Tag: criminals

What’s Ashley Reading?: Santa Cruise

Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark

First line: Randolph Weed, self-styled commodore, stood on the deck of his pride and joy, the Royal Mermaid, an old ship he had bought and paid a fortune to refurbish and on which he intended to spend the rest of his life playing host to both friends and paying guests.

Summary: The maiden voyage of the Royal Mermaid is turning out to be more eventful than the Commodore had hoped for. The Santa Cruise was set to launch with people of all sorts who had done good in their communities and donated to worthy causes. Among these are Alvirah, a lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, Regan Reilly, a private investigator, and two stowaways who are paying a fortune to escape from the law. As weird occurrences continue to happen Alvirah and Regan start putting the pieces together to find out who is sabotaging this holiday cruise.

My Thoughts: As part of my holiday TBR I picked up another Mary Higgins Clark book. This one brings together characters from her books, Alvirah Meehan and Regan Reilly from her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark’s, book series. I have not read either series yet but I met the characters in another holiday mystery last Christmas, Deck the Halls. Even without knowing the backstories I felt that it was easy to enjoy and follow the story.

This book had a cozier vibe to it than others I have read and it had a very complicated and sometimes ridiculous plot but I did have fun reading it, which is all that matters. There was a lot of coincidences that would never happen anywhere else than in fiction but this made it rather funny. There are two criminals hiding on the ship dressed as Santa Claus, a cabin mix-up leading to further complications and several sightings of a “ghost” which are the perfect recipe for a complicated but cozy mystery.

If you want something quick before Christmas than give this or Deck the Halls a chance. Each are short and sweet and will help get you in the holiday mood.

Book Review: Batman: Nightwalker

First line: The blood underneath her nails bothered her.

Summary: As an eighteen-year-old Bruce Wayne is graduating high school and inheriting his families company and fortune he becomes entangled in the crimes of Gotham City. When trying to stop an escaped criminal Bruce lands himself on probation at Arkham Asylum. While cleaning floors he meets an elusive member of the group called the Nightwalkers, a group determined to kill the rich of the city and use their money to help the under privileged. Madeleine has been arrested for the murder of three prominent Gotham citizens but refuses to talk to the police. However, something about the young billionaire starts her talking. As Bruce gets more involved in the case, he sees that he could be in danger too.

Highlights:

“The darkness was his ally, not his enemy.”

Batman was probably my first superhero. I remember watching Michael Keaton play the caped crusader and being a little scared of the dark plotline. I continued to follow the Bat of Gotham through the Dark Knight trilogy (Heath Ledger as the Joker—AMAZING). Now I currently watch the show, Gotham on Fox, which follows the younger years of Detective James Gordon, Bruce Wayne and the villains like Penguin and the Riddler. Lu’s depiction of Bruce reminded me a lot of the boy in Gotham. She does a great job of bringing him to life and carefully crafting him into the superhero he is to become.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Bruce and Alfred his protector and guardian. It is one of my favorite parts from the movies and TV show as well. They have a bond that is deeper than blood. Alfred takes care of him but also has respect for the man he is becoming. At the same time though Bruce realizes that Alfred means more to him and that without him he would not be who he is. The story also touches on themes of the times. The struggle between the upper and lower classes, racial tensions and the need to equal rights for all. Batman is a symbol that something good can live in such a dark place.

“The world would always have the liars and traitors and thieves, but there were still those who were good at heart.”

Lowlights: I missed not having the normal Batman villains. Madeleine was okay. Most of the Batman villains are flashy with lots of humor thrown in. She was smart but a little dull. I am looking forward to the villain story in Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas later this year!

FYI: Check out Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo!