The Autopsy of Jane Doe [2016]

EVERY BODY HAS A SECRET

My husband does not like horror movies. I want to be very clear here; he doesn’t mind monster movies (vampires etc.) but he does not like the kind of horror movie that has situations which could conceivably happen to real people. So when he said that he would be going out to dinner with a former colleague leaving me home alone I took the opportunity to watch The Autopsy of Jane Doe which has been on my radar for ages.

They said don’t watch this alone. But I did, even as it was getting dark (clocks in the UK had not sprung forward as yet). I am brave that way as only someone with Thai food and a large glass of wine can be.

Like I said, I’m brave, me.

So we start at a home where a number of people have been bloodily murdered, and in the basement the police find the body, apparently unmarked, of a naked young woman who has no connection to the crime scene that can be ascertained. The officer in charge needs a cause of death so that he can deal with the press the following morning, so takes the body to the coroner (played by Brian Cox) and his mortuary technician son (Emile Hirsch) and asks for them to work on identifying how this young woman died.

It is late at night. The mortuary is in the basement, and although the place where autopsies are carried out is well-lit etc., the rest of the basement is a bit creepy, with an unhelpful corner around which things (should there be things) can lurk to catch the unwary. There is also a cat, so that’s one potential jump scare accounted for.

No-one should be carrying out an autopsy under these conditions. No one.

Things do not go at all well.

I really enjoyed this unsettling, well-made and gruesome horror/thriller. Did I work out what was going on? In part, yes, yes I did. Did I at one point shout at the TV because (given the evidence they’d found) the answer was kind of obvious? Might have. Did it have one of those endings that means all of the bad stuff is likely to continue? You’ve guessed it. Does the cat survive? Not saying (Spoiler – no).

I love Brian Cox, he is the first and best Hannibal Lecter and of course Scottish so I may be biased. I once saw him play Titus Andronicus on stage and he was fabulous. The rest of the cast is also very good but I will admit that Mr Cox was the main draw for me. Recommended, may watch again.

Dazzling details: The Autopsy of Jane Doe is rated 15, runs for 1h 26 (which is refreshing) and directed by Andre Ovredal (his movie Trollhunter is also really good – I even reviewed it back in the day)

February wrap

Well, after a fairly ordinary January, I found myself devouring books in February for no particular reason other than picking some really absorbing titles and, if I’m honest, finishing a couple of books that didn’t quite make it the previous month.

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The Stats

Books read = 10 (I know!)

Pages read = 3,861

Goodreads progress = 22% of my goal, 4 books ahead of schedule

I’m going to cover the books I read in a couple of posts over the next few days so look out for them. I will mention one DNF or (more accurately) one set aside for later as I think I still want to read it. That book is The Quantum Curators & the Faberge Egg by Eva St John. I picked it up because I had been reading a lot of intense and dark stuff and thought I could do with a bit of humour and whimsy but apparently I was wrong. Nothing negative to say about the book, I was just in the wrong frame of mind, and intend to pick it back up at some point.

March pre-orders

Coming up this month:

  • Stars and Bones by Gareth Powell – this may look familiar as I mentioned it last time; due originally for publication in February I actually received it this morning
  • Sundial by Catriona Ward – Stephen King says it’s authentically terrifying so who am I to argue?
  • The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James – a true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for….
  • Femina by Janina Ramirez – a new history of the middle ages focussing on the women written out of traditional narrative, really looking forward to this
  • Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough – another book about not being able to sleep – feel drawn to this theme at the moment even as my own intermittent insomnia is dormant (I’m probably going to regret saying that…)
  • A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear – Maisie Dobbs #17 – I am very behind with this series also
  • The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd – maps, I love maps
  • Dark Queens by Shelley Pulaski – more medieval history focussing on women; i think I see a pattern here
  • Escape from Yokai Land by Charles Stress (the 12th Laundry Files book – I really need to catch up with this series being only at book 7) – also arrived this morning and now I look at it properly it is (a) a novella and (b) actually book 7.5 so will probably shoot up my TBR 🙂

Currently reading Gallows Court by Martin Edwards but haven’t picked my non-fiction read as yet.

What are your plans for March? Let me know in the comments.

Have a great month everyone, stay safe!

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

When editor Susan Ryeland is given the tattered manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has little idea it will change her life. She’s worked with the revered crime writer for years and his detective, Atticus Pund, is renowned for solving crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. As Susan knows only too well, vintage crime sells handsomely. It’s just a shame that it means dealing with an author like Alan Conway…

Magpie Murders is a beautifully constructed murder mystery in two timelines, with the two stories linked by the author Alan Conway. One is a book within a book, Conway’s latest Atticus Pund mystery, and the other is set in the modern day where Susan Ryeland is trying to find the missing last chapter of the book, following Conway’s sudden demise.

I love Anthony Horowitz and I remember buying this not long after it came out several years ago, but failed to read it at the time (which is sadly normal for me these days). I hadn’t forgotten about it exactly but two recent events definitely brought it back to mind:

So what else could I do? And I’m glad I did pick it up because it is such fun and of course beautifully written. One of the things that I really loved was that the bulk of the Atticus Pund story is front-loaded so that we are reading it along with Susan and come to the realisation that the final chapter is missing and the story just stops dead along with her.

Why do English villages lend themselves so well to murder?

The modern day mystery is also very enjoyable as Susan goes off in search of the missing chapter and to fins out what actually happened to Alan Conway, whom she doesn’t even like, but who is their company’s biggest seller. Both aspects are excellent in their own right, but together they create something special.

I have also seen the first episode of the TV series and I can recommend it highly. Horowitz has written the script and changed the structure to fit the screen better. Wonderful cast and beautiful locations, I am deeply envious of all of the outfits that Lesley Manville (who plays Susan) is wearing in the series.

There is a sequel which I will try to pick up sooner rather than later.

Have you read this, and if so what did you think?

It’s a Book Haul – Sunday 6 Feb

Mostly birthday gifts with a single pre-order and a couple of impulse purchases. Let’s get to it….

The Gifts

  • The Fall of Robespierre by Colin Jones – an hour by hour analysis of the last 24 hours in the life of Maximilien Robespierre, architect of the Terror; a major turning point in French history. Fascinating stuff
  • Woodsmoke and Sage: The Five Senses 1485 -1603: How the Tudors Experienced the World by Amy Licence – “woodsmoke and sage, peacocks and cinnamon, falcons and linen” – an examination of the tactile world in which the Tudors lived
  • Cecily by Annie Garthwaite – a fictional take on Cecily Neville, a key figure in the Wars of the Roses, wife of the Duke of York, mother of 12 including Edward IV and Richard III, and politically very astute – looking forward to reading this
  • She Walks in Shadows, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R Stiles – a collection of Lovecraftian weird stories written by women – “they emerge from the shadows, to claim the night”
  • The Lunacy Commission by Lavie Tidhar – Adolf Hitler is a man forgotten by history, a man who never came to power, and who spends the 1930s making a living in London as a private detective; how could I not want to read that?
  • Pageant of Kings: the Nine Sovereigns at Edward VII’s Funeral by Julia P Gelardi – “Of all the impressive sights that they beheld, the gun-carriage carrying the late King’s body had made a profound impression. But so, too, did the unprecedented sight of nine reigning monarchs astride on their horses. For here gathered the monarchs of England, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Bulgaria, and Denmark to pay homage to King Edward VII. Follow these monarchs’ lives whose stories are filled with drama, pathos, tragedy, and heroism.”

The Rest

  • The Grand Tour by Agatha Christie – a century ago Agatha Christies toured the British Empire and this book collects the letters and photographs she made on that trip – a glimpse into a past long gone (and a good thing to)
  • Trio by Aram Saroyan – I can’t remember now what led me into a Wikipedia rabbit hole but where I ended up was Saroyan’s book about the close and long-term friendship between his mother Carol Matthau, Gloria Vanderbilt and Oona Chaplin – the roll call of husbands alone ,are this a must read for me
  • Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt – “Travel journalist and mountaineer Nick Grevers awakes from a coma to find that his climbing buddy, Augustin, is missing and presumed dead. Nick’s own injuries are as extensive as they are horrifying. His face wrapped in bandages and unable to speak, Nick claims amnesia—but he remembers everything.”

Lots of history, a chunk of horror – not bad at all 🙂

Saturday Night at the Movies #1

At the end of the year the Book God and I reinstated Saturday Night is Movie Night chez Bride, and there are many good movies that for various reasons I haven’t talked about here as yet, but that’s all going to change with what I hope will become a regular monthly movie update.

DUNE Part 1 – 2021 * 2h 35m * Denis Villeneuve

Beyond fear, destiny awaits

I actually quite enjoyed the David Lynch version of Dune despite its occasional silliness and terrible ending, but I was very excited when I heard that Denis Villeneuve was going to direct a new versions, and I wasn’t disappointed. Such a great cast, stunning visuals and a fairly faithful representation of the story made this a real pleasure to watch. If you like beautiful, intelligent science fiction then this is for you, but let me warn you, its a long one…..

ETERNALS – 2021 * 2h 36m *Chloe Zhao

In the beginning…

… were the Eternals, immortal beings planted on Earth for reasons we don’t find out for ages, influencing humans, being celebrated in myth and legend and coming together after many years apart because the bad guys turn up and cause havoc. They are a nicely diverse bunch with different powers who have fractured as a group over time but are determined to save humanity from the nasties. Doesn’t turn out to be quite that simple. Cue two and a half hours of enjoyable shenanigans I didn’t know much about this aspect of the MCU before going in but I managed to keep up and it was certainly a spectacular film, though perhaps a tad too long. I’m, sure I’ll watch it again, especially given that one of the Eternals is very, very Scottish, which I appreciate. And my girl crush on Angelina Jolie remains intact.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE – 2004 * 2h 9m * Jonathan Demme

Everything is under control

Towards the end of last year I finally got around to watching the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate, based on Richard Condon’s novel and starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey & Angela Lansbury. I enjoyed it, although it was very much of its time. I decided that I would like to watch the remake where Sinatra becomes Denzel Washington, Harvey is Live Schreiber & Meryl Streep is the new Angela Lansbury, and the setting is moved from the Cold War to the aftermath of the first Gulf War, but the story is still the same – a group of soldiers is kidnapped and brainwashed to nefarious ends. Having watched them both I think I favour the 2004 version; there’s a feeling of dread and paranoia that’s missing from the original. Well worth a watch.

January wrap-up

It’s time for the first monthly wrap-up of 2022, and this post coincidentally (not really) falls on my actual birthday. I am 60 today; how did that happen so quickly? Anyhow, there will be a small book haul to celebrate in a separate post, but this is all about the month just ending, so here we go….

Books read = 4

Pages read = 1076

Goodreads progress = 6% of 65 book target (1 behind schedule)

Actually quite pleased with that; I don’t pay much attention to where I am on the schedule but it’s nice to know I suppose

I didn’t write reviews of the four books I read so here are the details and a few thoughts:

  • A Killer by Design by Ann Wolbert Burgess – a memoir of her career including the many years she collaborated with the FBI BAU – she is the basis for Anna Torv’s character in Mindhunter. I hadn’t originally intended to buy this but I heard her talking on The Murder Squad podcast and she sounded fascinating, so I gave in and actually devoured the book in a couple of sittings. A worthwhile addition to any true crime library
  • Love, Bombs & Molesters by Kenneth V. Lanning – the author is one of Ann Burgess’s colleagues in the BAU, specialising in the sexual exploitation of children; I didn’t warm to him as a person as much, but his thoughts on the “Satanic Panic” about which he became increasingly sceptical, and the impact of his Catholic faith on his work stood out to me as highlights
  • Beneath a Pale Sky by Philip Fracassi – a really interesting collection of horror stories; will definitely be reading more from this author
  • Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone by GS Denning – if you have been here for a while you will know that I love all things Sherlockian and this was huge fun; I giggled a lot and have already bought the rest of the series.

February’s pre-orders:

I’m trying to be more intentional about my pre-orders, making sure that I’m sticking to those books I really feel that I absolutely must have with everything else going on my wishlist. So I am limiting myself to:

and an actual physical book, Holy Terror by Cherie Priest. Looking forward to receiving all of these.

I hope you are all doing well, staying safe and have a great reading February!

The Bride’s Blogiversary

Here we are at yet another anniversary for this blog in all of its incarnations. The Bride is now 14 in blog years.

Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

I was 14 in 1976 (if you’re paying attention you may be aware that a significant birthday is on the horizon)

What do we know about 1976?

  • some of my favourite acting talent was born in 1976 – Ryan Reynolds, Cillian Murphy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Keeley Hawes & Kelly McDonald;
  • it was a leap year;
  • the summer Olympics were held in Montreal, and fellow Scot David Wilkie won a gold medal in the swimming pool;
  • Agatha Christie died (I remember this vividly);
  • the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest with the “classic” Save Your Kisses for Me;
  • All The President’s Men & Carrie were released; and most importantly
  • Mamma Mia was No. 1 on my birthday. Here I go again….

I may have a small sherry to celebrate later!

What’s coming up in January 2022

Feels very strange to be typing that number….

But here we are 😀

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I have set a Goodreads goal for the year, and will be aiming to hit 65 books. In the past two years I have managed to reach 66 but didn’t want to stretch too much beyond that. I feel pretty good about the target I’ve set but we’ll see what happens when I hit the inevitable slump 🙂

This is also the year (and in fact the month) when I will turn 60, about which I am surprisingly excited. Again, we’ll see what happens when the day actually arrives but I feel pretty secure about my feelings.

I am trying a new (actual) schedule for my blog posts, aiming for two per week likely to be on Wednesdays (like this one) and Sundays, with additional posts inserted if there’s something I want to talk about separately. I have been thinking seriously about whether I wanted to continue with this blog, but to be honest why the hell not, so let’s keep going.

January pre-orders:

That’s it for the first month of the year. Hope you are all well and staying safe and I’ll see you in my next post!

A Quick Look back at 2021

Including a Christmas book haul!

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. As we are already a few days into 2022, and before I share what’s coming up in January, I thought I would take a quick look back and share the outcome of my Goodreads challenge, the last couple of books I read in December and the amazing books I got for Christmas.

So let’s get to it.

I set myself the goal of reading 60 books in 2021 and I managed to read 66. I’m really pleased about that because I had a couple of reading slumps so it’s possible that I could have managed more. I have set myself a target for 2022 but will tell you about that in my next post.

I have been (and still am) reading Faith Jones’ Sex Cult Nun which talks about her life in The Children of God cult and is (as I described it on Twitter) icky, and I was determined that it wasn’t going to be that last book I finished in the year, so I picked up two shorter works, which were both fantastic:

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers was just delightful and I wrote down more quotes from this small but perfectly formed story than I would have expected, but contains great wisdom and I’m really looking forward to the next volume which is due to come out in July

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M Valente; I think this might have been the first of her books that I have read although I have several in my stash. I really enjoyed it; it gave me (trying not to spoil) a real Mother! vibe

And now the book haul. I’m just going to list titles and link to Goodreads. These are books that were on my wishlist either because they were only available in hard copy or I couldn’t quite justify buying them at the time and they became excellent suggestions for anyone who wanted to get me a book gift.

The Spirit Engineer by AJ West (hardback)

The Chosen & the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (hardback)

The House of Dust by Noah Broyles (paperback)

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling (hardback)

The Helm of Midnight by Marina Lostettter (hardback)

In the Shadow of the Empress by Nancy Goldstone (hardback)

The King is Dead by Hugh Morrison (Kindle)

The Apparition Phase by Will Maclean (Kindle)

The Lighthouse Witches by CJ Cooke (Kindle)

The Scholars of Night by John M Ford (Kindle)

Not a bad list even if I say so myself. Let me know what books you were gifted during the holidays.

Mid-month Musings

It seems only a few hours ago that I was thinking about writing a post about what’s coming up for me in November and suddenly here we are a fortnight later and I’m only sitting down to type now. Time flies when you’re having fun, apparently.

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

My reading has been going well and several reviews will follow, but there were some thoughts that I wanted to include here.

I finished A Night in the Lonesome October on Halloween as is meant to be. I read a chapter a day which was great fun, apart from the constant temptation to keep going to the end. I love this story so much and can see it being an annual event from now on.

I also read a couple of non-fiction books, both in the true crime (?) or at least the more general justice system arena.

The first was Perversion of Justice by Julie K Brown, which captures the work she did for the Miami Herald in exposing Jeffrey Epstein’s horrendous deeds and especially the at best dubious and at worst downright corrupt deal that was struck with prosecutors in 2008. An excellent depiction of how an investigative journalist works, but the subject matter, though sensitively handled, requires a brain cleanse.

I looked at pictures of kittens for several days afterwards.

Janet Malcolm’s Iphigenia in Forest Hills is the story of a murder trial told in a very detached manner with not much interest in the crime itself or the guilt or innocence of the accused, but more on the judge wanting to get the case over quickly so he can go on holiday, and a dodgy advocate who seemed to think his role was not to advance the interests of the child he represented but to express his personal views. It’s an odd book and although it held my interest for its (short) length, I wasn’t sure what the point of it all was. I know she’s a controversial figure in the world of journalism and I’m not sure if I’ll pick up any of her other works.

In other news….

I’ve had my Covid booster jag (that’s Scottish for injection btw) as well as my annual flu vaccine so peace of mind has increased after a couple of occasions where I was discomfited by the number of people not wearing masks.

The rest of this month will be very quiet but I have quite a few things to post about so watch this space. Yes, I know I say that a lot but I mean it this time. I do. Really.

Stay safe!