"Kiss Me Deadly"

My spouse and I checked out the DVD, "Kiss Me Deadly," from the library.  It's described as a 1955 cold war paranoia noir film directed by Robert Aldrich and is full of action from start to finish.  Ralph Meeker portrays convertible driving Mike Hammer who picks up a woman he finds running along a lonely road one dark night (played by Cloris Leachman).  She's very fearful and ends up dead which sends Hammer down some terrifying paths looking for answers.  She may have had connections to the mob and everywhere he turns he seems to find out something ever more frightening and/or puts himself in more danger.

Since it is a 50's film, it doesn't particularly hold up to the filmography of today but if you're looking for a feeling of what it was like in the 50's when everyone was afraid of being bombed and were building bomb shelters in their backyards, this might give you an idea of why.  pazt

"Hung Out To Die"

"Hung Out To Die" is, to my knowledge, the first novel I've read by Sharon Short and it's part of the "stain busting" mystery series.  As I was reading it,  there were allusions to our heroine, Josie Toadfern, solving other mysteries, which gave me the first clue that I might have missed a few earlier novels in a series.

Josie is an orphan who owns the local laundromat -- Her parents didn't die -- They just abandoned her and left her to be raised by other family members.  Although her paternal grandmother, has forbidden the family to have anything to do with her, her cousin Sally has ignored that edict and been a good friend of Josie's.

Thanksgiving is near and Josie's boyfriend, Owen, has gone off to visit his son which also means he'll be seeing his ex-wife and leaving Josie alone over this holiday.  Sally insists that Mamaw Toadfern, her paternal grandmother, wants Josie at their family Thanksgiving and Sally strongarms Josie into going.

As it turns out, Josie's parents arrive for dinner also as well as the rest of the family including her father's twin brother, Uncle Fenwick.  An argument ensues between the brothers so when Uncle Fenwick is later discovered dead, Josie's father is the prime suspect and her mother begs Josie to find out who the real killer is.  It's not an easy task and along the way Josie discovers other crimes -- some recent and some in the past -- and everyone seems to be impacted by the unveiling of this family's history.

It's a fun, light read -- not requiring a lot of thought -- but I have to admit it kept me guessing until the end -- Isn't that what a good mystery is supposed to do?  pazt

"A Dangerous Dance"

"A Dangerous Dance" is, I believe, one of Pauline Baird Jones' stand alone novels.  When Dorothy Morgana Merlinn's father, Magus (also known as the Wizard), was assassinated in front of her ten years ago while he was beginning his run for Louisiana Governor, she had just recently been reunited with him.  He and her mother divorced before she was born and she was raised by her mother without any financial assistance from her father so their life was hard as her mother worked as a waitress to support them.  When her mother died of cancer, Magus invited Dorothy to live with him at his estates, Oz.

After Magus' death, Dorothy spent ten years learning to run his empire with his bodyguard, Titus, always by her side to offer his protection.  Magus left detailed dossiers on everyone and Dorothy had recently paid a visit to prison to interview Vance, the man who had killed Magus, trying to learn who had hired him.  She offered him a million dollars to tell her the name (or names) behind her father's assassination.  That may not have been wise because Vance ended up dead shortly afterwards and the offer may have also put Dorothy's life in danger.

A new race for Governor is beginning and Dorothy decides to back Remy Mistral - a talk-radio host who is a political outsider but has always fought for reform.  He was present at the rally where her father was shot.  Together they plot a way to flush out the hired killer or killers by Dorothy backing him for Governor and also announcing their engagement.  It begins as an engagement in name only but a mutual attraction may take it beyond that.  In the meantime, though, the plan puts their lives at risk.

In addition, Dorothy's Aunt Kate, her mother's sister that Dorothy was unaware of, shows up on the scene and is able to share stories about Dorothy's parents' relationship that Dorothy's mother had shared with her.  It seems she has a lot more info, though. than one might expect from an Aunt.

In the meantime, people are dying around Kate -- some of them suspects and some of them individuals who might be able to give Dorothy and Remy clues about the killers behind her father's assassination.  As the plot thickens, so do the risks to Dorothy and Remy and more secrets about Dorothy's family are uncovered.

Although this was a light read, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first book I read by Jones which was "The Spy Who Kissed Me" (or also known as "Pig in a Park") which was released in 2000.  pazt