Tag: Movie

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer

Posted on by Jack

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer is an oldie but goodie. This book was made into a movie in 1932 so it has obviously been around for a few years. And I would guess that there have been many reprints.


This incarnation is digital. I have placed a link to and picture of the Kindle edition to the left but if you look around you can probably find other formats. Maybe even an older edition in physical book form. Or if you follow my Amazon link to the Kindle edition, you can find a DVD of the movie.

The story itself was entertaining and an easy read. I’ve not seen the movie.

It opens in a New York aquarium (near the penguin pool , of course) with a small mystery of a purse snatcher and a teacher taking her class of third graders on an outing. And there is a hunt for the teacher’s missing hat pin. The first few pages did not seem very promising to me.

But a murder is quickly discovered. The teacher, Miss Hildegarde Withers, gets involved in the murder investigation. And the story gets interesting. So don’t give up too quickly.

Enjoy the story. It moves quickly. The case quickly becomes more complicated as the third grade teacher and the detective find many people with motive to kill the victim and many suspicious actions.

I was surprised at least twice near the end. You may be too but in any case you’ll have an enjoyable read along the way.

The Help: good movie and good book

The Help: good movie and good book

Posted on by Jack

A few days ago, I went to see the movie version of The Help. My wife had read the book by Kathryn Stockett on which that the movie was based and said it was a good book and she hoped the movie was as good. I wasn’t so sure about being a good movie, but went anyway. We got there early as we expected a big crowd. Unfortunately, that meant 20 minutes previewing movies that did not interest me and watching advertisements which were of even less interest. The movie started and didn’t look promising. I was worried and just hoped I didn’t start snoring loud enough to disturb those around me. But after a few minutes I was completely taken by the movie.

I am told it was a good book and there is a long waiting list at the library for it. So if you are in any hurry to read “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, you might want to check at Amazon to see how much the paperback or Kindle edition will cost. Come to think of it, you might want to buy more books there to take advantage of the free shipping.

The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer

Posted on by Jack

As a test of how this blog works I thought I would begin by copying (and updating) a few reviews I wrote for my other site. 

I recently read The Ghost Writer by Robert Harris and liked it much more than I expected I would.

The book has been issued as a paperback to coincide with the movie of the same name.   I had read a couple of Harris’s previous books and enjoyed the first I read but not the next as I recall.  So I probably would not have looked to try another, however the previews for the movie looked pretty good and I thought I would try the book before seeing the movie.  I was totally taken by the book and read it is less than 2 days which is unusually fast for me.  For those who don’t know the basic story line, it is about a ghostwriter working with a former UK Prime Minister on his memoirs.  Without going into much detail on the plot, let me just say it is a mystery, a thriller, and political commentary on current events.

The story is told from the ghostwriter’s point of view and draws you in immediately.  And it continues to get better as he travels to a secure location (a billionaire’s estate on Martha’s Vineyard in winter) to meet the former PM (and staff) and confronts various issues related to the war on terror, human rights and war crimes. 

If you are still not sure this book is for you, just follow my link to Amazon and read the reviews there.