If Something Happens to Me

 

This was a fun, twisty one that played with time, making you think everything was happening chronologically when it wasn't. 

Senior year, Ryan and Ali were dating when Ali is kidnapped one night from the local Lover's Lane and vanishes without a trace. Even though there's no evidence pointing to Ryan, suspicion lands squarely on him and he's convicted in the court of public opinion. After graduating, Ryan changes his last name and hopes to start over, attending law school after college. He's in Europe on a trip with some of his fellow law students when the news comes in from Kansas: Ali's father's car was found in a lake with two dead men inside, but no sign of Ali. Only a note in her bag, in a waterproof case labeled: if something happens to me. Inside is a coded message. Deputy Sheriff Poppy thinks Ryan might know how to break the code and help her find out what really happened to Ali. She just has to find him. 

Hero of the Realm

 

Young Winston Churchill was kind of a badass, a real life James Bond type, which I wasn't expecting. 

During the Boer War, he was a correspondent. As such, he wasn't allowed to be armed, and he was caught with a gun and thrown in prison. He protested all the while about being a journalist and how dare they and did they know who he was?! No, no they did not. Nor did they care. 

Churchill pulled off a daring escape and hid out in the mines nearby, and was able to enlist the help of fellow Englishman John Howard, who hid him in a shipment of wool and was able to smuggle Churchill out on the train. Churchill was hailed as a hero and won a seat in Parliament on his return to England. The rest, as they say, is history. No one would ever need to be told who he was ever again. It was a thrilling tale of real life heroism and an interesting read.  

Gone at Midnight; The Hitchcock Hotel

 

I watched the Netflix documentary about the Cecil Hotel in downtown L.A. and the tragic death of Elisa Lam. She was reported missing and her body was found days later in one of the water towers on the roof after residents reported the water being discolored and tasting funny. I shudder to think how awful that must have been, for everyone involved. 

The footage released of Elisa in the elevator on the 14th floor is very disturbing and I had a hard time watching it, but I don't know why. I can't articulate it. Anderson suggests that the footage was slowed down to allow it to be edited: a chunk is missing. If you run the footage at a higher speed, it's not as strange or disturbing. I didn't try it myself, but it makes sense. 

He tried really hard to make the case that there's more to it than just poor Elisa being off her medication and having some sort of manic episode and ending up in the tank. I'll admit there are some oddities in the case (whether or not the hatch was closed is just one of many: the first employee on the scene who searched the roof said it was, but apparently he's disappeared and hasn't been heard from since). I just don't know if I'm willing to make that leap that he did. No matter what happened, it's a terrible, heartbreaking event. 

I really enjoyed "The Hitchcock Hotel". Alfred opened up a hotel near his old college with a Hitchcock theme. He's invited his five best friends from college for a free weekend, where he plans to get his revenge. As we (eventually) discover, Alfred was running an essay writing business and was found out and expelled. Of course there's more to it than that, but that was the basic premise. 

When Alfred is killed halfway through, that throws a wrench in it. There was a great twist at the end. 

Now or Never; Beautiful Little Fools

 

The latest Janet Evanovich book about Stephanie Plum was pretty good, even if she did marry the wrong guy in the end. 

At the end of the last book, Stephanie finds herself in quite the quandary: both Joe and Ranger have proposed, and she said yes to both. Now she has to figure out what to do. How to choose? Oh, and she might be pregnant, too. What a mess!

There was the usual round of trying to do her actual job, with a lot of disasters sprinkled in. According to the last page of the book, it's not the end of Stephanie's story, so we'll see how married life treats her. 

A few weeks ago, one of my colleagues came by and asked me if there were any writers I thought were overrated. Without hesitating, I responded: "F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway". Part of my lack of enthusiasm stems from the fact that they are often lumped in with William Faulkner, based on the time they wrote. I had to read "The Great Gatsby" three times as an undergrad, and I hated it more each time I read it. Seriously, just despised it. 

This one seemed interesting, though. I wondered what a different writer would do with Fitzgerald's characters, and how the story would look told from their point of view. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 

Dance with the Devil

 

I've been meaning to read this one ever since I saw the "Dear Zachary" documentary a few years ago. I'm going to spoil both movie and book, so here goes. 

In 2001, David and Kate Bagby were devastated to learn of their son, Andrew's, brutal murder. Andrew was their only child, beloved and cherished. A great guy with wonderful parents, universally loved. They had no idea who would do such a horrible thing. David was very matter of fact: they intended to go out to Pennsylvania, collect their son's ashes, find out who killed him, and then return home to California and kill themselves because they no longer had a reason to live. 

It turned out that Andrew's ex-girlfriend seemed the most likely suspect, but before the police could arrest her, she fled to her native Canada (I'm not going to mention her by name). David and Kate quit their jobs, packed up their lives, and moved to Canada, first to oversee the extradition hearings, but then later to be near their grandson. Yes, the monster that murdered their baby was having his baby. 

The strength and courage they displayed is positively remarkable. They had to be civil with this woman, knowing full well she murdered their child, in order to spend time with their only grandchild, Zachary. They sucked up their revulsion and did it, and as a result they fell in love with that sweet baby, and Zachary with them. To the point where he preferred Kate to his own mother. And why wouldn't he? Kate was a sincere, genuinely loving woman and his birth mother was a goddamn psychopath.  

Time and again, the Canadian justice system failed the Bagbys, and ultimately Zachary, by refusing to see what was right in front of them: that this woman was an evil, stone cold killer. She killed again one last time, drowning herself and Zachary. 

I cannot even begin to fathom an inch of the Bagbys pain. I frankly don't want to. They channeled it into victim advocacy, helping get laws passed in Canada so this type of thing wouldn't happen again. "Dear Zachary" was about Andrew and his wonderful parents and the horrible tragedy, David's book delved deeper into the legal aspects of the case. Even knowing what happened, it was still heartbreaking and horrifying to read it and try to contemplate what they went through. 

I hope they were able to finally find some kind of peace with life, but if they didn't I don't blame them. I don't know how anyone recovers from something like that.  

Guttenberg Bible; Box Office Poison

 

I enjoyed "Time to Thank" so much that I wanted to read Steve's first autobiography. It was a lot of fun! What chutzpah he had. 

He got to Hollywood a few days after graduating from high school, staying with his godfather, Michael. He promised his parents he'd be home in two weeks to start college. But Steve was determined to make it in show biz. He found a way to sneak onto a movie lot and set up an office in an abandoned building, furnished with things from the prop department. He spliced into the phone line and made calls all day long, trying to line up work. He went to the canteen and met a bunch of stars. He was around so much his face became familiar, everyone just assumed he worked there (it might have helped that he lied and said he was Michael Eisner's son). Eventually he started booking gigs, getting bigger and bigger jobs. He bought a house at 21 and a Ferrari. 

He comes across as very grateful and sincere for his good fortune. He reminded me more of his character from "Short Circuit", Newton Crosby, than his "Police Academy" character, loveable scamp Carey Mahoney. Very naive and not too worldly. But very charming and sweet. 

And keeping up with the movie business theme, "Box Office Poison". I don't watch a lot of movies. I hadn't seen any of the ones mentioned in this book, which was hysterical. Robey was perfectly sarcastic, just a great tone. 

Hollywood is a strange place, that's for sure. 

Miss May Does Not Exist

 

I read a book about Mike Nichols a few years ago and really enjoyed it. He and Elaine May started out doing improv together--if you look up their sketches on YouTube they are hysterical. 

I really enjoyed this one. Elaine May is still alive (in her 90s) and pretty much a hermit, which I can certainly admire. Why should she have to give interviews or see people if she doesn't want to? Good for her. 

For a long time she was known as a script doctor in Hollywood. She almost never got credit for the scripts she fixed, but she worked on *huge* movies like "Tootsie". Such a talented woman who was definitely ahead of her time.