: The Experience of the Female Body Courtney Davis

Allies in Healing Laura Davis

8:55 to Baghdad Andrew Eames

The Murderer Next Door David M Buss

Comics Read in 2006

Lenore: Noogies - Probably won't read any more of this series. Too little plot.

Lucifer: Game of Cards - Enh. I miss Sandman.

Graphic Classics Volume 1: Edgar Allan Poe - I love these Graphic Classics. Classic stores illustrated by different authors.

Graphic Classics Volume 4: H.P. Lovecraft

Graphic Classics: Bram Stoker

Fables 1: Legends in Exile - I love Fables. I want to marry it.

Fables 2: Animal Farm

Fables 3: Storybook Love

Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

Fables 5: The Mean Seasons

Fables 6: Homelands

Fables 7: Arabian Nights (and Days)

Gloom Cookie Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4 - I like this series well enough, but I really prefer Courtney Crumrin.

X 23 Volumes 1-6 - Recommended by the husband, a short series about a continuation of the Weapon X program, but this time in the form of a teenage girl. Pretty good.

Christmas Evil (aka You Better Watch Out)

I rented this delightful Christmas flick after seeing it mentioned on Come Play With Us, Danny. I simply had to rent a killer Santa movie to watch at Christmas. It was a moral imperative. After all nothing says Christmas like a lunatic in a Santa suit with a big shiny knife. I couldn’t find a copy of Silent Night, Deadly Night (darn you NetFlix!), so Christmas Evil it was.

What an amazingly silly movie; I loved every absurd minute of it. When he was younger, Harry’s little brother tells him Santa isn’t real, and he sees real proof by finding Mommy kissing Santa Claus and somehow his Dad isn't in his bedroom. This ruins the poor little guy for life, and really, who could blame him. He becomes obsessed with Santa Claus, and after getting promoted into a toy design job at the toy company he works for, he snaps after some of the line workers and his bosses use up all of his good graces. All of a sudden, Harry is Santa Claus, punishing the bad folks and rewarding the good ones.

My favorite scene in the whole movie is when Santa Harry comes across a group of parents and kids walking home, and the parents recognize Harry as the crazy Santa killer. After one of the dads pulls a switchblade to go after him like they are in West Side Story, the parents all come after him full on Frankenstein mob style with torches. I almost cried with happiness.

The acting’s really not good, and special effects are low quality, but this very silly but oh so enjoyable Christmas fest had me from the moment Harry saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus, and simply stole my heart when the torches came out. Christmas Evil has just become one of those movies I must watch every Christmas season, with the likes of Black Christmas and Night of the Comet.

Rating: 4 ½ Purrs

Dead and Breakfast

Dead and Breakfast is a horror comedy in the vein of the Evil Dead series, Feast, Night of the Creeps, Shaun of the Dead, and Slither. I had pretty low expectations going in, but I was pleasantly surprised with how good and silly it was.

Dead and Breakfast has a bunch of college kids in a Winnebago traveling through Texas on their way to a wedding. They stop overnight in Lovelock, TX and end up in David Carradine’s bed & breakfast. He of course oozes Kung-Fu greatness just by standing there being the proprietor in his few scenes. Unfortunately, it’s also the night something escapes and causes the entire town to turn into zombies, and even David Carradine, Kung Fu master, can't save the day.

What did I really like about this movie? Throughout the opening credits and interspersed in the film are comic panels that help move the story along. I really liked the style used in the panels; it added an element of style to the film. I don’t expect a zombie comedy to have too much of a plot or character development to be funny. Dead & Breakfast has the required fake blood spurts; in fact the chainsaw scene is just priceless. You don’t really care about any of the characters. They are nowhere near as developed as they were in Shaun of the Dead, but this being a straight to video flick, I didn’t really expect them to be terribly developed. Everyone did okay with what they were given, but no one was particularly stand out either. I do like Gina Phillips though; I have ever since seeing her in Jeepers Creepers. The conversation between the sheriff and the doctor about the cow chip competition is quotation-worthy.

What was mediocre? The story has a Chorus in the form of a country band, much like Something About Mary. It’s funny, but it can pull you out of the story too. Their lyrics are just silly. Portia d Rossi’s character was unnecessary, and there wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between any of the actors.

I’d say if you are looking for a zombie comedy and you have already seen Shaun of the Dead, you should rent Dead & Breakfast. It’s straight-to-video, but the gore and acting is better than you might expect. It’s no Shaun, but no much is.

Rating: 3 Purrs

Sherlock Holmes Movie Double Feature

I love mysteries, and Sherlock Holmes is of course, one of my favorites. I stumbled across the following two movies due to NetFlix recommendations. They were both worthwhile for any Arthur Conan Doyle fan to see.

Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes

Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle (also known as Murder Rooms) tells the story of how Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was in medical school when women were first being admitted. Amongst the hubbub of the young men protesting this intrusion, Doyle meets his mentor, Dr. Bell (Ian Richardson), an unusual teacher who believes in new methods of detection and treating illness. His newfangled ways work to his advantage, in that he moonlights as a consultant to the police and test out his theories. The police aren’t very sure in his methods, of course, but he eventually proves himself to his doubtful student, and that’s all that really matters. Soon, the two are drawn into the cases of a few murdered women, and the woman Doyle has fallen for, who is a medical student along side him, is being threatened. Dr. Bell and his student rush to solve the mystery and save the girl. In doing so, Doyle finds the influence he needs to create the indomitable character of Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking

Rupert Everett plays Sherlock Holmes and Ian Hart plays Dr. Watson in this Holmes tale. Here, Holmes is lured out of semi-retirement by Dr. Watson. Young debutantes are being stalked and killed by a serial killer, and Holmes is on the case to stop the madness. Introduced is Dr. Watson’s fiancée, Mrs. Vandeleur, who is a psychologist in her own right, and points Holmes into the general direction in which he must go to solve the crimes. Rachael Hurd Wood (Wendy from Peter Pan) has a small part as one of the debutantes.

The acting in both movies was well done. Ian Richardson was wonderful as Dr. Bell. He felt like an aged Sherlock Holmes. Dolly Wells was excellent as Elspeth Scott, the girl who captures Doyle’s affections. She is smart, pretty, and very serious. Rupert Everett was a wonderful Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Brett is probably my favorite Holmes rep in the actors list of those who have played the great detective, but Rupert Everett was good at making the role his own. Everyone’s favorite demon from Hex, Michael Fassbender, had a small part and was appropriately attractive and creepy all in the same moment.

Overall, I thought both movies were worthwhile if you like the great detective. If I had to rate one over the other, I’d go with Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle first. It felt like a better production and had a more interesting plot.

Rating: 4 Purrs

Hard Candy

What a movie. Finally, I find a horror thriller that my husband will watch with me. He was intrigued by the concept of Hard Candy, and by the end, both of us were curled up on the couch cringing.

Hard Candy is all about Hayley. She’s met a man in a chat room and they decide to meet for coffee. At first, you cringe because you know something’s not right. You think to yourself, “Girl, what are you doing? Can’t you tell the man’s a little freaky?” It doesn’t take you very long to realize that things aren’t all what they seem. Soon, Hayley is back at Jeff’s house and things start to play a little differently that what Jeff expected.

Ellen Page plays Hayley with much more depth that I would have expected after seeing her in X-Men 3. She’s creepy, she’s smart, and she’s vulnerable. She’s a chameleon, and just perfect in the part. Patrick Wilson plays Jeff, and he ranges from flirty and creepy, to scared, to terrorized, to angry, to lost, all without ever seeming to slip into “acting.” The movie rests on the shoulders of these two actors (they are the only ones on the screen for 98 % of the movie) and they never let you down. They have excellent chemistry.

To be honest, I knew to make this a horror thriller it would have to deviate from the normal child and pedophile storyline, so the earlier twist wasn’t all that unexpected. It didn’t diminish the movie in the least. In fact, it heightened the whole experience, because you were left wondering when would things flip back? Would they? Who would win?

Hard Candy is one of the best thrillers I have seen in a long time. It’s scary and full on cringe-worthy. It’s just about perfect in its own disturbing way.

Rating: 4 ½ Purrs

The Return by Bentley Little

Bentley Little is one of those writers I found while browsing at Half-Price Books. One of his short stories, The Washingtonians, has been adapted for the Showtime Masters of Horror series. It’s one I enjoyed quite a bit actually, and because of that, I put him on my regular list for the used bookstore browsing. The first round, The Walking, I didn’t like much, but each book I have read has gotten better. Either that or I have gotten used to the very bizarre machinations of some of his plots.

The Return tells the story of the Mogollon Monster, an ancient Bigfoot type creature that was made up to scare the Boy Scouts camping out in Arizona campgrounds. It is supposed to be just a tall tale, a campfire ghoul, but then an archeological excavation starts digging up unusual Anasazi artifacts. Artifacts like a figurine of a screaming woman, pottery shards that show the houses and people involve din the dig, bones that are unclassifiable and misshapen. Suddenly, Anasazi artifacts start dancing and moving in museums, regular townspeople start returning to the basic instincts of violence and survival at all costs, and a few of the people on the dig start wondering how much truth there is in legend and how in the world you stop a legend turned real.

The Return involves most of the Bentley Little trademarks. It takes place in the Southwest, ancient evils are involved, and the protagonist is a regular guy who stumbles upon the weird goings on. There are sections of extreme gore, and people acting in extremely violent ways. It’s all a little familiar, but different enough that it’s interesting. The plot is creative, the main characters likable, and the mystery intriguing enough to keep you guessing how it will be wrapped up.

I liked The Return. I wouldn’t rank it at the top of Bentley Little’s work, that would be The Collection, The Revelation, or The House, but if you are a horror fan, think of Bentley Little as a Clive Barker lite.

Rating: 3 ½ stars

In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu

In a Glass Darkly is a collection of short stories introduced by Dr. Hesselious. The fictional doctor is obsessed with the metaphysical, and his case notes bind each of the otherwise unrelated stories together. Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer who was obsessed with the supernatural. He wrote this collection in 1872, and much of the content reflects his studies of death and the unknown after his wife died. Some sort of sadness or conflict in addition to possible supernatural events haunts all the characters in these stories.

In a Glass Darkly includes five stories: Green Tea, The Familiar, Mr. Justice Harbottle, The Room in the Dragon Volant, and Carmilla. Out of all of them, Carmilla was my favorite, but my opinion was probably colored by The Vampire Lovers (the movie version of the novella, and the way I even found Le Fanu). Green Tea is Dr. Hesselius’s story, where he is called in to save a friend who is haunted by a monkey. The Familiar is very similar, except the man is haunted by a past transgression. Mr. Justice Harbottle is the story of a man haunted by the decisions he has made in the courtroom. The Room in the Dragon Volant has a touch of the supernatural, but this man is haunted more by a beautiful woman he has come to love, not a ghost. Now he fears for his beloved’s life and plots to save her from her dangerous husband. Trouble is, he is staying in the room at the Dragon Volant, and every man who has stayed there has disappeared into thin air. Carmilla was a delightful vampire story tinged with lesbian undertones. The young heroine recounts her adventures with Carmilla almost wistfully.

Carmillla is the most complex story in the collection, followed closely by Dragon Volant. There is more content in these stories to flesh out plot and characters. All of the stories, except Carmilla, have two possibilities. They could be supernatural events or they could just be unusual happenings. If you like Victorian ghost stories, or if any sort of lover of vampire lore, you should definitely take some time to read Sheridan Le Fanu. I have one of his other well-known books, Uncle Silas. I look forward to reading it.

Rating: 4 Purrs

The DaVinci Code

I just finished watching Ron Howard’s movie, The DaVinci Code. I have no words to describe my dislike. I’m at a loss; I can’t even write a few paragraphs to describe how awful, unimaginative, uninspired, and unbelievable waste of time this was. There was no chemistry between any of the actors, and you had some serious actors here: Jean Reno, Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatatou, Paul Bettany, Ian McCellan, Alfred Molina. We aren’t talking B-List, but you would think you had the D-List cast with the quality in this movie.

I would recommend watching, oh I don’t know, National Treasure, for more chemistry and excitement than The DaVinci Code, or, you could just watch the Indiana Jones movies if you want to watch a treasure hunt movie. It’s a much better choice for your time.

Rating: 1 Hiss

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis is one of those writers you either love or hate. (I happen to like him.) He writes about people you can’t really like, and many times his plots are convoluted or just vapid, mirroring his characters. Ellis wrote Less Than Zero while his was still in college, and that alone is enough to make you give this book a look. He peel back any attempt at making the world of this book pretty like you would like Los Angeles, the place of dreams to be. It’s an empty, ugly world, with empty, pretty people.

In 1980’s L.A., Clay is home from New Hampshire for Christmas. His ex-girlfriend Blair is still attracted to him, but that doesn’t keep either of them faithful. His friend Julian has become heavily addicted to heroin and is now selling himself for drugs. Clay hardly knows his family and has no clue about who he is. He does drugs and drinks constantly and spends his days and nights partying with people he doesn’t even know.

The end of the book comes, and you are left just as confused as Clay. All of the characters run together. They are all blond and tan, they all have too much money and too much free time. Towards the end, you hope that Clay has reached a point where he wants more from life, especially after seeing Julian reach rock bottom, but you have no guarantee. You hope the phrase that opens the book, “people are afraid to merge,” resonates with him at the end. You hope Clay, having been removed, returned, and leaving again, realizes he can be of some substance. You hope he has redeemed himself, but deep down, you know he hasn’t. Being a Bret Easton Ellis character, you know not to hope for any real change, and that’s the real point of the book. These children are lost souls with no way out and no real will to leave. No one can help them, because they care little about helping themselves.

Rating: 4 Purrs

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman writes beautiful prose, and she writes a lot of it. The trouble is, sometimes that means books tend to feel like repeats of each other. I feel that The Ice Queen is somewhere in the middle. It’s similar to others she has written, but it doesn’t feel like a complete copy.

The Ice Queen tells the story of a solitary librarian who is obsessed with death. When she was eight years old, when it was night and ice was on the ground, she wished her mother dead. Her mother never comes home. She from then on she separated herself from everyone and everything, making up her life story into a fairy tale with a girl whose heart is frozen into a ball of ice. Later on, she loses her grandmother and ends up in Florida with her brother Ned. There she wishes to be struck by lightening, and her wish again comes true. From there she becomes obsessed with a man named Lazarus who was also struck by lightening. He is fire, constantly burning from within, while she is solid ice, constantly frozen. Their affair makes her life interesting for a while, and helps thaw her inner frozen heart. Later, circumstances help her wake up to life and turn her back on death.

The main character is never named, and it is appropriate. She is not a character you really have any sympathy for. The real characters that grab you only really show up at the end. Ned and his wife are those characters, and you only really see into their lives when the main character finally melts enough to see outside of her own self. If that is what Alice Hoffman wanted, then she was effective with her character development. Otherwise, she fails in developing any real characters you care about.

What really grabbed me in this book was a scene towards the end. The scene in California made me cry, and I am not completely sure it was just her writing, or if it was a little too close to home with events in my life lately. I could see the beauty of the scene, and it still makes my heart clench. I’d wade through all of those ice-cold pages to read that scene with fresh eyes again.

Overall, if you are a fan of her work, I’d recommend reading The Ice Queen. Otherwise, I’d point you to some of her better work, like The Probable Future, The River King, or Practical Magic.

Rating: 3 Purrs

Recent Aquisitions to the Library

• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
• The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
• Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
• Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
• A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut
• Thunderstruck by Neil Larson
• The Monsters by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
• Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz
• The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
• The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy

The Crow: Wicked Prayer

I’m a sucker for Edward Furlong. I remember the boy from Terminator 2 fondly, so of course I had to rent the fourth installment of The Crow series. I took a real chance, because the third installment, The Crow: Salvation was downright awful, despite Kirsten Dunst. (Yes, you read that right. Talk about contractual obligation.) This installment was definitely direct-to-video worthy, but it was not nearly as bad as the third.

Jimmy Cuervo (Furlong) is an ex-con who loves Lilly (Emmanuelle Chiquri), an Indian shaman who is leading her people to shut down the toxic mine in their community and open a casino. Luc Crash (David Boreanz) is the bad guy, the leader of the local satanic cult, whose followers are called Famine, Pestilence, and War. His girl is an ex-hooker called Lola Byrne (Tara Reid) who wants to be more than just white trash. Luc wants to become the Anti-Christ, and of course to do this, Lilly and Jimmy have to die. This of course leads Jimmy to come back as The Crow, to set the wrong things right, etc., etc.

If the first Crow was a kung fu Goth action movie, the second was a Goth music video, and the third was just plain painful, the fourth is a western. I saw potential in it, but the actors were either poor or left with very little to do. The dialog was laughable. The action is negligible and where it was present, the wires and slow motion were obvious attempts at masking the fact that none of the actors could really do any of the fight scenes. Even the costumes were Hot Topic bought, and if you are any little bit of a smidgeon of Indian, you won’t like the shaman’s outfits. She looks good in them, no doubt, but they are shamefully not even close to authentic.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this unless you like the actors or just feel like you need to see The Crow series to completion. Otherwise, just pass it on by. If you watch it, you will just wish for what it could have been.

Rating: 2 ½ Purrs

The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind Is Designed to Kill by David M. Buss

David M. Buss's goal in The Murder Next Door is to explain why normal, next-door neighbor type people murder. He has a plausible theory that normal people kill because we evolved that way. He is an evolutionary psychologist, and he outlines his theory in detail. It's too bad the theory seems stretched thin over repetitions of the same type of examples.

Buss concentrates on the next door kind of murder, and leaves out murders caused by deep rooted psychological issues, serial killers, war, mass murders and the like. According to Buss, it all boils down to survival. Humans evolved to find murder to be a viable solution to certain evolutionary issues. Bottom line, women kill to protect their children, themselves from dangerous mates and outsiders, and their viable genetic contributors (their mates) from poachers. Men kill to protect their genetic contributors (their mates, or in the case of stalkers, their perceived or previous mates), cut off others' genetic lines (i.e., stepchildren), and ensure their place in the wealth and status of the community.

Buss cites much of his own research, where he interviewed a large group of people about situations where they felt they would murder or where they would be murdered, in addition to many other sources cited in the back of the book. The interviews are interesting, and they indeed support his theory. However, I can't believe that his reasons are the be all and end all theory of why normal people kill. Pigeonholing people into strict evolutionary theories just seems too pat to me. Maybe I feel like we have evolved beyond such primitive urges, but then again, I turn on the news and sometimes it makes me doubt it.

I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading a theory about why someone like your next-door neighbor might murder you because you leered at his wife, or if you are interested in the psychology of murder. However, I would also take it with a grain of salt. It's not nearly as extensive as I was hoping, as I was looking to read more than one theory repeated with other examples. Overall, it left me hanging and frustrated, wanting more of a reason behind murder than just the protection of my mate and the insurance of good genetic continuation.

Ratings: 3 Purrs

Recent Aquisitions to the Library

I just received from Amazon (woot for GC for filling out work surveys!):

• The Hero & The Crown by Robin McKinley (My all-time favorite book, ever. Yes, I know that it is a book for young adults.)
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
• The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins

Rest Stop

Rest Stop is a straight to video horror flick I got from NetFlix. It looked like it would be a gritty, icky type film like The Hills Have Eyes, Saw, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It wasn’t quite up to par with those, which I didn’t really expect it to be, but still I was disappointed with the story overall.

Nicole sneaks away from home with her boyfriend to drive out to California. After some afternoon delight out in the woods, they stop at a rest stop out in the middle of the woods. Unfortunately for them, this is not a good place to stop and use the bathroom. Weird things start to happen, with first off, her boyfriend disappearing. Then some creepy guy in a truck keeps stalking her. A girl appears and then disappears, lots of blood oozes over the floors, and weird notes are written on the walls. She seeks refuge with a family in a Winnebago who ends up being even weirder than the guy in the truck. She just can’t seem to escape the rest stop and the guy in the truck, no matter what choose your own adventure path she takes.

Jaimie Alexander, the girl who plays Nicole, is an okay actress. She’s somewhat resourceful in her part, and she’s girl-next-door pretty enough to play a horror movie heroine. Everyone else is negligible, except the family in the Winnebago. They are People Under The Stairs creepy. If they were more of the movie, it would have been leaps and bounds better.

There is very little gore involved, and you really do keep wondering why in the world the dumb girl keeps coming back to the same rest stop, when she could just walk away? The plot just meanders about and doesn’t really conclude in any way. It’s like someone cut out everything that might have connected events together and just left the bloody parts. In fact, I had to hit the extras and read the boards at IMDB to just figure out what the heck went on and what was up with the rest stop and the guy in the truck. If, maybe, the director and writer had left a bit more explanation in I might have liked it a bit more, but with the cuts made to the film it’s impossible to follow.

Rating: 2 ½ Purrs