After signing on with lawyer Stone Barrington, he spend several million dollars on three cars, two apartments in the same Park Avenue building, and an extensive selection of clothing.

Good fun.

A couple of ex-cons move in trying to grab some of that new found money.

Reads like a remake of Family Jewels (2016) with nary a homicide until very close to the end. Not much sex, no more lies than usual, but some very serious money does indeed get spent on every possible status symbol you can imagine.

Kirkus

What do you do when the worst happens?

Disaster, Melanie Barrick was once told, is always closer than you know.

It was a lesson she learned the hard way growing up in the constant upheaval of foster care. But now that she’s survived into adulthood—with a loving husband, a steady job, and a beautiful baby boy named Alex—she thought that turmoil was behind her.

Until one Monday evening when she goes to pick up Alex from childcare only to discover he’s been removed by Social Services. And no one will say why.

It’s a terrifying scenario for any parent, but doubly so for Melanie, who knows the unintended horrors of what everyone coldly calls “the system.”

Her nightmare mushrooms when she arrives home to learn her house has been raided by sheriff’s deputies, who have found enough cocaine to send Melanie to prison for years. …

Mixed feelings.

The writing is average, at best.

BUT troubled Kate, as a former Amish teen turned police chief, faces interesting scenarios.

The Slabaugh family are model Amish farmers, prosperous and hardworking, with four children and a happy extended family.

When the parents and an uncle are found dead in their barn, it appears to be a gruesome accident: methane gas asphyxiation caused by a poorly ventilated cesspit.

But in the course of a routine autopsy, the coroner discovers that one of the victims suffered a head wound before death–clearly, foul play was involved.

But who would want to make orphans of the Slabaughs’ children?

And is this murder somehow related to a recent string of shocking hate crimes against the Amish?

A very unusual format.

Dolores Claiborne  is a psychological thriller by Stephen King. …

The novel led to a 1995 movie adaptation starring Kathy Bates …

Dolores Claiborne, an opinionated 65-year-old widow living in the tiny Maine community of Little Tall Island, is suspected of murdering her wealthy, elderly employer, Vera Donovan.

The novel is presented as a transcript of her statement, told to the local constable and a stenographer.

Dolores wants to make clear to the police that she did not kill Vera, whom she had looked after for years, but does confess to orchestrating the death of her husband, Joe St. George, almost thirty years previously. Dolores’s confession develops into the story of her life, her troubled marriage, and her relationship with her employer. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Pokerface – season 2 (2025) good — but the novelty is starting to wear off for me. Season 3 probably won’t be happening.

Stylized as a “case-of-the-week” murder mystery series, it stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman with the innate ability to detect when people are lying, who finds herself solving murders as she travels across the United States.

It’s often compared with Columbo. The crime is revealed early in each episode ➙ Charlie stumbles in and rights the wrong.

Absolutely worth watching, however, if only for the humour.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Storm (2026) is a slow-burn mystery by American author Rachel Hawkins.

Set in the fictional coastal town of St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, the novel follows a dual-timeline narrative.

• 1984: During the devastating Hurricane Marie, Landon Fitzroy, a wealthy political scion and son of Alabama’s governor, is found dead. His 19-year-old mistress, Gloria “Lo” Bailey, is accused of his murder but later acquitted in a highly publicized trial.
• 2025/2026: Geneva Corliss, the struggling owner of the historic Rosalie Inn, welcomes true-crime writer August Fletcher. He arrives to research Landon’s death for a new book and unexpectedly brings Lo Baile.

A prequel.

Despite RAVE reviews, I never really got into season 2.

It’s confusing. I kept having to Google the too many characters.

Too much time spent on the Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen romantic interest, I thought.

BUT the ending was excellent. Not always easy to do in a series this complicated.

Beginning five years before the events of Rogue One and A New Hope, the series employs an ensemble cast of characters to demonstrate how a Rebel Alliance forms in opposition to the Galactic Empire.

Central to the cast is the eponymous Cassian Andor, a thief who becomes a revolutionary and eventually joins the Rebellion.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Kind Worth Saving (2023) is a psychological thriller by Peter Swanson …

The story follows Henry Kimball, a former English teacher and police officer who is now working as a private investigator in Massachusetts.

• The Case: A former student, Joan Grieve, hires Kimball to investigate her husband, Richard, whom she suspects is having an affair. 
• The Connection: Joan and Kimball share a dark past; they were both present during a traumatic school shooting years earlier while Kimball was her teacher. 
• The Twist: What begins as a standard infidelity case quickly turns into a double murder investigation when Kimball finds two bodies in an empty house. 
• The Collaboration: Faced with a case that mirrors his own past tragedies, Kimball enlists the help of his former nemesis/frenemy, the sociopathic but brilliant Lily Kintner, to uncover the truth.

Mostly positive reviews from critics, earning a 91%–93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though casual viewer opinions are more divided.

Worth watching. But I’m one of those disappointed.

The show is penned by Lisa McGee, creator of Derry Girls, one of the best comedy TV shows of all time.

This one is not nearly as good.

Rapid-fire Northern Irish wit is similar. Chemistry of its leading cast good — but not nearly as good as Derry Girls.

It’s neither a great comedy, nor a great murder mystery. Pick a lane Lisa. Stick to comedy, Lisa.

When three close friends from Belfast receive the news that the estranged fourth member of their teenage friend group has unexpectedly died, they travel to County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland to pay their respects.

Strange events at the wake and a long-kept secret threatening to come out propel the trio into investigating their friend’s mysterious death, but the amateur sleuths quickly find themselves in over their heads,

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I was reminded why I don’t much like fantasy fiction. Plot too far removed from reality.

The dialogue is still funny, but less so.

I do enjoy the police procedural details.

In this one Police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant investigates a series of bizarre, magically-linked deaths in the jazz scene of London’s Soho district.

It’s personal to Peter, as his father is a jazz musician.

The Threat: Vicious creatures are stalking Soho, feeding on the innate creative talents and beauty of musicians, leaving ruin behind.

Key Characters: Peter is assisted by his wizard mentor, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, and Simone Fitzwilliam, a beautiful jazz journalist and ex-lover of the first victim