Book Review - The Darkest Night by Various Authors

Title: The Darkest Night
Author: Various authors
Genre: Horror/ Short stories
Published: 2024
 
Description: From some of the biggest names in horror comes an Advent calendat of short stories perfect for the darkest nights of the year.
 
Review: The anthology “The Darkest Night” is a collection fo 22 horror stories with a Christmas or Winter theme, each story written by a different author. I really loved this idea and decided to pick it up for the holiday season. With short story collections, you have so many stories to choose from. Most of these stories weren’t really scary and were just okay. Just a few of them stood out and I will spotlight them in this review.
 
The story “Cold as Ice” by Tim Waggoner follows a divorced man who is trying to date, but has no real desire. While driving home ins a storm he sees a strange creature running beside him. This story felt like a true wintery horror story, what I was expecting from this anthology. One of the stories that was actually scary.
 
Caly McLeos Chapman wrote the story “Mr. Butler”, which was a bit strange, but I loved this. A card board box shows up at a man’s house. The same card board box has once been his only friend, called Mr. Butler. It’s very different from the rest of the stories, but I absolutely loved it.
 
Nice by “Nat Cassidy” was probably my favorite, where we meet 6-year-old Mitchell, who has been very good this year and is sure Santa knows it. But when the Elf on the shelf comes alive and tells Mitchell he should be naughty, because otherwise the elves have to work too hard, the young boy takes it a bit too seriously. Surprising story, which takes a very dark turn.
 
The story “Eggnog” by Kristi deMeester didn’t really feel very Christmassy or wintery, other then the fact that part of the story was set at an office Christmas party, but this story somehow really grabbed me. And I felt very fulfilled at the end.
 
Probably the most ridiculous story, but also ridiculously good, was “Being Nice” by Jeff Strand. An eighteen year old receives nothing but a lump of cole for Christmas and he tries to make it right. But everything only gets worse. The story is pretty brutal, but I really laughed at it too.
 
Of these 22 stories, these were the only ones that really stayed with me, the rest was just okay and most of them were very forgettable. I probably would not recommend this book, but if you’re willing to pick it up, these are the stories you should be excited for.  
 
Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

Title: The Christmas Appeal (The Appeal # 1.5)
Author: Janice Hallett
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2023
 
Description: The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theater enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes.
 
Of course, there’s also the matter of the dead body on stage. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they investigate Christmas letters, examine emails, and pore on their holiday production – for good.
 
Review: Janice Hallett has become one of my favorite mystery authors very quickly, due to her creative way of crafting her stories. She is a modern day Agatha Christie, because she presents her mystery stories in mixed-media form. This is a sort-of sequel to “The Appeal”, only now in a Christmas setting. Like the first book, the amateur theater group the Fairway players are raising money for a good cost by performing a play. And again someone ends up dead.
 
The evidence is presented to two lawyers, in the form of emails, text messages, news paper clippings, etcetera. And we can all puzzle along. Again, at the start, you have no idea who is the dead person. I liked the mystery, but I didn’t love it as much as “The Appeal”. That’s mainly because the ending was not at all satisfying. It felt a bit rushed and I expected a bit more. But for the rest, it was a great read.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Death on the Nile

Title: Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot # 18)
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Published: 1937
 
Description: The tranquility of a lovely cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discover that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything. – until she lost her life.
 
Who is also on board? Detective Hercule Poirot is on holiday. He recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: “I’s like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger”. Despite the exotic setting, nothing is ever quite what it seems…
 
Review: This detective novel by Agatha Christie, number 18 in the adventures of detective Hercule Poirot, is an exciting and ingeniously put together story. For example, the things you think are too obvious may not be, or are they? The so-called red herring is used well here, but not the way you think. Christie really played with that in “Death on the Nile”.
 
It takes some time to get to the actual death, Christi takes her time to introduce all the characters and give them motive or an alibi for the eventual crime that will be committed. Other than the wording sometimes, it’s really not that obvious the book was written in the 30s.
 
“Death on the Nile” is one of Christie’s most known books, but not my favorite. I loved it, don’t get me wrong. But for me, the time it takes to get to the mystery is a tad too long. My favorite part of her books is always the detective work. Trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. And this part of the book is flawless.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Blink Twice

Director: Zoë Kravitz
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery/ Horror
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan
 
Description: When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraiser gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 49: A DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
 
Review: If you like a mysterious horror/ thriller with some female rage, Zoë Kravitz got you covered. In her directorial debut everything seems normal, but you know something is fundamentally wrong. Lots of red flag, but not sure why. It’s best to know as little as possible going in, because it will leave you gasping for air at the end.

Frida, a waitress at a gala hosted by Slater King (mocking Elon Musk, maybe?), can’t take her eyes of this charismatic man. She knows he has a dark side, as he went into therapy after an unspecified incident and apologized a thousand times. But Frida is ambitious and quite willing to get to know him. Fortunately, Slater also has an eye for her and, after some hesitation, he invites Frida and her best friend Jess to accompany him and his entourage to a Mexican island he just bought.

On site, Slater has all cell phones confiscated. A week of crazy fun begins. The guest enjoy the weather, the finest mansion with luxury chalets, a large pool, tasty dishes and champagne and drugs galore. Frida’s happiness is unstoppable, although she senses that another female invitee is jealous of Slater’s attention for her. This seems like a spring-break version for adults, but somewhere also the salutation of an impending plot from a mystery novel.

Kravitz takes her time. In doing so, she’s taking a risk, because except for Slater’s dark past and the confiscated phones, for a long time there’s no trouble. But little bizarre details nevertheless create this ominous tension and you are certain something is bad will happen. And you will never predict what it is.

“Blink Twice” is exciting, has occasional dark humor, has some satire to it, criticizes society very subtly and is really original. Nothing but praise for Zoë Kravits, who really succeeds with her first directing job. Same goes for Naomi Ackie, who carries the film on her strong shoulders. Her performance will hopefully launch her to the A-list in Hollywood. Channing Tatum, the all American boy, surprises in a role that is atypical for him,

Most of the other actors don’t stand out much, their characters are drawn very superficial. But it didn’t bother me, because in the and most do have a purpose in the film.
When the film starts, you have a feeling that something is wrong, but you can never predict the direction this film is heading. Such a good film, that will especially please female horror/ thriller fans.

Rating: 5/ 5