This is the latest book in Cornwell's series featuring Kay Scarpetta, one of my favorite characters. Once the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia, Kay is now freelancing with the National Forensic Academy in Florida. The academy is the brainchild of Lucy, Kay's genius niece (and also one of my favorite lesbian characters in literature, actually). Benton, Kay's boyfriend and a forensic psychologist, is doing a research study of violent, sociopathic males through Harvard University. One of the study participants tells Benton about a woman he supposedly killed (not one for whom he was convicted), at a Christmas shop in Florida. The team (Benton, Lucy, Kay, and Pete Marino, a former cop who worked with Kay in Virginia) investigate and tie this to a missing persons case. There seems to be a connection between this case and the disappearance of four people who were abducted from their Florida home.
Meanwhile, Lucy has a brief involvement in Provincetown with a woman named Stevie, who, oddly, has tattoos of red handprints on her breasts and upper inner thighs. Then Benton sits in on an autopsy (most forensic psychologists don't do this, by the way) of a Massachusetts woman with similar tattoos.
Lucy is not herself lately. She has gained weight, seems to have lost interest in the academy, and she made a careless security mistake with disastrous consequences.
This book is rather hard to summarize, because there are a lot of details and several different cases that connect in a strange way. It's gripping, though; the details don't seem tedious. Cornwell just keeps getting better and better.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Book Review--Hate Crime, by William Bernhardt
This is a legal thriller, which is one of my favorite genres. This is the first book I've read by Bernhardt, but apparently he has written at least one other book besides this one featuring attorney Ben Kincaid, so I'll have to check that out.
Tony Barovick, a gay man and the manager of a bar near a college campus, was badly beaten and killed on his way home from work, the victim of a hate crime. The perpetrators were two young fraternity brothers. At their trial, one of them is gunned down by a member of a fringe gay-rights group, and their lawyer is injured. The mother of Johnny Christensen, the surviving sadistic bigot, comes to see Ben to beg him to take her son's case. Ben turns her down, but his partner, Christina McCall, takes the case. Christina is puzzled by Ben's refusing to take the case. She knows it isn't because Johnny Christensen is vastly unpopular. Ben takes cases of vastly unpopular (and broke) clients all the time. So she figures there has to be some personal reason, but it is awhile before she manages to find out what that is.
Johnny's defense is that he and his friend badly beat Tony Barovick, but left him alive. This doesn't make Johnny more likeable, especially since even if someone else did kill Tony, he wasn't exactly likely to survive after Johnny and his friend finished with him. However, Christina is committed to putting on the best defense she can for her client (as she should, even though he's hardly one to garner sympathy), and digs for evidence that what her client said is true.
The book has some interesting twists and turns. It raises the possibility that perhaps Tony was involved in something sinister; I won't say whether or not that's true, but it sure doesn't fit with his wholesome image. Christina and Ben (who is eventually dragged into the case) are themselves the targets of violence. The case definitely brought out violent extremists on both sides.
I really liked the characters of Christina and Ben. This sure wasn't a case I would want if I were a lawyer, but they didn't seem like sleazy defense lawyers who were just trying to twist the law to get their client off. They seemed committed to finding the truth.
I also really liked what the author said in the dedication of his book: "For Theta Juan, my mother, who taught her children that all hate was a crime."
Tony Barovick, a gay man and the manager of a bar near a college campus, was badly beaten and killed on his way home from work, the victim of a hate crime. The perpetrators were two young fraternity brothers. At their trial, one of them is gunned down by a member of a fringe gay-rights group, and their lawyer is injured. The mother of Johnny Christensen, the surviving sadistic bigot, comes to see Ben to beg him to take her son's case. Ben turns her down, but his partner, Christina McCall, takes the case. Christina is puzzled by Ben's refusing to take the case. She knows it isn't because Johnny Christensen is vastly unpopular. Ben takes cases of vastly unpopular (and broke) clients all the time. So she figures there has to be some personal reason, but it is awhile before she manages to find out what that is.
Johnny's defense is that he and his friend badly beat Tony Barovick, but left him alive. This doesn't make Johnny more likeable, especially since even if someone else did kill Tony, he wasn't exactly likely to survive after Johnny and his friend finished with him. However, Christina is committed to putting on the best defense she can for her client (as she should, even though he's hardly one to garner sympathy), and digs for evidence that what her client said is true.
The book has some interesting twists and turns. It raises the possibility that perhaps Tony was involved in something sinister; I won't say whether or not that's true, but it sure doesn't fit with his wholesome image. Christina and Ben (who is eventually dragged into the case) are themselves the targets of violence. The case definitely brought out violent extremists on both sides.
I really liked the characters of Christina and Ben. This sure wasn't a case I would want if I were a lawyer, but they didn't seem like sleazy defense lawyers who were just trying to twist the law to get their client off. They seemed committed to finding the truth.
I also really liked what the author said in the dedication of his book: "For Theta Juan, my mother, who taught her children that all hate was a crime."
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Book Review--Raining Cats and Dogs
This is another series mystery that I have picked up on somewhere in the middle. I like this, because if I like the series, I have lots to read before the next one comes out. The title of this one caught my eye. It turns out that the protagonist is actually a dog lover. I have a very hard time understanding this, but I can understand devotion to one's pet. So I can relate to this character on that point.
At the beginning of this book, Melanie Travis has just gotten married. The tiny house she shared with her son and two Standard Poodles is now bursting at the seams, as her new husband brought his own three Standard Poodles with him (Standard Poodles are the big ones, by the way). Both Melanie and her husband's Poodles are very well-behaved, but their patience is tested by the seven cats who moved in next door. Their owner, who is way too gorgeous for Melanie's taste (and with a husband who is largely absent), doesn't seem too concerned. It's true that cats don't stay reigned in as well since they can climb, but if I were her, I'd have been very worried about the big dogs next door and kept a closer eye on the cats.
Anyway, Melanie is really into dog shows and all that, and she wants one of her Poodles, Faith, to get more obedience training. So she enrolls her in the South Avenue Obedience Club. They feel a little out of place (well, at least Melanie does; I'm not sure about the dog) because everyone knows everyone already and Faith hasn't had as much obedience training as most of them. The group has an unofficial program where they bring the dogs to visit a nursing home, and Melanie and Faith are invited to come along. The visits were initiated by Paul, a Club member whose Great Aunt Mary, a dog lover, lives there.
Faith and Melanie's first visit goes very well at first, but it ends in tragedy. Paul's Great-Aunt Mary is found suffocated in her bed. As the police investigate, club members learn of Melanie's amateur sleuthing and urge her to look into Mary's murder. There are plenty of suspects for Melanie to check out, from Mary's black-sheep son to some of the group members and nursing-home staff.
Anyway, if you like amateur-sleuth type books, you will like this one. If you also love dogs you'll like it even more, but I don't think that's necessarily required.
At the beginning of this book, Melanie Travis has just gotten married. The tiny house she shared with her son and two Standard Poodles is now bursting at the seams, as her new husband brought his own three Standard Poodles with him (Standard Poodles are the big ones, by the way). Both Melanie and her husband's Poodles are very well-behaved, but their patience is tested by the seven cats who moved in next door. Their owner, who is way too gorgeous for Melanie's taste (and with a husband who is largely absent), doesn't seem too concerned. It's true that cats don't stay reigned in as well since they can climb, but if I were her, I'd have been very worried about the big dogs next door and kept a closer eye on the cats.
Anyway, Melanie is really into dog shows and all that, and she wants one of her Poodles, Faith, to get more obedience training. So she enrolls her in the South Avenue Obedience Club. They feel a little out of place (well, at least Melanie does; I'm not sure about the dog) because everyone knows everyone already and Faith hasn't had as much obedience training as most of them. The group has an unofficial program where they bring the dogs to visit a nursing home, and Melanie and Faith are invited to come along. The visits were initiated by Paul, a Club member whose Great Aunt Mary, a dog lover, lives there.
Faith and Melanie's first visit goes very well at first, but it ends in tragedy. Paul's Great-Aunt Mary is found suffocated in her bed. As the police investigate, club members learn of Melanie's amateur sleuthing and urge her to look into Mary's murder. There are plenty of suspects for Melanie to check out, from Mary's black-sheep son to some of the group members and nursing-home staff.
Anyway, if you like amateur-sleuth type books, you will like this one. If you also love dogs you'll like it even more, but I don't think that's necessarily required.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Movie Review--Last Holiday
I can't help it. I love so-called feel-good movies. In this one, Queen Latifah plays a meek sales associate (Georgia Byrd) who is afraid to really live. She works in a department store in New Orleans (pre-Katrina, of course) selling cookware. She is an amazing cook herself, but she doesn't try to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. She feeds a neighbor boy (whom I assumed was her son at first; the movie didn't do a good job of identifying him) a fabulous meal but eats a Lean Cuisine herself. She is crazy about a coworker named Sean (LL Cool J) but is too shy to let him know how she feels.
Then one day she is told that she has a fatal disease, and her HMO won't cover an operation. She quits her job, cashes in her retirement plan, and checks into the Presidential Suite ($4000 a night) in a posh resort hotel in Central Europe, chosen because a chef she idolizes works there. Also at the hotel are the CEO of the department store where Georgia recently quit her job, his assistant, a senator, and a congressman. They think that Georgia must be someone "important" because she's staying in the Presidential Suite and is apparently very rich. She wins all of them over, with the exception of the CEO (Timothy Hutton), who is jealous of the attention she's getting. She also wins over the hotel staff and especially the chef.
This is a remake of the 1950 movie starring Alex Guinness. I never saw that one, but what made this one so good is Queen Latifah's charm. The movie is not exactly unpredictable, but it's enjoyable because she is just so much fun.
Then one day she is told that she has a fatal disease, and her HMO won't cover an operation. She quits her job, cashes in her retirement plan, and checks into the Presidential Suite ($4000 a night) in a posh resort hotel in Central Europe, chosen because a chef she idolizes works there. Also at the hotel are the CEO of the department store where Georgia recently quit her job, his assistant, a senator, and a congressman. They think that Georgia must be someone "important" because she's staying in the Presidential Suite and is apparently very rich. She wins all of them over, with the exception of the CEO (Timothy Hutton), who is jealous of the attention she's getting. She also wins over the hotel staff and especially the chef.
This is a remake of the 1950 movie starring Alex Guinness. I never saw that one, but what made this one so good is Queen Latifah's charm. The movie is not exactly unpredictable, but it's enjoyable because she is just so much fun.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Book Review--The Escape Artist, by Diane Chamberlain
This book is so-named because the protagonist, Susanna Miller, has a habit of running away from her problems. Not that this isn't understandable. When Susanna developed this habit, she was running from her abusive, alcoholic parents.
Now Susanna is sure that running away is the right thing to do again. She has just lost custody of her 11-month-old son to her ex-husband and his new wife. Having been afraid this would happen and unable to bear the thought of giving Tyler up, Susanna had been plotting her escape for weeks. Without even letting her boyfriend, a man whom she has loved for years, in on what she is doing, Susanna slips away in the night. In leaving Boulder, she leaves behind the only city in which she has ever lived.
Susanna dyes her hair, changes her name, and makes a new life for herself in Annapolis, Maryland, but it is difficult. She is afraid to trust anyone. She does befriend a local artist and his sister, both of whom are haunted by tragedy. But even when she becomes romantically involved with the artist, she is unable to forget her previous boyfriend, Linc, back in Boulder. And her new life may turn out to be even more dangerous than she feared it might be.
Though it's really Susanna's story, part of the book are from Tyler's stepmother Peggy's point of view. I wanted to dislike Peggy, but really, I think she honestly thought Tyler would be better off with her and his father. Her perceptions were tainted by her husband's unfair criticism of Susanna and her own desperate wish for a child, but it took her awhile to realize that. She was way too quick to believe her husband, who was a first-class jerk.
The books I've read by Diane Chamberlain are exceedingly difficult to put down. I think I've read most of them already, but I must read more.
Now Susanna is sure that running away is the right thing to do again. She has just lost custody of her 11-month-old son to her ex-husband and his new wife. Having been afraid this would happen and unable to bear the thought of giving Tyler up, Susanna had been plotting her escape for weeks. Without even letting her boyfriend, a man whom she has loved for years, in on what she is doing, Susanna slips away in the night. In leaving Boulder, she leaves behind the only city in which she has ever lived.
Susanna dyes her hair, changes her name, and makes a new life for herself in Annapolis, Maryland, but it is difficult. She is afraid to trust anyone. She does befriend a local artist and his sister, both of whom are haunted by tragedy. But even when she becomes romantically involved with the artist, she is unable to forget her previous boyfriend, Linc, back in Boulder. And her new life may turn out to be even more dangerous than she feared it might be.
Though it's really Susanna's story, part of the book are from Tyler's stepmother Peggy's point of view. I wanted to dislike Peggy, but really, I think she honestly thought Tyler would be better off with her and his father. Her perceptions were tainted by her husband's unfair criticism of Susanna and her own desperate wish for a child, but it took her awhile to realize that. She was way too quick to believe her husband, who was a first-class jerk.
The books I've read by Diane Chamberlain are exceedingly difficult to put down. I think I've read most of them already, but I must read more.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Movie Review--Brokeback Mountain
What an awesome movie. I'm just glad it came to the conservative Tri-Cities. This was the first weekend it was here, and it's been out for several weeks.
It's the story of a romance between two cowboys who meet in 1963 when they spend a summer watching sheep on Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain. First they are friends and then they become romantically involved. We only lost seven or eight people in the theater at that point, their seats snapping up like minds snapping shut. Did they actually not know what this movie was about? I don't see how anyone could have missed hearing or reading about it by now.
Anyway, the men go their separate ways after the summer. They both get married and don't see each other again for a few years. When they do reunite, Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) wants to make a life together with Ennis (Heath Ledger), but Ennis' fears prevent him from doing this. So for years they meet on the sly for brief flings.
Ledger is great as a rather stereotypical cowboy, a man of few words, stoic, remote. Gyllenhaal's character is more brash and enthusiastic. The scenery in this movie is beautiful, making me rather homesick for Montana, where I grew up and still frequently visit.
I don't want to say too much about how it ends, but bring your Kleenex.
It's the story of a romance between two cowboys who meet in 1963 when they spend a summer watching sheep on Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain. First they are friends and then they become romantically involved. We only lost seven or eight people in the theater at that point, their seats snapping up like minds snapping shut. Did they actually not know what this movie was about? I don't see how anyone could have missed hearing or reading about it by now.
Anyway, the men go their separate ways after the summer. They both get married and don't see each other again for a few years. When they do reunite, Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) wants to make a life together with Ennis (Heath Ledger), but Ennis' fears prevent him from doing this. So for years they meet on the sly for brief flings.
Ledger is great as a rather stereotypical cowboy, a man of few words, stoic, remote. Gyllenhaal's character is more brash and enthusiastic. The scenery in this movie is beautiful, making me rather homesick for Montana, where I grew up and still frequently visit.
I don't want to say too much about how it ends, but bring your Kleenex.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
I Got Tagged
I got tagged by Marti from Enter the Laughter with a meme.
The rules/procedures are as follows: The first player of this game starts with the topic "five weird habits of yourself," and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says, "You are tagged" (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.
Okay, five weird habits:
1) Way back in May, I wrote a blog entry about my obsessive-compulsive tendencies, which are still present. I check and recheck things. Mostly, I check several times to make sure I turned off the curling iron before I go to work. Locking the door (either at night before I go to sleep or upon leaving the apartment) is another big one.
2) In a similar vein, I sometimes put on deodorant twice, because I cannot remember with 100% certainty that I put it on, and it's something I don't want to be wrong about. I do too many things on autopilot.
3) I keep bowls of cat food on my bed and futon. My cat Carmela had a problem with UTIs for awhile, and I had to replace the futon mattress twice. I wanted to make sure both cats remembered that the bed and futon were not bathrooms, and cats don't like to pee where they eat (makes sense). The was quite awhile ago, but I'm still afraid to take the bowls of food away.
4) I can spot change on the ground from a mile away, and I always pick it up, even pennies, unless I'm in immediate danger of being run over by a car or something if I do. I think this comes from being a poor graduate student for so long. One might assume from reading this that I am an extremely frugal person. One would be wrong in assuming that.
5) I am addicted to computer Boggle.
Here are the people I am tagging:
Rich--Championable: Fatherhood, Politics, Kids
Barbara--A Rich Tapestry of Barbara-isms
Celestial--She Talks to Angels
Stacey--Stac Space
Cris--That Side of the Moon
Have fun!
The rules/procedures are as follows: The first player of this game starts with the topic "five weird habits of yourself," and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says, "You are tagged" (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.
Okay, five weird habits:
1) Way back in May, I wrote a blog entry about my obsessive-compulsive tendencies, which are still present. I check and recheck things. Mostly, I check several times to make sure I turned off the curling iron before I go to work. Locking the door (either at night before I go to sleep or upon leaving the apartment) is another big one.
2) In a similar vein, I sometimes put on deodorant twice, because I cannot remember with 100% certainty that I put it on, and it's something I don't want to be wrong about. I do too many things on autopilot.
3) I keep bowls of cat food on my bed and futon. My cat Carmela had a problem with UTIs for awhile, and I had to replace the futon mattress twice. I wanted to make sure both cats remembered that the bed and futon were not bathrooms, and cats don't like to pee where they eat (makes sense). The was quite awhile ago, but I'm still afraid to take the bowls of food away.
4) I can spot change on the ground from a mile away, and I always pick it up, even pennies, unless I'm in immediate danger of being run over by a car or something if I do. I think this comes from being a poor graduate student for so long. One might assume from reading this that I am an extremely frugal person. One would be wrong in assuming that.
5) I am addicted to computer Boggle.
Here are the people I am tagging:
Rich--Championable: Fatherhood, Politics, Kids
Barbara--A Rich Tapestry of Barbara-isms
Celestial--She Talks to Angels
Stacey--Stac Space
Cris--That Side of the Moon
Have fun!
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Book Review--Burned, by Carol Higgins Clark
This is the latest Regan Reilly mystery. I must confess, I first got checked out Carol Higgins Clark's books because I had been reading her mother's books forever (Mary Higgins Clark). In fact, I think the first book I read by Carol Higgins Clark was a holiday mystery coauthored with her mother. That one featured Regan Reilly, and I decided I wanted to read more books about her.
Regan Reilly is an LA-based private detective. She has a fiance, Jack, in New York, and at the beginning of this book she is planning to fly out to see him and her family there, but a blizzard had hit the East Coast. Her friend Kit is in Hawaii, and she can't get home to Connecticut, so she convinces Regan to fly out there for a girls' weekend. But for a girls' weekend, they really don't end up spending much time together. Kit is spending a lot of time with a new guy, a 35-year-old millionaire who may be too good to be true. And though Regan had intended to relax, she ends up helping to solve a case.
Will Brown, the manager of the resort hotel where Kit and Regan are staying, asks for Regan's help. A hotel employee, Dorinda Dawes, had recently died in what police believed to be an accidental drowning. Will isn't so sure her death had been an accident, especially since not too many people were terribly fond of Dorinda. Adding to the mystery is that when Dorinda's body washed ashore, a very valuable shell lei was around her neck. The lei had belonged to a Hawaiian princess, and been stolen from a museum 30 years earlier. So the question, of course, is how Dorinda, a relative newcomer to Hawaii, ended up with it.
More minor things have been happening as well, pranks such as full tubes of suntan lotion being dropped into toilets and food being tainted. And the leaders of a tour group from a town called Hudville, where it rains 89% of the time, certainly seem as though they could be up to something. They and the other citizens of Hudville were left a lot of money by a very rich man to take Hawaiian vacations. Every three months, five Hudville citizens were chosen by lottery to win a trip to Hawaii. The leaders, twin sisters in their 60s, went on every trip. There should have been plenty of money, but the twins are pinching pennies.
Like all of the Regan Reilly books, this one is a lot of fun. I look forward to reading more.
Regan Reilly is an LA-based private detective. She has a fiance, Jack, in New York, and at the beginning of this book she is planning to fly out to see him and her family there, but a blizzard had hit the East Coast. Her friend Kit is in Hawaii, and she can't get home to Connecticut, so she convinces Regan to fly out there for a girls' weekend. But for a girls' weekend, they really don't end up spending much time together. Kit is spending a lot of time with a new guy, a 35-year-old millionaire who may be too good to be true. And though Regan had intended to relax, she ends up helping to solve a case.
Will Brown, the manager of the resort hotel where Kit and Regan are staying, asks for Regan's help. A hotel employee, Dorinda Dawes, had recently died in what police believed to be an accidental drowning. Will isn't so sure her death had been an accident, especially since not too many people were terribly fond of Dorinda. Adding to the mystery is that when Dorinda's body washed ashore, a very valuable shell lei was around her neck. The lei had belonged to a Hawaiian princess, and been stolen from a museum 30 years earlier. So the question, of course, is how Dorinda, a relative newcomer to Hawaii, ended up with it.
More minor things have been happening as well, pranks such as full tubes of suntan lotion being dropped into toilets and food being tainted. And the leaders of a tour group from a town called Hudville, where it rains 89% of the time, certainly seem as though they could be up to something. They and the other citizens of Hudville were left a lot of money by a very rich man to take Hawaiian vacations. Every three months, five Hudville citizens were chosen by lottery to win a trip to Hawaii. The leaders, twin sisters in their 60s, went on every trip. There should have been plenty of money, but the twins are pinching pennies.
Like all of the Regan Reilly books, this one is a lot of fun. I look forward to reading more.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Book Review--Blue Twilight, by Jessica Speart
This book is part of another series upon which I have stumbled; it's what the Pittsburgh Post Gazette called a wildlife mystery thriller. Rachel Porter is an agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Recently assigned to Northern California, she receives a call from a professor specializing in endangered butterflies. First he tells her that someone was illegally netting butterflies and digging up plants in San Bruno MountainSate Park. Then he tells her that a biologist hired by Fish and Wildlife to search for a rare and possibly extinct butterfly has disappeared.
Rachel checks out the professor's tip about the illegal butterfly collector. When she finds the man, Mitch Aikens, she learns all about his business breeding and selling butterflies, including endangered ones, (before she tells him where she works) and decides to turn him into an informant who will help her catch some big-time butterfly dealers. She talks to her boss about the missing biologist, but he tells her it wasn't their division that hired him and thus not their problem. So Rachel decides to investigate on her own time. The investigation leads her to Mendocino and to Bill Trepler, a former director of conservation biology at a university who now has switched sides and hires himself out to private developers as a consultant. He tells her about the butterfly for which the missing biologist was searching--the Lotis Blue Butterfly, last seen in 1983 and possibly extinct. The missing biologist's car is found abandoned but provides no other clues, and the sheriff isn't terribly interested.
Then a teenage girl--the daughter of a friend of Rachel's--also goes missing. When Rachel--who apparently missed her calling as a private investigator as opposed to a Fish and Wildlife Agent--helps search for the girl, her case intertwines with that of the missing biologist and the world of butterfly collecting in a most bizarre way.
This book meanders quite a bit, but I still found it engaging. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it since I don't have a huge interest in wildlife (other than being generally pro-environmentalist). But actually, the environmental information was interesting. I learned that butterfly populations are rapidly decreasing due to habitat loss and poaching, and that butterflies are the most important pollinator of crops, after bees. Butterflies were even described in this book as a barometer for the health of the planet, rather like a canary in a mineshaft. Kind of scary when you consider their decreasing populations.
Rachel checks out the professor's tip about the illegal butterfly collector. When she finds the man, Mitch Aikens, she learns all about his business breeding and selling butterflies, including endangered ones, (before she tells him where she works) and decides to turn him into an informant who will help her catch some big-time butterfly dealers. She talks to her boss about the missing biologist, but he tells her it wasn't their division that hired him and thus not their problem. So Rachel decides to investigate on her own time. The investigation leads her to Mendocino and to Bill Trepler, a former director of conservation biology at a university who now has switched sides and hires himself out to private developers as a consultant. He tells her about the butterfly for which the missing biologist was searching--the Lotis Blue Butterfly, last seen in 1983 and possibly extinct. The missing biologist's car is found abandoned but provides no other clues, and the sheriff isn't terribly interested.
Then a teenage girl--the daughter of a friend of Rachel's--also goes missing. When Rachel--who apparently missed her calling as a private investigator as opposed to a Fish and Wildlife Agent--helps search for the girl, her case intertwines with that of the missing biologist and the world of butterfly collecting in a most bizarre way.
This book meanders quite a bit, but I still found it engaging. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it since I don't have a huge interest in wildlife (other than being generally pro-environmentalist). But actually, the environmental information was interesting. I learned that butterfly populations are rapidly decreasing due to habitat loss and poaching, and that butterflies are the most important pollinator of crops, after bees. Butterflies were even described in this book as a barometer for the health of the planet, rather like a canary in a mineshaft. Kind of scary when you consider their decreasing populations.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Book Review--Dark Angel, by Karen Harper
This was a rather unique romantic suspense novel in that one of the main characters is Amish. Actually, I guess it's part of a series, but I haven't read the others in the series yet.
Leah Kurtz is a single Amish woman in her 20s who teaches school in the Amish community where she lives. She was engaged to be married when she was younger (Amish women usually marry very young), but her fiance ran off during their rumspringa, the traditional teenage running-around time. (Amish teens are supposed to come to their own decision in deciding whether or not to stay with the Amish faith as adults, so they are allowed freedom to experience more of the world during this time). Leah longs for her own family. Her best friend is terminally ill, and she and her husband (who travels around helping to build churches) decide that they want Leah to raise their baby, Rebecca (Becca) as her own.
Leah is thrilled to raise Becca, even as she grieves the loss of her friend. She is also happy with her new job with Dr. Mark Morelli. Dr. Morelli studies genetic illnesses that are common in Amish communities due to intermarrying and a small gene pool. One of these hereditary illnesses killed her best friend. Another causes accelerated aging, an illness from which three children in her community suffer. Leah is to serve as Mark's liaison to the Amish community. However, the competition to find a "cure" for aging, which Mark's work could lead to, might make this a very dangerous job. Someone is trying to scare them off.
Then one morning when Leah goes to wake up Becca, she discovers she has been switched with another baby! She doesn't trust the sheriff, partly since in general, people in the Amish community don't trust authority figures in the outside world. She also distrusts this sheriff due to personal experience with the man. So she investigates on her own and enlists Mark's help. They aren't sure whether Becca was stolen because a rival of Mark's wants to study her or to scare Leah so that she will quit working with Mark. But Leah will stop at nothing to get her daughter back, and in their search, she and Mark uncover a deadly conspiracy.
To further complicate matters, Leah is starting to fall for Mark, though he is off-limits to her since he isn't Amish.
I always like to read fiction books in which I learn something new. I learned a lot about the Amish faith in reading this book, though I think Leah was somewhat atypical in being older (at least for her community) and single. I also enjoyed the medical-thriller angle. And of course, forbidden romance is always good. I'm going to read more books in this series.
Leah Kurtz is a single Amish woman in her 20s who teaches school in the Amish community where she lives. She was engaged to be married when she was younger (Amish women usually marry very young), but her fiance ran off during their rumspringa, the traditional teenage running-around time. (Amish teens are supposed to come to their own decision in deciding whether or not to stay with the Amish faith as adults, so they are allowed freedom to experience more of the world during this time). Leah longs for her own family. Her best friend is terminally ill, and she and her husband (who travels around helping to build churches) decide that they want Leah to raise their baby, Rebecca (Becca) as her own.
Leah is thrilled to raise Becca, even as she grieves the loss of her friend. She is also happy with her new job with Dr. Mark Morelli. Dr. Morelli studies genetic illnesses that are common in Amish communities due to intermarrying and a small gene pool. One of these hereditary illnesses killed her best friend. Another causes accelerated aging, an illness from which three children in her community suffer. Leah is to serve as Mark's liaison to the Amish community. However, the competition to find a "cure" for aging, which Mark's work could lead to, might make this a very dangerous job. Someone is trying to scare them off.
Then one morning when Leah goes to wake up Becca, she discovers she has been switched with another baby! She doesn't trust the sheriff, partly since in general, people in the Amish community don't trust authority figures in the outside world. She also distrusts this sheriff due to personal experience with the man. So she investigates on her own and enlists Mark's help. They aren't sure whether Becca was stolen because a rival of Mark's wants to study her or to scare Leah so that she will quit working with Mark. But Leah will stop at nothing to get her daughter back, and in their search, she and Mark uncover a deadly conspiracy.
To further complicate matters, Leah is starting to fall for Mark, though he is off-limits to her since he isn't Amish.
I always like to read fiction books in which I learn something new. I learned a lot about the Amish faith in reading this book, though I think Leah was somewhat atypical in being older (at least for her community) and single. I also enjoyed the medical-thriller angle. And of course, forbidden romance is always good. I'm going to read more books in this series.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Book Review--The Bay at Midnight, by Diane Chamberlain
This book was one of those books that I am sorry to finish, because it is so interesting.
At 53, Julie Sellers still feels guilt over what she sees as her part in her sister's murder 40 years earlier. Every summer she and her family visited the New Jersey shore, where they have a bungalow. In 1962, when she was 12 and her sister Isabel was 17, Isabel was murdered. The past is dredged up again when the daughter of Ethan Chapman (the next-door neighbor boy back then), pays Julie a visit. Ethan's older brother and Isabel's old boyfriend, Ned, had recently died. In cleaning out Ned's town house, Ethan and his daughter had found a note saying that the wrong person had gone to jail for Isabel's murder and that he wanted to set the record straight. The note provides no other details. They take the note to the police, who reopen the case.
Julie had never thought that George Lewis, the man who had gone to jail for murdering Isabel, was actually guilty. She believes that Ned was the killer. Ethan, who reenters Julie's life in a new way after a 40-year absence, is equally certain that his brother was not responsible for Isabel's murder.
The book alternates between Julie's point of view and those of her younger sister, Lucy, and her mother, Maria. It alternates between 1962, the present, and times in Maria's past, where a dark secret is revealed. Somehow it does this without being confusing; it couldn't have been easy to write. It's part mystery and partly a character development type of novel, with some romance thrown in, so there's something for everyone.
At 53, Julie Sellers still feels guilt over what she sees as her part in her sister's murder 40 years earlier. Every summer she and her family visited the New Jersey shore, where they have a bungalow. In 1962, when she was 12 and her sister Isabel was 17, Isabel was murdered. The past is dredged up again when the daughter of Ethan Chapman (the next-door neighbor boy back then), pays Julie a visit. Ethan's older brother and Isabel's old boyfriend, Ned, had recently died. In cleaning out Ned's town house, Ethan and his daughter had found a note saying that the wrong person had gone to jail for Isabel's murder and that he wanted to set the record straight. The note provides no other details. They take the note to the police, who reopen the case.
Julie had never thought that George Lewis, the man who had gone to jail for murdering Isabel, was actually guilty. She believes that Ned was the killer. Ethan, who reenters Julie's life in a new way after a 40-year absence, is equally certain that his brother was not responsible for Isabel's murder.
The book alternates between Julie's point of view and those of her younger sister, Lucy, and her mother, Maria. It alternates between 1962, the present, and times in Maria's past, where a dark secret is revealed. Somehow it does this without being confusing; it couldn't have been easy to write. It's part mystery and partly a character development type of novel, with some romance thrown in, so there's something for everyone.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Book Review--Immoral, by Brian Freeman
Another great debut novel. I have a particular fondness for thrillers, and I really enjoyed this one. Lieutenant Jonathan Stride, still grieving the death of his wife, is trying to solve two missing-person cases, both involving teenage girls. Both went to the same high school and lived fairly close to one another, but in terms of personality, the two couldn't have been more different. Kerry McGath was a sweet, well-behaved sixteen-year-old. Rachel Deese, seventeen, was a promiscuous, angry wild child. Fighting extreme guilt for failing to solve Kerry's case, Stride vows to do right by Rachel. When the investigation reveals a sexual relationship between Rachel and her stepfather, Graeme, suspicion focuses on him. When other evidence is found as well, Graeme is arrested for Rachel's murder, though her body is never found. But questions remain. Did Graeme really murder Rachel, who had no shortage of enemies, or did someone else do it? Or is Rachel really still alive, as Graeme seems to believe?
What I liked best about this book was that it was not predictable. There were several twists and turns that I just did not expect. This is not easy for a book to accomplish just because I read so many thrillers. I look forward to reading more from Brian Freeman.
What I liked best about this book was that it was not predictable. There were several twists and turns that I just did not expect. This is not easy for a book to accomplish just because I read so many thrillers. I look forward to reading more from Brian Freeman.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Movie Review--Fun with Dick and Jane
This movie was more political than I expected. I went to see it just knowing that it was a comedy about a couple that had fallen on hard times and turned to a life a crime. That's accurate, but it's more than that. Dick (Jim Carrey) worked for a company called Globodyne. He had just been promoted to vice president and convinced his wife to quit her job when the company dramatically collapsed. The parallels to Enron were pretty clear. As with Enron, the employees' pension plans consisted of company stocks, so Dick and Jane (Tea Leoni) lost everything. Neither one could find another job. Jane took part in a cosmetic study to earn a whopping $14 and has a really bad reaction. Dick got a job at Kostmart, where he lasted about a day. In the employees' training room, there was a huge anti-union sign. As he was leaving after being fired, Dick yelled something about them not paying enough to support a family anyway. The parallels to Wal-Mart were pretty clear. Dick then tries to get work in jobs that mostly fall to illegal aliens and gets deported. His wife has to help sneak him back over the border.
Dick and Jane sell everything they can, but they don't sell their house. With the collapse of Globodyne, property values had fallen, and they would have actually ended up owing money if they sold. Nearing foreclosure, they turn to a life of crime out of desperation.
Anyway, all of this doesn't really sound like much of a comedy, but it's actually pretty funny. There is the physical comedy, of course. Dick and Jane also get themselves into some highly amusing situations, like trying to rob a bank and running into other former Globodyne employees trying to do the same thing. I really enjoyed this movie, but I would imagine politically conservative individuals would not.
Dick and Jane sell everything they can, but they don't sell their house. With the collapse of Globodyne, property values had fallen, and they would have actually ended up owing money if they sold. Nearing foreclosure, they turn to a life of crime out of desperation.
Anyway, all of this doesn't really sound like much of a comedy, but it's actually pretty funny. There is the physical comedy, of course. Dick and Jane also get themselves into some highly amusing situations, like trying to rob a bank and running into other former Globodyne employees trying to do the same thing. I really enjoyed this movie, but I would imagine politically conservative individuals would not.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Random Thought #12: Baking Cookies with your Cat
I just realized that it has been over three months since I have posted a random thought. This one isn't actually all that random. My mother showed me an email that she got and since it is absolutely hilarious and cat-related, I decided to post it here. Obviously I didn't make this up myself; I don't know who did. If anyone out there does know, let me know and I will be happy to give proper credit.
Baking Cookies with your Cat:
1. Look in cookbook for cookie recipe.
2. Get cup of coffee.
3. Get cat off cookbook.
4. Find that special recipe.
5. Get cat's nose out of coffee mug.
6. Go the fridge and get eggs.
7. Get dry ingredients from cupboard.
8. Break eggs in small bowl.
9. Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.
10. Answer the phone.
11. Cat ate eggs; get more from fridge.
12. Get cat out of flour bowl and dust cat off.
13. Get Band-Aids for scratches on hands.
14. Throw flour out and get more.
15. Preheat oven for cookies.
16. Looking at cat and wanting to bake cat now. Cat runs for cover into bathroom.
17. Flour the counter to roll out cookie dough.
18. Big crash in bathroom; run to see what happened.
19. Cat has TP all over floor, stuff spilled and knocked over on top of bathroom counter.
20. Yell at cat. Cat falls in toilet bowl.
21. Can sense cat is angry.
22. Take cat out of toilet to dry cat off.
23. Get bandages to cover more scratches on arms and legs.
24. Clean up bathroom.
25. Hear a thump in kitchen. . .oh golly, now what?
26. Get cat off floured counter in kitchen.
27. Try to pick out cat hairs from flour.
28. Step on cat's tail and get bitten.
29. Get coat, car keys, and go to store to buy cookies!!!
Baking Cookies with your Cat:
1. Look in cookbook for cookie recipe.
2. Get cup of coffee.
3. Get cat off cookbook.
4. Find that special recipe.
5. Get cat's nose out of coffee mug.
6. Go the fridge and get eggs.
7. Get dry ingredients from cupboard.
8. Break eggs in small bowl.
9. Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.
10. Answer the phone.
11. Cat ate eggs; get more from fridge.
12. Get cat out of flour bowl and dust cat off.
13. Get Band-Aids for scratches on hands.
14. Throw flour out and get more.
15. Preheat oven for cookies.
16. Looking at cat and wanting to bake cat now. Cat runs for cover into bathroom.
17. Flour the counter to roll out cookie dough.
18. Big crash in bathroom; run to see what happened.
19. Cat has TP all over floor, stuff spilled and knocked over on top of bathroom counter.
20. Yell at cat. Cat falls in toilet bowl.
21. Can sense cat is angry.
22. Take cat out of toilet to dry cat off.
23. Get bandages to cover more scratches on arms and legs.
24. Clean up bathroom.
25. Hear a thump in kitchen. . .oh golly, now what?
26. Get cat off floured counter in kitchen.
27. Try to pick out cat hairs from flour.
28. Step on cat's tail and get bitten.
29. Get coat, car keys, and go to store to buy cookies!!!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Book Review--Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld
I seem to be reading a lot of first novels lately, all good. Prep is about a middle-class girl's experience at a boarding school. Bored at her public junior high school in South Bend, Indiana, Lee Fiora takes it upon herself to send away for boarding school catalogues and apply. Both she and her parents were surprised when she got in. Her parents couldn't afford such luxury, but when the Ault School in Massachusetts offered her a scholarship that paid for three-quarters of her tuition, they let Lee go.
Lee finds the experience to be more than she bargained for. The teenagers at Ault are rich and sophisticated. As a scholarship student, Lee feels like an outsider. Furthermore, good grades don't come as easily to her at Ault as they did when she was in junior high in South Bend. Still, she never seems to seriously consider going home (I think I would have lasted about a week). She stays for her entire four years of high school.
It's unclear to me whether Lee was better off for the experience or not. It seems to me that the experiences of adolescence--massive insecurity, the intensity of her relationships, peer and academic pressure--are greatly amplified by her boarding school experience. I can so clearly remember thinking many of her thoughts when I was in high school, but being so far from home and among students of a different social class would have to make things so much harder. Plus, it didn't get her into a more prestigious college, and even if it had, I'm not sure it would have been worth it. As the character herself points out, you have your whole life to leave your parents.
I loved this book; as I mentioned, I can remember thinking many of Lee's same thoughts and thus really identified with her, though I never went to boarding school (actually, I entertained thoughts of boarding school for about a week in eighth grade; my parents correctly figured that it was just a phase and waited for it to pass). But the painful experience of adolesence is pretty much universal, and Sittenfeld does a wonderful job of capturing it.
Lee finds the experience to be more than she bargained for. The teenagers at Ault are rich and sophisticated. As a scholarship student, Lee feels like an outsider. Furthermore, good grades don't come as easily to her at Ault as they did when she was in junior high in South Bend. Still, she never seems to seriously consider going home (I think I would have lasted about a week). She stays for her entire four years of high school.
It's unclear to me whether Lee was better off for the experience or not. It seems to me that the experiences of adolescence--massive insecurity, the intensity of her relationships, peer and academic pressure--are greatly amplified by her boarding school experience. I can so clearly remember thinking many of her thoughts when I was in high school, but being so far from home and among students of a different social class would have to make things so much harder. Plus, it didn't get her into a more prestigious college, and even if it had, I'm not sure it would have been worth it. As the character herself points out, you have your whole life to leave your parents.
I loved this book; as I mentioned, I can remember thinking many of Lee's same thoughts and thus really identified with her, though I never went to boarding school (actually, I entertained thoughts of boarding school for about a week in eighth grade; my parents correctly figured that it was just a phase and waited for it to pass). But the painful experience of adolesence is pretty much universal, and Sittenfeld does a wonderful job of capturing it.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Book Review--Twins, by Marcy Dermansky
Talk about a dysfunctional family. Neglectful, workaholic parents. Twin daughters, one of whom thinks she owns the other and acts like a jealous lover whenever the other makes a friend, and their older brother, who gives them a book on twin experiments conducted in Nazi Germany for their 13th birthday. The story is told from the point of view of the twins, in alternating first-person accounts. Sue, the jealous twin, truly scared me for quite awhile with her jealousy and violent tendencies. And I felt sorry for Chloe, who wanted friends and boyfriends and basically a normal adolescence, which was essentially denied her by Sue. Their largely absentee parents were no help at all. When they were present, they tended to use a tape recorder and note pad when talking to their kids, basically acting as though they were clients in their law firm.
Both girls had trouble with eating disorders, and Sue abused pills. Their choices for friends and lovers usually were not terribly wise. Their brother, Dan, took an interest in Sue and was somewhat of a source of support for her, but he didn't really know how to help her either. The books spans the ages of 13 to 18 for the girls, and their parents basically give up when they are 16 or 17. Sue runs away from home to stay with an ex-girlfriend of her brother's, and the parents pull back completely and give Dan money to give to her. They also pretty much abandon Chloe, leaving her to live in their house all alone while they spend their time in a Manhattan apartment (after which Chloe immediately chooses inappropriate housemates). Giving money is no problem, but forget about guidance and emotional support. They just amazed me with their incompetence. The twins struggle to find heir way, which only happens when they can forge their own separate identities.
The book is amazingly good. It pulls the reader in from the very beginning. This is Dermansky's first novel, and I hope to see many more from her.
Both girls had trouble with eating disorders, and Sue abused pills. Their choices for friends and lovers usually were not terribly wise. Their brother, Dan, took an interest in Sue and was somewhat of a source of support for her, but he didn't really know how to help her either. The books spans the ages of 13 to 18 for the girls, and their parents basically give up when they are 16 or 17. Sue runs away from home to stay with an ex-girlfriend of her brother's, and the parents pull back completely and give Dan money to give to her. They also pretty much abandon Chloe, leaving her to live in their house all alone while they spend their time in a Manhattan apartment (after which Chloe immediately chooses inappropriate housemates). Giving money is no problem, but forget about guidance and emotional support. They just amazed me with their incompetence. The twins struggle to find heir way, which only happens when they can forge their own separate identities.
The book is amazingly good. It pulls the reader in from the very beginning. This is Dermansky's first novel, and I hope to see many more from her.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Movie Review--The Family Stone
I expected to like this movie more than I did. I also expected it to be funnier. While it did have some very funny moments, in general, I would consider it more drama than comedy. Sarah Jessica Parker plays the part of Meredith, an uptight, conservative woman who comes to spend the Christmas holidays with her soon-to-be-fiance, Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) and his family. His family doesn't like her at all at first, and they are quite mean to her. Mean enough, in fact, that I had trouble reconciling the fact that they were supposed to be easy-going liberal sorts with how horribly they treated her. It is true that Meredith made an ass of herself at times. Her comments one night at dinner indicating that Everett's gay brother and his partner shouldn't adopt a child because becoming gay might be partly due to environment stand out most starkly to me. But, they'd already treated her pretty badly before that and never really gave her a chance or tried to help her feel more comfortable.
Meredith feels so uncomfortable that she invites her sister, Julie (Claire Danes) to spend the holidays with them. This is when things get really interesting. Everett had never met Julie before that and finds himself drawn to her. Meanwhile, his older brother Ben (Luke Wilson) tries to befriend Meredith.
Anyway, like I said, more drama than comedy. It would have been better the other way around. I'm not sure it was necessary to have the mother be terminally ill, either. I don't really think it made the story better, though it sure made it sadder. The movie does have its moments, though, as well as an impressive cast.
Meredith feels so uncomfortable that she invites her sister, Julie (Claire Danes) to spend the holidays with them. This is when things get really interesting. Everett had never met Julie before that and finds himself drawn to her. Meanwhile, his older brother Ben (Luke Wilson) tries to befriend Meredith.
Anyway, like I said, more drama than comedy. It would have been better the other way around. I'm not sure it was necessary to have the mother be terminally ill, either. I don't really think it made the story better, though it sure made it sadder. The movie does have its moments, though, as well as an impressive cast.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Book Review--What to Keep, by Rachel Cline
This book examines the life of protagonist Denny Roman at three different stages--ages 12, 26, and 36. The daughter of two divorced, remote neuroscientists, Denny is facing adolescence without a whole lot of guidance from them. Her parents are very busy with their careers, and several years previously, they hired Maureen to manage many of the details of their lives. Maureen is a 35-year-old agoraphobic who serves as a sort of surrogate parent to Denny. Besides her busy career, Denny's mother, Lily, is coping (poorly) with her 41st birthday and an unintended pregnancy.
At 26, Denny is an actress, wondering if her career is ever going to take off. She now has a stepfather named Phil. Phil and her mother are moving to New York, and Denny has two days to decide which of her childhood possessions to keep. Oh, and she and her stepfather kiss, on the lips.
At 36, Denny is a playwright living in New York, near her mother again. She is grieving the loss of Maureen, who died at age 59 from a stroke. Maureen's son, Luke, aged 13, shows up on her doorstep one day. Maureen had been a single parent, and when she died, Luke was sent to live with his grandmother in Phoenix. Feeling uncomfortable there, Luke saves his money and runs away to see Denny in New York, hoping he might find a place with her there.
I actually thought the most interesting character was Maureen. The book does get into what led up to her agoraphobia, and how she pulls herself out of it for Denny's sake. Despite having a debilitating anxiety disorder, she came across as the sane one of Denny's parents.
This is Cline's first novel, and pretty good, in my opinion. I look forward to seeing more from her.
At 26, Denny is an actress, wondering if her career is ever going to take off. She now has a stepfather named Phil. Phil and her mother are moving to New York, and Denny has two days to decide which of her childhood possessions to keep. Oh, and she and her stepfather kiss, on the lips.
At 36, Denny is a playwright living in New York, near her mother again. She is grieving the loss of Maureen, who died at age 59 from a stroke. Maureen's son, Luke, aged 13, shows up on her doorstep one day. Maureen had been a single parent, and when she died, Luke was sent to live with his grandmother in Phoenix. Feeling uncomfortable there, Luke saves his money and runs away to see Denny in New York, hoping he might find a place with her there.
I actually thought the most interesting character was Maureen. The book does get into what led up to her agoraphobia, and how she pulls herself out of it for Denny's sake. Despite having a debilitating anxiety disorder, she came across as the sane one of Denny's parents.
This is Cline's first novel, and pretty good, in my opinion. I look forward to seeing more from her.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Book Review--Devil's Corner, by Lisa Scottoline
This book begins with the protagonist, Vicki, an Assistant US Attorney, staring down the barrel of a gun. She had been going to visit a confidential informant on what she believed to be a minor case, that of a woman who had bought two guns at a gun shop and illegally resold them. But things turned really ugly really quickly. Vicki and her partner, Morty, a dedicated Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent, arrive upon the scene of a burglary in progress. Vicki narrowly escapes being shot to death, but Morty and the confidential informant aren't so lucky. Devastated, Vicki seeks justice for her murdered partner. Her search and her grief lead her into some problematic behavior, and she is suspended at work. She does have an ally at work, a fellow AUSA named Dan who agrees with her that Morty's killing was not simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Vicki is crazy about Dan, but unfortunately he's married. Furthermore, her search for Morty's killer becomes too dangerous for her to want to let Dan know what she's really doing. She teams up with an unlikely ally who helps her explore a dangerous drug underworld.
This is a great book for anyone who loves legal thrillers, as I do.
This is a great book for anyone who loves legal thrillers, as I do.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Movie Review--Just Friends
Lots and lots of physical comedy in this movie, but it was very funny. Ryan Reynolds stars in the role of Chris. In high school he was an overweight "loser" who was in love with Jamie (Amy Smart), a beautiful cheerleader. When he finally gets up the nerve to confess his feelings to her, she tells him she just wants to be friends.
Ten years later, Chris has transformed himself. He has lost weight and become a successful music executive in LA. Circumstances bring him back home to New Jersey (with an extremely self-absorbed musician, Samantha, in tow), and he encounters his high-school crush for the first time in ten years. So again he tries to win her over, and again it's not easy. Many obstacles present themselves. Samantha is anxious to get to Paris, and Chris keeps trying to distract her with the help of his younger brother, who is only too happy to spend time with the gorgeous Samantha. Chris also has competition, another would-be suitor from high school who has recently moved back to town. His rival, Dusty, is a paramedic who encounters Jamie and Chris when Chris injures himself playing ice hockey (he had wanted to show Jamie just how much his ice skating had improved, but it didn't quite work out like he had hoped). So Chris is in the ambulance with Dusty on one side and Jamie on the other, barely able to move or speak, while Dusty and Jamie are exchanging phone numbers. Talk about frustrating.
So like I said, there was lots of physical comedy, of which the injury on the ice is one example. Chris is generally a clutz, and then there are the regular pummelings he and his brother give each other. I don't always like physical comedy, but Reynolds makes it work. The movie isn't terribly deep, but funny enough to make up for that.
Ten years later, Chris has transformed himself. He has lost weight and become a successful music executive in LA. Circumstances bring him back home to New Jersey (with an extremely self-absorbed musician, Samantha, in tow), and he encounters his high-school crush for the first time in ten years. So again he tries to win her over, and again it's not easy. Many obstacles present themselves. Samantha is anxious to get to Paris, and Chris keeps trying to distract her with the help of his younger brother, who is only too happy to spend time with the gorgeous Samantha. Chris also has competition, another would-be suitor from high school who has recently moved back to town. His rival, Dusty, is a paramedic who encounters Jamie and Chris when Chris injures himself playing ice hockey (he had wanted to show Jamie just how much his ice skating had improved, but it didn't quite work out like he had hoped). So Chris is in the ambulance with Dusty on one side and Jamie on the other, barely able to move or speak, while Dusty and Jamie are exchanging phone numbers. Talk about frustrating.
So like I said, there was lots of physical comedy, of which the injury on the ice is one example. Chris is generally a clutz, and then there are the regular pummelings he and his brother give each other. I don't always like physical comedy, but Reynolds makes it work. The movie isn't terribly deep, but funny enough to make up for that.
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