Comic Book Review: The Twelfth Doctor #2 by Robbie Morrison & Dave Taylor

This is the second installment in the new comic book series by Robbie Morrison and sees the Doctor and Clara to continue to battle with Hyperios, a fire ball of fury. 

I like that the Doctor's snarky, snappy dialogue is ever present in this second comic book. This version of the Doctor is fast becoming my favorite Doctor. After the somewhat silly and goofy Eleventh Doctor, this Doctor is series with some attitude and he's a lot of fun as well. 

I haven't met Hyperios before and I find it interesting that he talks about how the Time Lords tried to wipe out his race. Its always good to meet new evil villains!

I'm enjoying this comic book series and I'm glad I have a couple more left in my stack to read.

There was also a bonus little comic about the Doctor finding something to do while Clara is off living her life. I always wondered what the Doctor does in his spare time!!

Comic Book Review: Doctor Who: the Twelfth Doctor #1 by Robbie Morrison & Dave Taylor

The Doctor and Clara are jetting off to a new adventure in the first installment of this comic book series, featuring the new Doctor, as portrayed by Peter Capaldi in the new series. Clara thinks she is in for some skiing and learns that they have landed on a planet that is a hot jungle instead. With aliens lurking it looks like another mystery for the Doctor to solve. 

I like the Doctor Who comics because they are a great read while I'm waiting for the next episode. Hot off watching the Christmas special I enjoyed this short read. It sets up the world where the Doctor and Clara and the last page left me in suspense as to what is going to happen next.

I liked the snappy dialogue, and especially how the Doctor refers to his previous incarnation, #11 Doctor (i.e. Matt Smith) and the famed Fez! I'm glad I have the next two episodes already because I plan to devour this series quickly!

Published by Titan Comics.

Crafting with Audios (1)

Crafting with Audios is a semi-regular feature where I share the audiobooks I'm currently listening to and the projects I'm working on.

I'm currently listening to Star Wars Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson. It's not the first time I've read a Star Wars novel but it is my first time listening to one. I'm really enjoying the narration and given that I recently re-watched Episodes IV, V & VI it's a fun experience. I'm about 30% through and looking forward to the rest of the book.

The busy season of trying to get all the knitting and crocheting done before Christmas is finally over. I feel a big sigh of relieve as it was tough trying to get it all done in time. I'm now on serious mitten making duty! I took a class at Hip 2 Knit last month and I love making mittens now. The left pair are cream colored and for my spouse's sister-in-law's sister and the smaller pair are camo-colored and for my youngest son. The camera doesn't show it too well but they are really pretty and very thick!

I have more mittens on the agenda, with a striped red and cream pair up next (also for the sister-in-law's sister) and I plan to finish off the Platypus amigurmi for my other son this week as well.

The temperature has dropped outside (-28C) so I'm planning to snuggle in with audios and yarn!

Audiobook Review: Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

This series is the spin off to Miranda James' Cats in the Stacks Mysteries and features Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote. The sisters are pet sitting Charlie Harris' maine coon cat, Diesel, and get themselves involved in an adventure. When their former sorority sister, Rosabelle Sultan, turns up on their door step, claiming that her family is trying to kill her they don't really believe her. After all Rosabelle loves drama! However when someone else falls victim to a trap set for Rosabelle it really looks like Rosabelle's family mean her harm. With the Sultan family residing at their house too, An'gel and Dickce must try to solve the mystery before they become the next victim. 

I just adore Diesel and the Cats in the Stacks Mysteries. This spin off was great. While I did miss Charlie Harris, I did like this story. An'gel and Dickce are such a hoot, and with their southern manners they tend to keep their snarky comments to themselves. That doesn't mean they don't think them. Rosabelle and her family are pretty uncouth and it was interesting watching them all clash with each other! 

This was my first time listening to a Miranda James novel. I've previously read all the others. However having said that I enjoyed Jorgena Marie's narration. I liked the southern accents she used and I would definitely listen to another book in this series, with her narration. 

Bless Her Dead Little Heart was a fun debut in this series. If you enjoy the Cats in the Stacks mysteries I thoroughly recommend picking this one up. If you are new to Miranda James give this one a try and I guarantee you that you will be racing out to buy her other series too!

About this Audiobook:
Written by: Miranda James
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
 Series: Southern Ladies, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-07-14
Publisher: Audible Studios

Book Review: A Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile is a short story featuring Parker Pyne. Parker is on holidays and even though his holiday has been previously interrupted by clients, he’s hoping that it won’t be interrupted even further. However the other occupants on his cruise have other ideas. One Lady Grayle asks him to find out if she is being slowly poisoned by her husband. He sets out to investigate but before he can uncover the truth Lady Grayle ends up dead.

I find the title of this short story amusing because Agatha Christie has a full length novel under the same title. The full-length Death on the Nile is of course widely popular, having been made into several movies, featuring Hercule Poirot. This short story was unknown to me until I picked it up. The short story was published three years before the novel. I do wonder if perhaps the short story was inspiration for the novel.

In any case it was a good, little story. Parker Pyne doesn’t usually solve murders, so it was interesting watching him try his hand at this one. With limited suspects and evidence aplenty, Parker managed to solve it in time.

Another good Parker Pyne mystery.

Audiobook Review: If the Shoe Kills by Lynn Cahoon

The holiday season is fast approaching in the sleepy town of South Cove. Jill Gardiner, owner of Coffee, Books and More, is busy planning a holiday supper and fundraising for the season. The last thing she needs is to get involved in another murder case. However, one seems to land right in her lap when she discovers the body of a visitor to town. Ted Hendricks is a first class jerk and also the director of a work program, placing interns in local businesses to help them garner some experience. When Ted turns up dead Jill doesn’t have to look far for suspects. It seems everyone had a reason to dislike Ted and Jill and her boyfriend police officer, Greg, will have their work cut out trying to find the killer.

If The Shoe Kills was my first visit with Jill and her dog, Emma, to South Cove. However, after listening to just one book I know it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed the variety of people that live in South Cove, and the addition of the interns visiting certainly provided a lot of color and intrigue!

The murder aside, what really drew me into this story was Jill’s store, Coffee, Books and More. I really like books about books. So many of my favorite cozy mystery series are set in bookstores and libraries. Being such an avid reader I can’t get enough of cozy mysteries that heavily feature books in their stories. I felt right at home in Coffee, Books and More and I liked how Jill not just works there, but talks about books, not just mentioning titles but giving the reader a great view of what goes into running the bookstore. In every scene I really felt like Jill was as much an avid lover of books as I am.

With the interns of the work program in town, there were a lot of visitors to South Cove. This made trying to figure out the killer so much harder, especially as the victim was new to town as well. I had an interesting time trying to figure it out and didn’t manage to solve this one before Jill.

I listened to If The Shoe Kills on audio and I enjoyed Susan Boyce’s narration. It didn’t take me long to get into the story and I quickly found myself hooked, which is a good indicator to a great author and narrator combination.

If the Shoe Kills was a great introduction into this series for me. I plan to go back and read/listen to the earlier books in the series, to find out a bit more about Jill’s other adventures. If you like charming cozies about enchanting small towns I highly recommend picking this one up.

About this Audiobook:

Written by: Lynn Cahoon

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Series: Tourist Trap, Book 3

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:11-10-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio