Apprentice in Death


Apprentice in Death (In Death #43) By: J.D. Robb

Plot:

Lieutenant Eve Dallas must hunt down the deadly snipers terrorizing Manhattan in this fast-paced In Death thriller from J. D. Robb.

The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice-skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be.

Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD but never one like this. A review of the security videos reveals that the victims were killed with a tactical laser rifle fired by a sniper, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the list of locations where the shooter could have set up seems endless, the number of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer.

Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources—and genius—at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two—one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil…

Review:

I was dead tired after I finished reading this. The entire thing took place over about a seventy-two hour period it felt like and Eve was just constantly moving. From about 35% it was edge of your seat, very rarely let up.

Eve is just living her life, dreading going to Mavis’ daughter’s first birthday, when she’s called in for a shooting. She realizes quickly that it’s a long distance serial killer. Things just go from there.

Roarke was with her on this one, and we saw a ton of other people, but for the most part this was Eve all the way. Even Peabody wasn’t very present in this one. She was always off doing other things. She was there, but her personal life wasn’t talked about at all. I missed that, along with the other side characters, but with such a tight time frame I understand why it wasn’t possible.

The killers were…well one was pathetic and one was evil. The evil one was interesting and a bit scary. Eve zeroed in on them fairly quickly and she was better about not projecting on them as much as she has in the past.

One of the things I love about this series is that there does appear to be growth of the characters. They move on, they learn. It’s wonderful.

4/5

Overcooked


Overcooked

Publisher:

Team17

Developer:

Ghost Town Games

Platform:

Switch

About:

A cooking simulation game.

Review:

My husband and I played this together on our date nights. It was a test of our relationship and I’m proud to say we handily beat it. There were some tense moments, sliding around on the ice level sent me over the edge several times, but ultimately we prevailed and three starred every level.

We do have the DLC left to beat, but we’re planning on getting to that at Christmas break. For now, I would highly recommend this game for those looking for a timed cooking simulation to play with friends or solo.

Levels are difficult, but also fun. Worlds are short so it’s not going to be a massive time sink for anyone, even if you are three starring everything. The game mechanics are simple to understand and don’t take too long to master. It’s the puzzle of the levels themselves that will really test you.

Excellent fun, and I’m really looking forward to playing the sequel.

4/5

Sherlock Holmes (2009)


Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Director:

Guy Ritchie

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr.

Jude Law

Rachel McAdams

Plot:

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Review:

I remember this movie being better. Maybe it’s my extreme dislike of Tony Stark coloring my opinion of Robert Downey Jr. in this movie, but I thought his British accent was horrible.

Sherlock, RDJ, is a brilliant detective with social issues that he doesn’t care to fix. Watson, Jude Law, enjoys the thrill of danger and adventure, but wants a more traditional life as well. They clash, but ultimately come together to prove that magic is not real. Irene Adler, Rachel McAdams, apparently is usually Sherlock’s foil and the only woman to ever best him. This time her incredible intellect is used to seduce Sherlock, be a damsel in distress, and then be caught by him. I’m sure she was able to escape once she got away from him, though.

3/5

Hidden Figures (2016)


Hidden Figures (2016)

Director:

Theodore Melfi

Starring:

Taraji P. Henson

Octavia Spencer

Janelle Monáe

Plot:

The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.

Review:

This movie was amazing. Every obstacle possible was put in front of these women and yet they were still able to succeed. It was so inspiring to watch.

All three women are computers, they do complicated math for those that can’t, or check the work of others. Because of the color of their skin they deal with racism at every turn. They have to walk a mile to use the bathroom because they aren’t allowed in the ones in the building they work. They’re unable to check out the library books that they need to learn how to keep their job. They can’t go to the classes they need to earn a degree.

Each obstacle that’s presented to them they continue on and overcome. They support each other, and have friends and loved ones that help when they can, but for the most part it’s all on them. They are brilliant and compassionate and they persevere.

These women were real and what they had to overcome was real, they are heroes and an inspiration. Watching this made me hopeful for the future, like anything could happen.

5/5

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)


Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

Director:

S.S. Wilson

Starring:

Michael Gross

Sara Botsford

Billy Drago

Plot:

A prequel to Tremors (1990), this movie tells us about how the town of Perfection, Nevada became founded and how they defended it against the Graboids with the help of Burt Gummer’s ancestor, Hiram.

Review:

So with the fourth movie we finally learn the origins of the Graboids, because we so desperately wanted that information. The Graboids happened when a silver mine accidently struck a hidden hot spring. I guess the eggs were then rushed out or warmed or whatever and thus Graboids came back into existence.

Michael Gross owns the silver mine, when it stops earning money he travels to the town of Rejection to see why. When he finds out it’s because all the miners are either dead or have run away he tries to figure out a way to fix things. Since it’s the wild west naturally that means he hires Billy Drago.

The town people try to teach Michael Gross how not to be a greedy and he ends up becoming friends with most of them. Also, his love of guns and red heads is born. Well, his ancestors love of guns and red heads.

This movie lacked most of the things I love about Tremors movies. Tremors always has a smart, confident woman that is very capable and ends up falling for the less smart man. There are explosions and everything happens fairly fast. This movie had that, but it was definitely the lite version.

Sara Botsford was smart and capable but she was also left in town for most of the movie and not part of much action. Michael Gross was also not an idiot with common sense, he was probably the opposite. We had some big guns, but the Graboids seemed to travel at a much slower speed and so the humans were able to travel long distances in a horse and wagon. I don’t know, it was just not nearly as good, in my opinion.

2/5