Monthly Archives: May 2022

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : An Eye for an Eye

Book Reviews, , , ,
An Eye for an Eye by Carol Wyer

An Eye for an Eye (Detective Kate Young, #1) by Carol Wyer (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

The first book in this series introduces us to Detective Inspector Kate Young, a driven, successful British cop who has recently survived a trauma that is at first only alluded to in flashbacks and offhand comments, but the reader soon becomes aware affects her entire life, professionally and personally.

We meet Kate as she is attempting to come to terms with a tragedy she witnessed, while being on medical leave.  Each day is a struggle, without the job that gives her purpose.  When her boss calls her in to head a murder investigation, Kate worries that she is being set up to fail.  She has to deal with a team that is concerned with her mental state, a couple of higher-ups that want to look over her shoulder and yet withhold vital Intel, and the fear that she is losing her mind.

The murderer soon strikes again, and a list of potential future targets includes one of her bosses, all while Kate is undergoing withdrawal from anxiety meds and trying to direct a team of seasoned cops who may or may not have her back.  Will she be able to keep it together and prove she can still do the job before she is removed from the case or the killer strikes again?

Carol Wyer has written an excellent mystery with a complicated, driven heroine that I enjoyed reading very much.  The actual antagonist was presented as a minor character in the story, someone that no one would have expected to be a criminal mastermind at first introduction, which gave the book a delicious twist. 

That being said, the background plot was a little bit easier to guess.  Maybe I’ve read too many mystery stories, but I figured out the mysterious fatal weapon before the detectives uncovered that information.  I also understood the secret tragedy that Kate would not admit to herself until three quarters of the way through the book.  I am intrigued with the direction the author chose to help Kate deal with her issue, and how that creates another character foil for her through the end of the story and probably into the next book. 

I probably will pick up a copy of the next story to see how that situation further develops, as well as the tantalizing bits that her husband left for Kate to investigate about corruption in the police force.  All in all, a very good story and a strong start for a series.  I give this book four stars.

Mother or Monster:  What One Witch Would Do in the Name of Love

Movie Review, , ,
Official production photo copied from Ibiza-click.com

I realize this is the first time I’ve posted a movie review in a long time or for that matter anything other than a book review in a long time.  However, it has been a very long time since I have actually been to see a movie in the theater, much less on it’s opening weekend.  (Spoilers ahead!)

Today my husband and I went to see Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.  (Again, this is hardly the first time I’ve posted about the Marvel universe, but it has admittedly been a long time since I’ve done so.)

I have to say I was blown away.  I love Dr. Strange and Benedict Cumberbatch in anything, but what really got me excited was the evolution of Elizabeth Olsen’s character, The Scarlet Witch.  For fans of the movie and TV franchise, Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff was forced to kill her lover Vision to keep one of the Infinity Stones from the hands of Thanos.

The fallout of this, detailed in Wandavision, was an immensely powerful, grieving super being that had the ability to re-create the world as she wished it to be, by controlling minds and building illusions so realistic, she believed them herself.  When she was forced to dispel her illusions, she lost herself grieving for the life she imagined, the life that included two young boys. 

In the new movie, Wanda is aware of the multiverse thanks to studying a book of dark magic.  She is also aware that Dr. Strange is protecting a young girl who has the power to travel between multiple universes, including those where the two boys she lost exist.  Wanda is determined to possess this power for herself, heedless of the fact it will mean the death of the young girl, America Chavez, played by Xochiti Gomez, and all those who are protecting her as well as the integrity of the multiverse from incursion and destruction.

In the end, the only way to stop Wanda is by allowing her alternate-self’s children to see the monster she has become.  The boys fear her because they see what she would do to their real mother.  This leads to Wanda effectively stopping herself and destroying the evil book, so no one else can be tempted to do as she has done. 

Wanda is a grieving mother, denied the children she so desperately wanted.  Does that excuse her trip to the dark side?  Not really, but it’s hard to think of her as a true villain of the story.  The audience can be both horrified at the lengths she was willing to go, and empathize with her for her grief and loneliness.

I give this movie five stars, and can’t wait for the next installment in this franchise. This movie is currently showing in a theater near you.