"Alone"

"Alone" is authored by Lisa Gardner and is the first, I believe, of her Detective D. D. Warren novels.
D. D. Warren is part of a team investigating a shooting by Sniper State Trooper Bobby Dodge.  It would seem straightforward when a sniper team is called to a home in a wealthy neighborhood that has been the site of previous domestic disturbance calls.  Gunshots were heard and Dodge doesn't hesitate when he sees the husband aiming a gun at his wife and son and the look on his face informs Dodge he's about to pull the trigger.

Although it seems like a kill shot that needed to be taken, things are complicated by the fact that the victim is the son of a prominent judge who vows to see Dodge tried for murder.  The victim's wife is accused of child abuse because the son has been ill most of his life so the grandparents want custody.

In addition the victim's wife was the victim of a child abduction as a young girl and the perpetrator has just been released from jail and she was not informed.  When people around her begin to die, she turns to Bobby Dodge which makes D. D. Warren suspect they had a relationship prior to the shooting.  It's a great novel full of twists and turns!  pazt

"Castle" - the complete second season

I just finished watching the complete second season of "Castle."  As I started this DVD series a few weeks ago, I realized that when I watched Season 1, I didn't understand how many episodes were on each DVD so I may actually have overlooked some so I need to recheck Series 1 to see if I did miss anything.

In the meantime, Season 2 ends with Castle going off to the Hamptons for the summer with his ex-wife (also his publisher) to finish his second Nikki Heat book.  Detective Kate Beckett had started a relationship this season with a robbery detective who transferred in from another precinct and helped them solve some of their murder cases.  Seeing their romance begin to blossom, Castle decides it is time to stop shadowing Beckett.  Interestingly enough neither one of them seems too happy with his decision - can't wait to watch Season 3!  pazt

"A Walk In The Woods"

Although my hubby and I had already seen "A Walk In The Woods," it has been a while so I checked out a copy of the DVD from our local library.  Unfortunately, it had some defective spots in it but we found it as a free offering on our Amazon Prime account.

I'd forgotten a lot of the movie and thoroughly enjoyed watching Robert Redford portray Bill Bryson with Emma Thompson portraying his wife.  When Bryson decides (after the recent death of a number of friends) that he's going to hike the Appalachian Trail -- all 2,190 miles of it -- alone, his wife panics and begins feeding him articles about people who have died on the trail.  She insists that, if he is determined to go, he must hike with a friend.  Friend after friend turn him down -- or turn out to be dead already -- but he gets a surprise call from Katz (played by Nick Nolte) who says he wants to go with him.  They grew up together in Iowa and had some adventures together in Europe when they were younger then Bryson met his English wife and life changed for him and he lost touch with Katz.

Talk about a mismatched pair of hiking companions!  I've read the book, too, and I recommend it also as some of their adventures don't make it into the film.  It's a story of male friendships forged through challenges and life lessons learned along the trail.  pazt

"Knots And Crosses"

"Knots and Crosses" by Ian Rankin appears to be the first Inspector Rebus novel in a series and I'm hooked after reading it!

Detective John Rebus works in Edinburgh where the city has had a series of murders of young girls between the ages of 8 and 12 and Rebus has been assigned (along with a huge task force) to work the case.  In the meantime, he's getting anonymous letters at home and at work -- all hand delivered -- with phrases that make no sense to him.  However, when his 12 year old daughter is kidnapped and may be the next victim, it begins to look like a personal vendetta against John himself.  He has memory lapses from the time he served in the military.  Will his hypnotist brother be able to help him recover his memory and save his daughter?  I'm off to look for the next book in the series.  pazt

"Just Getting Started"

"Just Getting Started" starring Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Rene Russo was recommended to me to watch so I found it at the local library. 

Morgan Freeman stars as Duke Diver, manager of Villa Capri, a luxury  retirement resort.  Tommy Lee Jones is Leo, an ex-military man turned businessman, who turns up at the resort and quickly becomes competition for Duke with the ladies, in poker, and on the golf course.

When Rene's character, Suzie, arrives, both men are smitten but Leo's is of a more permanent nature.  As they compete for Suzie, things begin to heat up.  Until then this has been a very slow paced movie and I've fallen asleep.  When I wake up, there's a gun battle going on and I have to rewind to see what I've missed.  From here on out it gets more fun as we discover there's mob hit out on Duke and Suzie has been kidnapped so it's Leo and Duke to the rescue!  If you rent it, don't doze through the beginning like I did -- just wait for the fun to start!  pazt

"Love You More"

"Love You More" is part of Lisa Gardner's Detective D. D. Warren mystery series but it is the first one I've read.  I think I must have picked it up on my library's new books shelf and I'm hooked.  This is the fifth book in what appears to be an eleven book series so I have a little catching up to do since I like to read series in order for continuity.

Detective D. D. Warren is called in reluctantly on a high profile case.  State Police Trooper Tessa Leoni's husband has been shot dead on their kitchen floor and her six year old daughter is missing.  Although Tessa admits to shooting her husband in self defense and she has the bruises to prove she's been beaten, something doesn't quite add up and where is her daughter?

Tessa ends up in jail accused of murdering her husband and daughter because the improbable story she tells isn't believed.  However, as a reader, we know her story is true so how will she convince D.D. and the other investigators that she didn't kill her husband or her daughter and how will she find her missing daughter from jail?  The investigators are convinced they're searching for the young girl's body even though they've put her picture out and an alert for her.  This story has so many twists and turns and is so well written that it really is hard to tell in advance what is going to happen.  It is solid writing that leads to a satisfactory conclusion for all.  pazt

"Castle" - Complete First Season

"Castle" was one of my favorite TV shows back when we had "regular" TV.  We decided to give up "regular" TV in favor of ROKU and DVD's and downsized to just one TV in the family room.  It has been a blessing in many ways as we choose what shows to watch together or individually get our own time to watch shows the other wouldn't enjoy.  I do miss the Hallmark channel and Lifetime and USA and I miss shows like "Castle."

Luckily I was able to find the complete first season of "Castle" (10 episodes) at my local library and just finished watching them after having them checked out for a few weeks -- watching an episode every few days.  I think I must have missed some of these early episodes from TV as I don't remember them but I am thoroughly enjoying getting back into this 8 season series.

Rick Castle is a fairly successful crime novelist whose stories start coming to life in the first episode as a copycat killer uses them to commit murder.  At that point he is enlisted to help the NYPD try to stay a step ahead of the villain.  During the case Castle comes to the realization that working with the police could provide him with new ideas for future novels which would be especially helpful as he has writer's block at the moment.  He also seems to have taken a shine to Detective Beckett but she doesn't always appreciate his unorthodox methods.

As he gets permission to continue working with NYPD and Beckett, he learns that her mother was murdered when she was a girl and the case was never solved and that is why she became a homicide detective.

We also learn from one of her ex-boyfriends that she has been a fan of Castle's books forever and they're what helped her deal with her mother's death but she warns him not to tell Castle.

In the meantime Castle decides to have a friend who is a forensic expert look at her mother's case but his mother warns that he shouldn't be delving into Beckett's life without letter her know.  However, when he approaches her about the possibility, she says if he looks into her mother's case, that would be the end of their working relationship because it took her years of therapy to put her mother's murder behind her.

Rounding out the cast are a couple of male detectives and their boss, the medical examiner, Beckett's mom (who lives with him), his daughter (who also lives with him), and his ex-wife who makes an appearance in one episode before returning to the West Coast.

The first season ends with Castle's forensic expert discovering something about Beckett's mom's murder and possible ties to a series of murders around that time that were never linked originally.  He's afraid to tell Beckett and ruin their friendship but his mother insists he must do it.  So...the first season ends when he sits her down and is about to tell her.....

I can't wait to receive Season 2 from the library so I can discover what happens next!  pazt

"Riding The Bus With My Sister"

"Riding The Bus With My Sister" is a heartwarming, tug at your heart story from Hallmark's Gold Crown Edition directed by Angelica Huston.

Rosie ODonnell does an excellent job of portraying Beth, the developmentally disabled sister living on her own and getting around on the bus system.  She knows all the drivers and all the bus routes -- It's her world and her circle of friends.

Beth has the safety net of her father, though, to call on when she needs assistance so, when he suddenly dies, she is lost and her caseworker requests that either her brother or sister spend three months with her helping her adjust to life without her father.

Beth's brother has a family and work in California so it falls to her older sister, Rachel, to take time away from her life in New York and her successful photography business.  Rachel (portrayed by Andie McDowell) has just broken up with her long term boyfriend.  Although she loves him, she is reluctant to commit -- especially to having children.

As Rachel spends time with Beth and gets to know her life on the bus routes and her boyfriend, Jessie, she also has flashbacks to their childhood.  Their father left their mother for another woman (now their stepmother) and, when their mom finds herself a new and unsuitable boyfriend, Beth is left with her but her siblings go to live with their father.

Beth and Rachel's relationship during Rachel's stay is not a piece of cake.  Beth can be rude and they both end up saying things they regret but along the way they find not only each other but new lives independent of one another once the three months is up and they reconnect as loving sisters along the way.  pazt 

"The Girl In The Ice"

"The Girl In The Ice" is the second Konrad Simonsen thriller by brother and sister writing team, Lotte and Soren Hammer.  This time the body of a young woman is discovered in the ice cap twenty-five years after her disappearance and her death is clearly a murder.  When the investigation begins, it is the tip of the iceberg because the investigating team soon discovers her death is the work of a previously unknown serial killer.

A suspect is identified fairly quickly but proving his guilt and tying the crimes to him is another matter and the rest of the book details the thoroughness of the investigation and how the life of one of their own investigators is threatened by the killer.

Once again the Hammers have crafted a believable and unusual thriller and I can't wait to read their third book in the series.  pazt