#c: murder mystery

[unproduciblesmackdown]

always enjoyed the Chess Set In The Foreground perspective framing used here

now also noting like, huh, a chess set in a general store just visited by marigold competitors who killed one of their guys and are now on the way back from their rendezvous point w/suppliers

[bookishpixiereads]

“Rough Pages” by Lev C. Rosen

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5 Stars

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group/Forge Books for the eARC of this book. It dropped last week! All opinions are my own.

“Rough Pages” is the third book in the Evander Mills noir-ish, queer, historical fiction detective series set in 1950s San Francisco. Outside of the murderous plots, the series provides a well-researched look into how queer people lived during that time period. I adore this series. I already had pre-ordered this book before I even read the ARC and I never do that.  

Evander “Andy” Mills is a gay private detective for queer people who can’t go to the police because the police are not friendly to the LGBTQ community. He was a cop for the San Francisco Police Department before he was fired after they found out he was gay. 

A friend of Andy comes to him with a case. The two owners of a queer-friendly bookstore have gone missing. Along with selling queer books from a store front, they have a mail-order service where they mail queer books to subscribers. And the fear, along with the safety of the owners, is that the list of subscribers could fall into the wrong hands and at the worst, those people’s lives could be in danger and at best, they could become the object of blackmail. Also, at this point in history, mailing queer books is a federal crime.

And this list potentially puts people that Andy’s holds dear at great risk. And he wants to do everything he can to keep them and their newly adopted baby safe.

Were the bookstore owners arrested by the Feds? Was this a Mafia hit done out of fear of the possible outing of one of their own? Was there a crime at all and are they just on vacation?

Andy also has to deal with a reporter who is getting a little too close for comfort and his former boss, who is making implicit and explicit threats to Andy’s safety. And is his own romantic life falling apart?

“Rough Pages” comes during the current political climate of banning books. And it has beautiful things to say about representation in books, why books are dangerous (in a good way), and books as a whole.

What’s more important truth or secrets? Especially if the truth puts peoples’ lives in danger. 

[hayleythesugarbowl]

╰┈➤ if you enjoyed these books growing up then 1) your sense of humor is immaculate and 2) you’re either in pre-med or you’re a detective there’s no in between

[dragon-swords-prophecies]

FIC ASK GAME TO CORRECT BLOG THIS TIME

✅ list one or two favourite lines you’ve written and explain why they’re your favourite

🔚 have you ever completely changed the direction a piece was going?

😊 say something nice about your writing

~ @akindofmagictoo <3

✅ list one or two favorite lines you've written and explain why they're your favorite

''Oh, and please tell that poor fellow lying on the sidewalk outside that I hope he feels better soon.''

There was a long pause. ''He's dead, I can't really... do that?''

''Oh dear. Tell him tomorrow, then? I'm sure he'll be back on his feet in no time!''

Every single thing balloon guy says is my favorite, but especially this (and the alligator incident). The first murder has just happened, and there's a guy's body laying on the sidewalk, and balloon guy walks past and thinks ''ah, yes, this is Perfectly Normal for humans. large pools of red liquid around them are nothing to be concerned about!'' he does not know what death is. despite many attempts to explain it he has remained politely confused about why humans vanish sometimes for the last several hundred/thousand years.

🔚 have you ever completely changed the direction a piece was going?

yes! with herald I completely changed the time it was set in and the genre of the story (1890s-inspired steampunk -> 1940s noir-ish), but also with one of my other wips. frost & fire, which I haven't talked about in like two years, got completely and wildly changed at least three times. the reason it's on draft four (?), despite that I've never actually finished a draft of it, is that every time I massively changed the plot/characters/other majorly important element, I started a new draft, because the other one was so far gone it couldn't be salvaged. at this point it's basically the ship (wip?) of theseus

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Upcoming Hallmark Movies to air in June

For Love & Honey Saturday June 1, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel Beekeeper Eva uncovers an ancient fresco while rescuing a hive. Austen, a visiting archeologist, thinks it is key to his research, so he persuades Eva to help him on his quest across Malta. Starring Andrew Walker and Margaret Clunie.

Savoring Paris Saturday June 8, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel Disillusioned with her life, Ella embarks on a soul-searching journey to Paris where she navigates love, self-discovery and cheese amidst the enchanting backdrop of The City of Love. Stars Bethany Joy Lenz and Stanley Weber.

A Greek Recipe for Romance Saturday June 15, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel After a recent setback, Abby heads to Greece to visit her mom and decide what's next. While there, she meets Theo and they team up to open a restaurant. But will Abby be able to stay? Starring Danielle C. Ryan and Rafael Kariotakis.

Two Scoops of Italy Saturday June 22, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel When an American chef travels to a quant village in Italy for inspiration, she falls in love with the flavors, culture, gelato, and the Italian gentleman who helps her discover it all. Starring Hunter King and Michele Rosiello.

Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder Thursday May 16 on Hallmark Movies Now Friday June 7, 9pm/8c on Hallmark Mystery A cryptic call about a planned jewelry heist draws a Detroit Free Press tipline operator, Maddie Moore, into a dangerous homicide case alongside a newly promoted detective. Starring Holland Roden and Chris McNally.

[womenusingwords]

Under the Cold Moon

The details… Title: Under the Cold Moon Author: C. Jean Downer Publisher: Bella Books Editor: Cath Walker ISBN-10: 1642475831 Publication date: November 29, 2024 Available formats: paperback, ebook  Ebook file size: 3219 KB Print length: 280 pages Genre: supernatural mystery/thriller Themes: witchcraft, small seaside village life, family, small business, murder, family legacy, magic,…

[salemoleander]

Yknow I've heard a lot of (generally very valid) complaints about the writing of Fallout games, but man. Why did no one tell me that Fallout 4 kinda fucks

I just dove into the memories of the man who killed my husband, who I killed in turn, and discovered in another life I could've been him, made the same choices, because of the same grief and fear and lack of agency. And all of that was experienced inside the synthetic brain of a man who considers himself the mechanical ghost of a long-dead detective, who volunteered without hesitation to help because he considers himself profoundly expendable.

I think some pieces of the story and world can feel rushed, or reward blunt violence too much, or lean a bit trite- but there's a LOT of pieces that are shockingly compelling, and (for all its faults!) make me want to make something even a tenth as good

[blackramhall]

Remember that movie where the ten strangers went to an island and then they all died one by one?

Identity - James Mangold (2003)

Blackram Hall: The guy practically lives in a Clue board

[alfhildr-the-word-weaver]

I watched 2x14 of the Originals tonight and when Klaus told all the assembled werewolves at Hayley's wedding that Hope was still alive after killing his own father just for finding out the very same thing a mere handful of episodes ago, it made me think of this moment in this Studio C sketch -- "she knew, so naturally, she had to be taken care of! Of course, I didn't realize I'd be revealing that secret myself just a few hours later, but at the time it seemed very important to keep her quiet." Like. I guess I get his reasoning and can sort of see why it changed. But for a guy who killed the biological father he'd been so curious about just a few days ago to keep his secret, he sure did just announce that same dang secret to a roomful of strangers. If I was his biodad hanging out on the Other Side (or wait I think maybe that's gone by now? But if it was still there) I'd be trying my darndest to slap that idiot upside the head for that.

[mainenorth]

whenever i read something bad it resonates with me. so. dratchet icebreaker by hannah grace au but they’re both hockey players and they’re from different universities and drift has to use ratchet’s ice rink cause roddy broke his. then they fall in love with NO SEX and then they find out that there’s a murder on campus. cue murder mystery fic

[nourfk]

When & Where: "The Ballroom" ...shortly after the toast!

🕵️‍♀️ @eloisemeadows

Moving past the sea of guests that filled the ballroom, Nour searched the room, looking for... no one in particular. At least, that's what she told herself. Aside from feeling proud that her dress screamed 19th Century as much as the next girl, Nour felt pretty. It wasn't often that she felt that way, and it was hard not wanting a certain someone to see her just the same. She knew it was a fantasy to think this person would even see her— and truly see her, but she knew she'd be searching the whole night for that face even if she couldn't speak her name in her own mind. It was unsettling, to say the least, but Nour was a slave to her own desires. After all, how could she still be searching now that Dee was in the picture? —He was always in the picture... Nour reminds herself, finding protection against the wall opposite the entry. Her eyes still continue to search the crowd, but she is less eager. Even if Nour did find her, there was no doubt she'd be with him.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

it occurred to me to Juxtapose the current lackadaisy triumvirate w/the former, now especially mysterious one: namely [rocky ivy freckle] vs [atlas mitzi mordecai]

you have mitzi and ivy where this is sort of an alternate, glamorous, welcoming and potentially promising world. ivy saying everyone treated her like royalty, mitzi's focus on atlas individually and the surprise of his interest & treatment.

then there's freckle and mordecai at least somewhat spontaneously drawn into "but he's just so good at it!"-based professionally shooting and killing you. perhaps also being obliged to someone as further motivation, whether they helped you finish school or not be killed today.

atlas is too mysterious & undialogued to cite any examples while considering Parallels, but you can wonder about rocky kind of being at the helm of the trio / drawing the others in, and trying to get to compose the result you want even if you're improvising your way there, but the proximity of disaster anyways

[ruleof3bobby]

MAGGIE MOORE (S) (2023) Grade: C

It didn't find it's footing, wasn't sure if it wanted to be a dark comedy, crime, or a rom-com. The cast is good & Jon Hamm & Tina Fey do have good chemistry from their 30 Rock scenes.

[bellstrum]

When & Where: "The Ballroom" ...during the toast!

🕵️‍♂️ @psychedelicsunflwr

Benny wasn't all too psyched about participating in some sort of 'murder mystery party.' He nearly opted out of participating until he was convinced by a few friends to go, one pointing out that the book he was reading was a murder mystery and that it only made sense to play one out. After all, the role he was given fit him all too well, and Benny couldn't deny how easy it'd be to assimilate. In the end, peer pressure won (as it always did) as he found himself in old clothing that fit him oddly, his baggy— worn-out button-down making him itch. He mindlessly pulls on the suspenders he was told to wear, eyes searching for anyone familiar. Spotting his favorite redhead, Benny makes his way as he notes her attire, a grin spreading wide with contentment. He approaches her from behind, leaning closely with a low tone. "19th Century suits you," he greets, leaning back. "The maid get-up..." he nods, bringing his hand out to form an 'okay' sign in serious approval.

[mutatedangels-a]

@wynterlanding spun the underused muse roulette! ** ...and got mekhi! [ based on this plot ]

"—this is where it all went down."

Mekhi stabs the end of her surf board into the sand with a slight crunch. She pushes her sunglasses up off her eyes and onto her head, sending her swamp witch-like hair away from her face in a cartoonish way. It looks a bit like she's been zapped by electricity. Though she was born and bred on the beach, she'll never get along with the salty air and the humidity.

"You're lucky you asked me to take you out here, 'cause none of the other lifeguards would have had the cajones to rip through the caution tape," she says, bookending her words with a snicker. "Water rescue said she looked all bloated, like an overstuffed turkey, even though she apparently only drowned, like, five minutes before they found her. News crews were out here and everything. It was bananas. This one lifeguard who was supposed to be on post here got hella fired. I feel bad for him, but... He should'a been paying attention." Ironic, because she's also missing from her post right now, but she struck up a deal with Matt to watch her portion of the blue.

She folds her arms, looking out into the waves crashing along the shore, then letting out a pseudo-dramatic sigh. Then, she gives the man a sharp glance. "What'd you say your name was again? Yeah. I don't mean to rush you or anything, but my lunch break's coming up and I'd love the $20 to buy some shrimp tacos at Shelly's."

[janpospisilart]

I made subs for "Ancient Detective"'s 2 Extra (cut) episodes!

The 2020 wuxia mystery cdrama Ancient Detective released widely as 24 episodes, but as we can hear in AvenueX's video, on Youku it existed as 26 episodes - two episodes got cut towards the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWn75MO5KE You can still find these episodes online (torrents really, or Youku I guess), but unlike the others there weren't any English subtitles for them. (nor did I find any Chinese ones)

Today I had some hours to kill and so I decided to find out if it'd be possible to extract Chinese subs embedded in the image, OCR them and then machine translate into English. It took forever, I had to touch up the OCR by hand a lot, but it mostly worked. The result is not perfect by no means, but it should be watchable. Of course if anyone wants to take the ripped Chinese subs and translate them properly - feel free, and share! Chinese subs for extra eps 01 + 02: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ECdvyNAo63e3Mj2cQz4O9yTGSe_b0JuO/view?usp=sharing English subs for extra eps 01 + 02: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fr1Uop0OypH2JoDKbOAZTcceyHE4w9s1/view?usp=sharing

You can of course watch the normal 24 episodes of AD in English on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy8WDOJkSFFwPldnw6lZo8xYnXdJW0lgt