I just finished another Jaine Austen novel, the one that I believe is second if going chronologically, Last Writes. This one was hilarious - Jaine manages to get on as a guest writer on a sitcom, and finds out how un-glamorous Hollywood life can actually be. Of course, everyone is starstruck (and proposing their scripts), but the gossip train really fires up when a murder occurs on set.
This story was hilarious and emotionally charged, with Jaine investigating upon an earnest request. While she battles the rigors of television production and the demands of her cat, Prozac, the mystery unfolds in a way that is a surprise unless the reader has a good memory and/or reads the book in one sitting (most mysteries go like that, though, unless you take notes, which...you're going to find out, ANYWAY, so...) and has lots of logical explanations that makes the most common guesses (my most common) at least partially right. Fingers point everywhere until the story, at last, crests at the confession.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Cherry Cheesecake Murder
Hollywood comes to Lake Eden in this highly entertaining installment of Hannah Swensen's delicious detective work. (Er, snooping. She's not investigating officially, after all.) This book broke from the others I've seen in that it started with a prologue -- from the getgo, you know who the victim is. This leaves room for most of the book to focus on the relationships between characters and to establish possible motives while watching a small town relish in the limelight. Added to the mix, if Hannah's debacle between two suitors wasn't bad enough, an old friend appears on the scene and seems to somewhat sweep Hannah off her feet. The book is mostly relationships and happenings of a small town, gossip and little problems. This is fun to read, and gives the reader a lot to think about, especially with the murder victim already in mind.
I think this was my favorite one yet.
I think this was my favorite one yet.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent
I recently played the game Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent. It's a computer/iThings game that is also available through the PlayStation Network, for those of you that don't own anything more Apple than...well...an apple, or don't feel like downloading games onto your computer, be it for preserving a dinosaur or paranoia (I don't blame you).
The story delves into the one-man Puzzle Agency sector of the FBI. The lone agent, Nelson Tethers, is called to rural, wintry Scoggins, Minnesota. The Scoggins eraser factory, supplier of the White House's erasers, has shut down after a mysterious incident, and it's up to Agent Tethers to solve the mystery and get a fresh supply of erasers before the President has to strike things out for lack of a better correction method.
As the premise probably suggests, the plot is rather amusing, with characters that personify a quirky little town in the middle of Where The Hell Am I. It's rather short, though, and leaves with only one question answered at the end after leaving another plotstring in blatantly untied view and hinting at several other "wait, WHAT?" points. It's perfect for a sequel, for which there already is -- Puzzle Agent 2 was released by Telltale Games was released at the end of June for computer/iThings.
Since it is a game primarily based on puzzles, and since it is a game, the gameplay, of course, is a serious factor. The puzzle games weren't impossible; I was able to blast through most of them, to be honest, though some took some good thought and there was one towards the end that I got REALLY stuck on (by this I mean "I spent two hours with sleep in between trying to get the damn pattern right"). So, they're not the hardest in the world, but they're good exercise for one's mind. There's a variety of puzzles, from straight out stare at the answers and use logic to a wee bit of math to turning panels in order to make a viable path to the goal. There were also a few jigsaw-style puzzles, where you had to arrange things in a certain way - i.e., at the very beginning of the game, you have to reconstruct a ripped up piece of paper to read a hidden message. Although these sound like they would be difficult, the game has a mechanism where the pieces snap together when they're in the right position, like an online jigsaw puzzle can. This makes it a lot easier, and there was one puzzle (right after the one I got stuck on) that I literally was able to do by dragging one piece around, randomly dropping and collecting until the entire thing was done. As such, these puzzles seemed kind of extraneous, but without that mechanism they would have seemed ridiculously hard.
All in all, the short time I spent on this game was really enjoyable. It tickled and engaged the mind all at the same time.
The story delves into the one-man Puzzle Agency sector of the FBI. The lone agent, Nelson Tethers, is called to rural, wintry Scoggins, Minnesota. The Scoggins eraser factory, supplier of the White House's erasers, has shut down after a mysterious incident, and it's up to Agent Tethers to solve the mystery and get a fresh supply of erasers before the President has to strike things out for lack of a better correction method.
As the premise probably suggests, the plot is rather amusing, with characters that personify a quirky little town in the middle of Where The Hell Am I. It's rather short, though, and leaves with only one question answered at the end after leaving another plotstring in blatantly untied view and hinting at several other "wait, WHAT?" points. It's perfect for a sequel, for which there already is -- Puzzle Agent 2 was released by Telltale Games was released at the end of June for computer/iThings.
Since it is a game primarily based on puzzles, and since it is a game, the gameplay, of course, is a serious factor. The puzzle games weren't impossible; I was able to blast through most of them, to be honest, though some took some good thought and there was one towards the end that I got REALLY stuck on (by this I mean "I spent two hours with sleep in between trying to get the damn pattern right"). So, they're not the hardest in the world, but they're good exercise for one's mind. There's a variety of puzzles, from straight out stare at the answers and use logic to a wee bit of math to turning panels in order to make a viable path to the goal. There were also a few jigsaw-style puzzles, where you had to arrange things in a certain way - i.e., at the very beginning of the game, you have to reconstruct a ripped up piece of paper to read a hidden message. Although these sound like they would be difficult, the game has a mechanism where the pieces snap together when they're in the right position, like an online jigsaw puzzle can. This makes it a lot easier, and there was one puzzle (right after the one I got stuck on) that I literally was able to do by dragging one piece around, randomly dropping and collecting until the entire thing was done. As such, these puzzles seemed kind of extraneous, but without that mechanism they would have seemed ridiculously hard.
All in all, the short time I spent on this game was really enjoyable. It tickled and engaged the mind all at the same time.
Friday, August 5, 2011
The PMS Murder
On a recent murder-mystery binge, I finished The PMS Murder, one of the Jaine Austen books by Laura Levine. Jaine's wise-cracking, food loving personality warmed up to me and cracked me up almost as soon as I started flipping the pages. The writing was as quirky and funny as I remembered from This Pen for Hire and the selection from Candy Cane Murder. I thoroughly enjoyed weaving my way through the Los Angeles mystery of a murder at a very high-scale home -- one at which Jaine herself happens to be at when the death occurs. Interactions with Lance, her nosy next-door neighbor, and the other personalities in her fellow murder attendees/suspects are entertaining and Jaine's sharp wit keeps things interesting and moving. Plus, watching her job as a freelance writer pan out alongside the story is quite amusing.
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