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In May I had the urge to pick up some mysteries as well as watch some documentaries and crime series/film – we had several rainy days in May in England, what can I say? So, I present a mini wrap up of some of the things that fall into the crime/mystery category.
For the novels, each come under “I’m Feeling…” Mysterious, which is a little challenge I’ve given myself this year on my Bingo Board.
The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders (2023)
rating: ⭐⭐.5
“Between 1998 and 2005, a wave of murders targeting elderly women hit Mexico City, triggering the hunt for – and capture – of a most unlikely suspect.” Letterboxd
This was a well made Netflix documentary (directed by Maria José Cuevas) with great pacing that kept me gripped with the twists and turns of the investigation. There were some shots that gave “Wes Anderson” vibes, which I thought was an odd inclusion of whimsy, especially considering this is a documentary following an investigation into the murders of elderly women.
It was lovely to see such love for older women in the Mexican culture and how important they are in the mainstream. There was an aside that the resources used for this investigation outweighed that of a huge amount of disappearances and murders of young women during the same time (which was interesting to see that women become more important the older they get which seems to be a universal phenomena), but nothing was really developed with that and didn’t seem that relevant to this documentary.
The reason I gave this a low rating was mostly due to the very prevalent narrative of modern documentaries regarding “forgotten victims” and that it’s all about the “perpetrator” of the crimes being remembered and spoken about, only for them to focus on only a few women. And the kicker was them just listing the women at the end… no connection, no emotion, just the bare minimum.
Also, the criminologist was strange.
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What a Way to Go; Bella Mackie
rating: ⭐⭐.5
“Anthony Wistern is wealthy beyond imagination. Fragrant wife, gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, plethora of mistresses, penchant for cutting moral corners, tick tick tick tick tick tick.
Unfortunately for him, he’s also dead. Suddenly poised to inherit his fortune, each member of the family falls under suspicion.
And that’s when everything comes crashing down…” StoryGraph
I shouldn’t be surprised as I gave Mackie’s last novel – How to Kill Your Family – 2 stars, but this sounded so good and I love the cover! What a Way to Go is super readable, with a lot of familial drama, however, not much really happened.
I enjoyed Olivia’s chapters as she was able to give more insight into her husband’s actual character and it was interesting to see how she reacted to her family’s downfall. She was actually pretty iconic. The four adult children had set personality tropes, but I still found myself mixing them up, but to be honest, it didn’t actually really matter. I get that a book doesn’t have to have likeable characters to be enjoyable, but there was barely any depth and no character development.
The Sleuth character was annoying. They could have added such a fun element, especially with the YouTube aspect and not knowing who they were, but they were just a nuisance and stupid. Their connection and involvement in the plot was frustrating.
The supernatural element was unexpected and while it was fun at first, it got tiresome and again didn’t really add much to the mystery. And the mystery was pointless.
And the ending… by the halfway point, I didn’t actually care how Anthony died, I just wanted to see how it was all going to wrap up and I was disappointed. I hate when a mystery is packaged as one thing and the twist is that it’s something else and that something is just boring and humdrum.
I think this is a sign to not pick up anymore Mackie books in the future.
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Clue (1985)
rating: ⭐⭐⭐
“It’s not just a game anymore.”
Clue finds six colourful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host. Mr Boddy – who turns up dead after his secret is exposed. He was blackmailing all of them. With the killer among them, the guests and Boddy’s chatty butler must suss out the culprit before the body count rises.” Letterboxd
This was pretty fun, but I was expecting more. The characters weren’t actually all that interesting and it was slightly reminiscent of a low budget Scooby-Doo. It has elements of being a cult classic, mostly because Tim Curry is perfect as the Butler – Wadsworth.
Quite often the deadpan humour fell flat because there wasn’t a great balance. Most of the time, the jokes weren’t given enough time or they were given too much time which made them turn awkward. As it’s an American film, I assume that the humour is better suited to American sensibilities, but some parts felt British and with the right delivery and pace, I think it would have hit.
I know the basics of Cluedo, but I’ve not played it enough to be a great fan, but the ending of the film was fun and a silly way to tie it all together. Unfortunately, it got drawn out and convoluted pretty quickly.
I’m also a little confused on how this film gives the impression that the game is American…
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Where the Dark Stands Still; A.B Poranek
rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
“Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters… After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish… Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska makes an unsettling discovery. She is not the first person to strike this bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.
Those who enter the wood do not always return . . .” StoryGraph
I just want to preface that this synopsis is misleading and made the beginning of the book feel a little slow. There is no “whisking”, Liska just walks there herself, of her own volition, on her quest to find a flower that will grant her a wish.
That aside, this does have a lot of whimsy and charm. I enjoyed the Polish folklore elements to the book and I love discussion about the battle between folklore and the invasion of Christianity. It’s not as heavy as say, The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, as there is more of a cohesion between the beliefs here.
The Leszy was an interesting character, but I wish we could have delved into him further. This is only a standalone novel, but I would have loved more time with him and his history. As this is young-adult, the Leszy reads very young despite being very old. However, the ending was somewhat open-ended and lends itself to a possible sequel in the future.
I enjoyed following Liska and her antics. Rather than being annoyed with her shenanigans, it felt like she was finally able to build her own autonomy and I love female characters coming into their own magic and the confidence that brings to them. I also enjoyed the relationship between the Leszy and Liska, but the pacing and a long page count could have made it a more memorable romance.
I’ve seen a lot of people compare Where the Dark Stands Still to Howl’s Moving Castle and I think it does have similar vibes. I would say it’s more reminiscent of the Hayao Miyazaki film than the original book by Diana Wynne Jones.
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Officer Black Belt (2024)
rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
“A talented martial artist who can’t walk past a person in need unites with a probation officer to fight and prevent crime as a martial arts officer.” Letterboxd
Jung Do (Kim Woo Bin) was a very likeable main character and I loved that the men in this were mostly very vocal about their own emotions with each other. Jung Do and his friends were idiots and added a much needed comical relief aspect to the film. I loved their budding friendship with the head of the department – Kim Sun-Min (Kim Sung Kyun).
This film focuses on probation officers and the criminals that are highlighted are sex offenders, with the main antagonists being violent paedophiles. There are very upsetting scenes of attempted rape, talk of child pornography and the kidnap of a child to attempt to create child pornography. These topics are incredibly triggering, so do be cautious going into this film if those are triggers for you.
I tend to watch detective film/series, so it was interesting to see the probation side of things. It also continues to be harrowing how prevalent sexual crimes are in South Korea and how lacking the sentences are (although this is unfortunately a problem worldwide). I saw some reviews saying that it was “copaganda” and honestly, if you want to watch about police corruption there are a plethora of K-dramas focused on that and probation officers aren’t police officers… I just don’t understand how you watched this film and that was the take you left with. The fight scenes are plenty and well choreographed.
Officer Black Belt lacks in character development and in places felt rushed, so I do think this would have been a lot better suited to a K-drama. I’m kind of tired of the 12 episode format, but I do actually think this would suit that.
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The Body in the Library; Agatha Christie
rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
“When Mrs Bantry wakes to find a body in her library, there’s only one woman to call: her good friend Jane Marple. But she hasn’t called her old friend for comfort.
The body in her library has been murdered and Miss Marple is so very good at solving murders. Her investigations uncover a scandal far darker than either of them could have imagined, and this time she may be out of her depth.” StoryGraph
I find it interesting that the synopsis implies that Miss Marple was out of her depth and wasn’t absolutely on top of it throughout the book. My girl Jane is similar to Poirot in that the investigation is very much done in her mind and for most of the book we watch as other people do actual investigating so that the reader can be involved.
I love Henry Clithering and I really hope he’s a staple to this series as I enjoy his relationship with Miss Marple. I also love that Dolly Bantry is nosy in a fun way! She’s basically us.
There are quite a few characters involved in the mystery and I think all were utilised quite well. There’s a lot of family drama which was included in an interesting way to give red herrings. The scope of the case was actually more hard-hitting that I was expecting and went in a much darker direction.
Overall, I had a good time, but since reading this I’m somewhat hazy on the details.
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Adolescence (2025)
rating: ⭐⭐
” A child accused. Everyone left to answer.
When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, therapist and the detective in charge are all left asking: what really happened?” Letterboxd
To start with, the way Adolescence was filmed is incredible. Each episode was done in “one shot” and I commend all the actors and crew involved. It creates a very intimate watching experience.
My problem with Adolescence was that it was boring.
The conversation surrounding the “manosphere” and incel culture was lacklustre and vague. This series seemed targeted to parents and feeds into fear and the increase of parental control. Parents shouldn’t be oblivious about what their children are doing online, but this is such a complex issue and deep-rooted in centuries of patriarchal rhetoric. It’s not going to be solved by strict parenting and that could actually make it worse. Education is so important, and understanding how those communities essentially groom young boys into radicalisation is key.
This topic should be discussed so much more, but it falls short. It does the bare minimum (if that) and yet people are lauding it as being this incredibly insightful piece. And I think that has something to do with the way it was shot, but also the shock factor. It’s talking about topics that the general public aren’t necessarily informed about, so feels more impactful than it is.
I also hated how DS Frank (Faye Marsay) made a comment about how she hates that victims are always forgotten and then this series does exactly that. There is even a strong element of blame placed on the girl that was murdered. Episode 2 made me angry.
There were also several plot points that seemed to be going somewhere, but they were never fleshed out or went nowhere.
I think it’s incredible that this was Owen Cooper’s acting debut as Jamie.
Thanks for reading!
I hope you’re having a lovely day and staying safe ❤️
DramaRambles 🌸 
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