'THE FALL OF IRIS HENLEY'.....A CHEERLEADER BESIEGED, FALSELY ACCUSED....AND IN DANGER....

 The Fall of Iris Henley by Jennifer Graham (2026)

     Everything you could possibly want in a speedy, twisty one-sitting YA thriller comes together here like a revved-up race car. Of course you'd expect it to move fast in our current social media world where rumors, lies and vicious slander fly like heat seeking missiles that hit their targets only seconds after they launched.

     The current target is high school cheerleader Iris Henley. This poor girl is about to endure an avalanche of false accusations designed to leave her despised, emotionally demolished and under fresh suspicion of murder.. Not just any random killing but the murders of her boyfriend Rocky and her best friend Lynette......found slain along side Rocky in what was at first thought of as a homicide/suicide pact between the two of them;

     In a matter of seconds, an anonymous post on her high school's subreddit thread sends Iris's life careening out of control. The post viciously implies she killed the victims in a jealous rage and Iris's troubles (and potential danger) only multiply from there. Because someone's clearly out to get her......maybe a person (or persons) who have a lot more than just character assassination on their mind.

     All manner of outrageous twists and turns pile up in Iris's path and readers will find themselves racing through the pages to reach the final surprises.. Is any of it remotely believable? I'm tempted to say probably not, but who cares when the book's as much fun and quick to inhale as this one? Like a Friday night treat, this one goes down like your favorite pizza and an ice cold drink......and a great palate cleanser if you've just finished reading something heavy, dense and dark.

      4 stars (****).

'IN HER DEFENSE'......A YOUNG ARTIST ENSNARED IN A CALAMITOUS COURT CASE........

  In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka (2026)

     I'll say this much for 'In Her Defense' the storyline and characterizations were compelling enough to thoroughly hook me and keep me reading to the end. But by the time I'd finished, I couldn't help wondering if it was worth the effort.

     There's not a likable, relatable, sympathetic character anywhere in sight here, although I get the sense we're encouraged to feel for the the principal lead,, Augusta 'Gus' Bird, a struggling young artist trying to eke out a living and a hopefully fulfilling career as a creative ceramicist. She's attached herself, as a dog walker/assistant, to beloved, famous and wealthy TV personality Anna Finbow. Anna's currently engaged in an explosive and bitter legal battle with controversial therapist Jean Guest. The enraged, heartbroken superstar has accused Jean of a cult-like brainwashing of her art student daughter Mary, alienating Mary from her own family..

     As the book lumbers along into past events, we see that Gus, while studying her craft in Rome, shared separate emotionally turbulent, relationships with Jean and Mary ( with whom Gus became infatuated.). Jean offers the needy Gus counseling at little or no cost while using her to ensnare Mary as yet another Nepo Baby client to enhance Jean's fame, patient list and bank account. And Mary's not the only girl victimized by Jean's specialized 'treatments'.

     The tedious Rome sequences seem to drag on forever but the book comes alive whenever it returns to unfold the riveting civil libel case between Jean and Anna, with the distraught Gus caught between the opposing forces and trying to  rekindle her estranged friendship with a now incommunicado Mary. And smack in the middle of all this mess sits Jean Guest whose seemingly caring, heartfelt nature masks a predatory spider who caught everyone in her web, one way or the other.

     The book frustrated me as a reader, offering the promise of a satisfying conclusion without actually delivering one. All the issues raised here are indeed attention grabbling.......the tortured frayed bonds between children and their dysfunctional families, and the gaping chasm between those with little money and those with too much of it....(Gus's pursuit 0f the carefree Mary and her entry into the jet-setting world of Mary and Anna Finbow gave off faint echoes of 'The Talented Mr Ripley').

     Much more of a straight drama than anything else, so I wouldn't recommend this as any kind of a psychological thriller. but simply one very serious story. that came out as merely okay for me.

      3 stars (***). 

WEEKEND MADNESS WRAP-UP.......SPECIAL "THOSE *&^%$## SUPREME COURT MOTHER****ERS!!" EDITION......

 

Please don't forget.....

Everyone's chance to curb the madness, to put a leash on the slobbering mad dog posing as President of the United States comes on November 3rd, 2026...

Think of it of America's true 'liberation day'.....

For the rest of the world: prepare to break out champagne and fireworks if we in the USA do the right thing......

'THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS'.......THE NEW QUAD SQUAD BRING BACK THE FUN TO MARVEL......

 The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

     Like millions of others, we'd grown weary of Marvel superhero movies.....with their convoluted multi-verses,  repetitious smackdowns and tiresome end credit teasers that made us realize the 150 minute movie we just sat through was really just an elaborate trailer for the next 150 minute movie we're supposed to salivate for in anticipation. 

        Audiences let out a collective yawn, all of us suffering from SES....Superhero Exhaustion Syndrome.   (Probably also brought on by those crappy Warner Brothers DC comics movies and Disney's never ending parade of mediocre Marvel series on their Disney Plus streaming site.)

        So we approached this newest Disney-Marvel version of 'The Fantastic Four' with more than little dread......and found ourselves, dare we say it. surprised, engaged.....and yep, entertained. 

         Holy Spandex, the damn thing's actually kinda fun to watch. There's a whole tongue-in-cheeky 1960's vibe to it that coats the movie with a sheen of playful innocence.

          The new bunch of actors brought in to play the Quad Godz bring some much needed humanity and humor to the usual smash 'em-bash 'em razz-ma-tazz. There's the inevitable but reliable Pedro Pascal as rubber limbed Science Guy Reed Richards. Vanessa Kirby adding some mature sexuality to Reed's wife, the invisible, multi-powered Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as her younger brother, the impulsive flying fireball Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (of "The Bear") as the massive, clobberin' orange rock Ben Grimm. 

       Together, the gang's up against super-gigantic outer space planet eater Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his equally lethal Silver Surfin' minion Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner). Earth is next on their demolition schedule but the Galacinator's willing to give us a pass if Sue gives up her and Reed's newborn son, Franklin. Galactus, tired to exploding and gobbling planets, thinks little Frankie has some awesome superpower he needs that the Four haven't figured out yet. 

       And what a problem facing Sue, who as a new fierce mama bear, won't sacrifice her baby boy. At first, that doesn't sit well with everybody on Earth, viewing as just a tad selfish on Sue's part. (Now there's a problem never discussed in books for new parents.....)

        But never fear, when Galactus, who makes Godzilla seem like a baby salamander, comes a stompin' into NYC, the four mix it up with him in a titanic battle that, for a refreshing change, doesn't overstay its welcome like most Marvel destructive derbies.

        We fully admit to having a jolly good time with this Fantastic Four - it reminded us of why we all became bedazzled and amused by comic book movies to begin with......before they took a slide into bloated self-importance and same-old-same-old. And we didn't even mind the usual end-credits teaser, which of course promises the next villain stepping up to the plate. 

         The Four next appear in the upcoming Avengers movie and since they're included in the mix, we're willing to give it a try.

          4 stars (****). 

          

"WUTHERING HEIGHTS"........50 SHADES OF HEATHCLIFF.......

 "Wuthering Heights" (2026)

      We assume the intentional quotation marks around the title is this film's way of letting us know that, to put it mildly, this ain't your Grandma's Wuthering Heights.

       Not that we ever expected it would look or sound like director William Wyler's movie-palace-popcorn 1939 version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. 

        Or for that matter, any other subsequent version of the Emily Bronte gothic heavy-breather that's come along through the years......(usually there's one or more for every generation....)

         Every filmmaker and screenwriter treats the Bronte book like a literary buffet, picking and choosing what they like, discarding what doesn't appeal to them and spicing up what's left with their very own creative and cultural condiments. 

       And so indeed did director-writer Emerald Fennell, who made her reputation with that provocative, strikingly visual thriller "Saltburn", sort of Fennell's dream/nightmare warped funhouse mirror version of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'.....(featuring a lower class snake who slithers into an uppercrust Garden of Eden....)

         Here Fennell, plunders the bare bones of Bronte's tale (just the parts that stick in our heads from all the other versions) and concocts an over-the-top sexual Grand Opera, dripping with assorted bodily fluids, including semen, vomit, shit and egg yolks.  So beware, this is one movie that defiantly declares......screw 'em if they can't take a yolk. 

         Truth be told, we've always held a soft spot in our heart for visualist directors who turn every camera shot into a wildly exaggerated eye-candy feast.....artists like Sergio Leone, David Lean and Fellini come to mind....(even our favorite British madman, Ken Russell). 

         Emerald Fennell's foggy forbidding Yorkshire Moors look designed for Edgar Allen Poe. The crumbling Earnshaw estate, Wuthering Heights is a maze of dark cavernous spaces, while you could fly helicopters in and out of the Edgar Linton's dazzling, sprawling estate. 

        And more than matching the grandiosity of the settings are the bubbling up passions of those overheated crazy kids, Heathcliff and Cathy, played respectively with simmering passion by that tall, tall drink of gloom Jacob Elordi and eye bulging Margot Robbie, going through the whole movie as she's just been tased, an 18th century horny Barbie.

        Our mighty (and mighty moist) lovers, whom cruel fate and hot tempers have conspired to separate, finally fall into marathon humping until Heathy's inherent cruel streak overtakes him.....and then the film starts to resemble 'Wuthering Heights' fan fiction as written by '50 Shades' readers....and to be fair, incel Pornhub boys too.  When the soundtrack isn't rumbling with ominous portent, Charlie XCX pop songs take over, adding to the overall sense of overcooked excess.

     As wacky and frenzied as it all is, we embraced the movie and...yes, damn well enjoyed all of its stunning imagery and melodrama brought to a full boil. Whether you love it or loathe it, Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' represents a singular vision that stands out in sea of big budget, play-it-safe mediocre filmmaking.

        At BQ, we support any director who's got guts enough to swing for the fences even at the risk of colossal failure and/or ridicule, and we don't mind saying we'll be first in line for whatever Emerald Fennell cooks up next.  

     3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2).

          

'WHEN I KILL YOU'.....HER PAST AND PRESENT......EQUALLY FILLED WITH DREAD, DANGER AND DEATHS....

 When I Kill You by B.A. Paris (2026)

     The dual timeline plot construction comes close to borderline annoying, the lead heroine is pretty much a whiny mess and the killer's repetitive musing about their stalking and stabbing might prompt a reader to yell out, "Oh, shut up already will ya?"

     But I must say, leave it to B.A. Paris to overcome all those clumsy stumbles and still deliver a twisty, fun read, packed with mysterious deaths and no shortage of suspects and startling moments.

     Elle Nugent had to fashion a whole new life and identity for herself after her amateur pursuit of a man she believed to be a murderer ended with incredible tragedy - with herself facing jail time and branded as a public pariah. Now living as Nell Masters, she has a new French-American boyfriend, Alex, a host of close new friends and a wonderful inherited house in London.

     But Elle's two lives, unfolding in alternating past and present chapters, are both filled with anxiety, danger and a constant sense of oncoming dread. In the past, her relentless stalking and harassment of the man she's sure she saw abducting a murdered girl goes horribly off the rails. In the present, she's convinced she's now the one being followed and worried that her tortured past and terrible mistakes have come back to do more than just haunt her and aggravate her guilt.

     As expected in a B. A. Paris thriller, I couldn't stop turning the pages and of course stayed up a little later than I wanted, just to find out what happens next. And that just sounded like a 4 star recommendation, so I don't think I need blather on any further. Fine read from an author who never disappoints.

     4 stars (****) and a thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the advance read in exchange for an honest review. 

'MURDER WILL OUT'....WHO KILLED WHO ON THE SPOOKY MAINE ISLAND.....THE STILL BREATHING OR THE DEAD?

  Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (2026)

     This one's jam packed with stuff I usually love. Remote little islands off the New England coast. Spooky mansions. Family secrets stretching back decades. And.......ghosts.

     'Murder Will Out' is filled to the brim with all of that but the real task at hand for an author is to find a way to smoothly blend them all together. And that where I'm afraid this book didn't quite get it done for me.

     I was taken with the idea that Little North Island and its notorious Cameron House are populated with more ghosts than the passenger list of the 'Titanic'. And that keeping track of the Cameron family genealogy is like sifting through the March Madness basketball brackets.

     But our lead character suddenly thrust into all of this murderous paranormal mish-mash, Willow Stone isn't particularly relatable or likable, nor are much of the supporting cast either. (Though I did get a real kick out of the nasty, crotchety, crumbling old geezer who's one of the still living possible heirs hoping to inherit the creepy house with more ghosts than dust bunnies. Willow's late Godmother was a devoted companion to the late owner of the mansion......and yes, there seems to be a bunch of people who've gone 'late' one way or another.. And they all had something to do with that house. Hmmm.....

     Every so often there are bursts of genuine humor in this book and it desperately could've used a whole lot more of them. And the setting for the melodramatic, cinematic Grand Finale is telegraphed way way ahead of time. (But for all I know, that might be intentional on the author's part, promising us a Hitchcockian fight-to-the-the-finish if we'll just hang around long enough for it.)

     Well I did hang round long enough and found 'Murder Will Out', with all its flaws, a mildly entertaining read. Not the worst choice for a rainy night or a suitable kinder, gentler pick for Halloween.

     3 stars (***). (And I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance read in exchange for an honest review.)

WEEKEND MADNESS WRAP-UP......SPECIAL 'BUT THE DOW IS UP 50,000 POINTS!!!' EDITION.....

 

Stress free (and Trump free) weekend to all weary BQ visitors and all Americans and Europeans shaking their heads in disbelief at this weekly lava flow of madness......

BQ will be helping a family member celebrate a birthday this Monday, so see you Tuesday with hot-off-the-presses reviews of two fascinating book thrillers!....and more movies too!

'MATERIALISTS'....THE.RICH AND THE POOR ROMANCING IN NYC.....OVERWRITTEN AND UNDERPERFORMED.....

 Materialists (2025)

      This slight, negligible romantic drama, tailored for film festival culture vultures, came and went within a few weeks.

       Nobody missed anything.......of that we can assure you, having seen it. 

        Written and directed by Celine Song ("Past Lives"), it's a static, verbose slog tracking the romantic ups and downs of professional matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson). She's the star employee of Adore, a posh outfit that prizes itself on its number of perfected calibrated pairings that end up in marriages. 

        But clouds form on Lucy's sunny, well paid life. She's unable to find a suitable match for herself;  she's happily comfortable with her expensive New York lifestyle, leading to her breakup with John (Chris Evans) who's still a struggling impoverished actor eking out a living as a caterer's waiter  (As a former actress Lucy and John used to struggle together.....)

       At the wedding of one of her clients, she runs into John who's there as a server,  but also encounters the smoothly charming and wealthy brother of the groom Harry (Pedro Pascal).....and sparks are struck with Harry and maybe re-ignited with John.

        And hence, Lucy's dilemma :  What's girl to do when faced with this singularly different choice of men agog for her?  Harry's her perfect match-up, given his station and her own attraction to material things. But then there's earnest, heart-on-his-sleeve John, who can offer her little but his eternal love and affection.

         Old school Hollywood used to tell this story countless times with sparkling dialogue and live wire performances from their leading man and ladies. Celine Song chooses to overthink and overwrite every single scene in the film, slowing the story down to a muddled crawl. After awhile, film's three characters sound like they're providing DVD commentary on what they're doing instead of acting out the story. 

        It's bad enough that Song slows her movie down to a crawl, but what really puts the nail in the coffin is the monotone performance of Dakota Johnson.

         Pascal and Evans have charm and charisma to spare, while Johnson's very limited range is painful to behold and she sucks the life out of the film playing a role clearly constructed for someone with acting chops.....like a Florence Pugh or Alicia Vikander. (An actual skilled performance might have at least given this stillborn movie something close to pulse.....)

         We'll admit Celine Song has serious essential points to make here.....about how the pursuit of moneyed success fuels today's modern relationships, as opposed to the simple primal quest for pure love. But she makes her film a lifeless, dry academic lecture.....more likely to put us to sleep than engage us with the story. 

         A waste of time nothingburger whose aspirations to high art fall flat. And Johnson's in desperate need of an acting coach.

         Zero stars (0).

         

       

'MURDER BIMBO'......A VILE POLITICIAN MEETS HIS MOST UNLIKELY ASSASSIN.....

 Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack (2026)

     Who could possibly resist that title and the whole premise? A sex worker recruited to assassinate a rising right-wing politician? Visions of a wild, crazy reading thrill ride danced in my head.......promising a tasty mashup of feminist rage and power colliding with all our turbulent current events.

     Not quite what I ever expected though......

     What we got in reality came across as 90 percent verbose, at times impenetrable literary fiction. All of it's narrated by the unidentified Murder Bimbo herself who over the course of the book's three acts, proves herself to be the world's most dedicated Unreliable Narrator. In a few sparse, occasional sections, the book crawls out of our Murder Bimbo's' morass of yakety-yak to entertain us with scenes of her recruitment and preparation by a small collection of men who may or may not be government agents, neo-Nazis or both. One thing remains certain - that the death of the loathsome politico (only referred to as Meat Neck) with his dangerous views, rampant misogyny and history of sexual assault, would make the world a better, safer place without him in it. . Especially in light of Ms. Bimbo's previous, ugly encounter with him.

     To be fair to author Rebecca Novack, there are more than a few passages when her prose truly takes flight, Our conflicted narrator, Murder Bimbo, sometimes takes us right into the very essence of her multi-faceted personality and how she sees the world at large (and vice versa) And we can hardly blame her for her tenuous grasp of the truth, existing amid the divisive, combative world she's trying to survive in. There's some undeniably brilliant, quotable writing that erupts on these pages from time to time, which explains why I felt I couldn't rate the book anything above or below 3 stars.

     An adventurous, iconoclastic read, that's for sure. But demanding patience to experience and appreciate. And nobody should let that title and description seduce them into thinking they're in for some kind of suspenseful, thrill-a-minute whoop-dee-doo. Not that kind of a book

     3 stars (***)..

'KEEPER OF LOST CHILDREN'.....THE HEARTBREAKING STORY OF POST WORLD WAR 2 ORPHANS.....

  Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson (2026)

     This one will hit you hard with its wide range of storytelling, dramatic force and ultimately tug on your heartstrings without mercy.

     Author Sadeqa Johnson casts a powerful light on the plight of mixed race children, fathered by black American soldiers amid the demolished cities and society of post World War 2 Germany. Scorned as outcasts, these white German mothers and their reviled babies fell into a tortured existence that left the children uncared for, unloved and abandoned into orphanage or even worse, the streets. .

     The scope of this epic tragedy slowly but assuredly unwinds through the narratives of three different generations of black characters. In 1951 Germany, Army wife Ethel Gathers , shaken by her visits to one of the orphanages, becomes a relentless advocate and champion for the mixed raced children. She becomes a very public and beloved figure as she cuts through mountains of red tape to arranges for black American families to adopt the children.

     In 1965 Maryland, teen farm girl Sophie secures a scholarship to a enter a exclusive highly rated private school as one of its few few black students accepted. There she not only deals with the vile bigotry and bullying of white students, she discovers that in Ethel Gathers' crusade, she may uncover the clouded mysteries of her own birth and childhood. And in 1948 Philadelphia, young Ozzie Phillips, with a hot temper sometimes aggravated by alcohol, enters the post war Army as new recruit. Shipped off to a devastated Germany Ozzie, like many other lonely soldiers, falls into an ill fated relationship with a young German girl, Jenka.

     Every one of these separate narratives is told with equal compelling fervor that kept me rapidly turning the pages to find out what happens to all three of these vividly drawn characters. And in the book's last third, when it's made clear how their lives will intersect and collide, there are more than a few sequences designed to leave readers blinking back tears..

     Outstanding in every regard, and telling a story that demands to be heard, 'Keeper of Lost Children' is the epitome of 5 star ' must read right away'. book. (*****).

'ANTIHERO'.......ORPHAN X FACES A MORAL CRISIS IN HIS LATEST QUEST FOR VENGEFUL JUSTICE....

 Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (2026

     Sensational news for all of us who follow the amazing (and infinitely brutal) adventures of freelance righter-of-wrongs Evan Smoak.......I think this one's the best yet because the emotional stakes are raised higher than ever before.

     Evan (a.k.a. 'Orphan X', a.k.a. The Nowhere Man), walked away from his lethal profession as an ultra-trained Black Ops assassin for top secret government sanctioned missions......(you know, those ones that everybody in charge disavows and never heard of.)

     Now he wanders the world as a Knight Errant, a supremely efficient Paladin awaiting the the calls of any poor soul besieged by evil and with no one else to turn to. Through the oddest of circumstances, fate has put him in the path of Anca, an innocent young woman suffering from debilitating seizures that leave her helpless and unconscious. When afflicted while riding a New York subway, she's abducted and repeatedly gang raped by four soulless, heartless men who record their many victims' agonies for thousands of users on a dark web porn network.

     Evan knows of this horrific event via an eyewitness to the abduction, a young girl 'guest' of his all-powerful Oligarch frenemy, Luke Davine. With Davine currently in the throes of his own nervous breakdown, Evan's forced to recruit his beloved but suffer-no-fools teen girl hacker Joey to control Davine's on-line empire while he brings Orphan X revenge down upon Anca's attackers.

     Here's where the book plunges Evan into an unique crisis that raises the bar for any future Orphan X missions Anca, a fiercely determined survivor guided by a strong moral compass, demands of Evan that he not wreak his usual eye-for-an-eye justice upon the men who tried to destroy her body and spirit. She wants legitimate justice and not wanton slaughter, which puts Evan into an internal struggle to bow to her wishes and still control the violent instincts that have ruled his life and actions since his tortured childhood.and warrior training.

And as Evan methodically tracks down the goons with the help of Joey's incredible computer skills, his paternal, protective instincts toward her grow ever stronger. As feisty, street smart and independent as Joey may be, Evan's heart aches as he can see her vulnerability, surrounded by a world of predators, like the ones who put Anca through sheer hell.

     I never dreamed I'd be describing an Orphan X thriller as heartbreaking and an emotional powerhouse, but there you have it.......as well as those hefty doses of bone crushing violence we've all come to expect from this series. An absolute 'don't miss'.

     5 stars (*****).

'MAYBE THIS ONCE'.....COMFY COZY ROMANCE AT A SCENIC MICHIGAN ISLAND LODGE.....

Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (2026)

     Romances don't come any more sweet and cozy than this one, the third in the author's 'Rock Bottom Love' series......(but don't worry, a reader can dive into this one as a stand alone and then go back to the first two.)

     Avid consumers of Hallmark movies will find all those familiar, well loved tropes in the plot construction, with the extra bonus of just a little more PG-13 steam than you'd ever encounter in a Hallmark.. Our lead lady, Charlotte 'Charlie' Ashford is fleeing the backwash of an embarrassing viral video posted by the cruel daughters of her mother's new suitor. And she's also taking a breather from a life lived in the shadows of her famous actress mom and her late father, an equally beloved rock star.

     As if we didn't know what comes next, Charlie finds the getaway she needs, along with friendship, kindness and romance, in a beautifully scenic vacation lodge situated on a lake island in Michigan. It's there her uncle works for the lodge's owners the Keller family, a large loving clan of siblings and in-laws who come to embrace Charlie as one of their own. That especially goes for manager Grayson who strikes serious sparks with Charlie, even as guarded and secretive about her past as she is.

     The setting is picture postcard perfect and Charlie and Grayson's growing attraction to each other comes with scenes both tender and humorous. Author Sophie Sullivan certainly knows how to make a reader feel fearful, anxious and protective should anything arise to threaten their happiness. That's the mark of a 4 star romance so what's not to love about that?

     4 stars (****).

'ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CLANGING COFFIN'.....SHERLOCK'S KID SISTER FACES AN ICONIC ADVERSARY....

 

 Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (2026)

     This can't be anything but the happiest news of all of us followers of the feisty, independent and indomitable young sibling of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, as created by author Nancy Springer. And even fans of Sherlock Holmes who've never sampled this series might want to join up with this one.........which pits young Enola and her legendary detective big brother against no less than the 'Napoleon of Crime' himself, Professor Moriarity.

     Enola's entry into the mystery begins with her literally unearthing a helpless young woman who's been buried alive., yet sealed in a coffin with a breathing apparatus and a bell with which the victimized girl can summon rescuers. What kind of twisted, malignant mind could conceive of such a thing? Let's just say it won't be long before you can stop guessing.

     As Enola nurses the traumatized girl, Trevonia, back to health, the pieces of the tortured girl's memory begin to assemble, clearing up the puzzle of her origins and at whose hands she suffered such physical torment. Everything points to that forbidding cadaverous gentlemen who occupies a nearby mansion.........and who also commands an army of vicious, murderous thugs who'll stop at nothing to recapture Trevonia.

     While Enola dodges and outwits the violent goons pursuing both Trevonia and herself, she finds her brother Sherlock rendered haggard and exhausted from his quest to collect evidence against the fiend at the very heart of all these dark doings........... a certain mysterious professor of mathematics reputed to be London's most notorious criminal Kingpin.

     This is simply a terrific fun package of Holmes-ian, lore, action, intrigue and suspense, all of it unfolding across a vivid recreation of late 19th century London. And in Enola, the members of her beloved Women's Club, and the one and only Florence Nightingale, there's some wickedly sharp humor at the expense of the entrenched British patriarchy and the class distinctions of the era.

     For all fans of this series and anyone who loves nothing better than a wonderfully atmospheric tour through the world of Holmes, this one's an automatic 'don't miss'.

     4 stars (****).

---

MONDAY MADNESS WRAP-UP.......SPECIAL 'CULTURE WARS: BATTLE OF THE HALFTIME SHOWS' EDITION.....

 

     Our first question:  

     Trump and his ragtag collection of minions filled social media with raging, bile spewing reviews of the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show.....

       Which begs the question......did none of them watch the 'Turning Point All American Halftime Show?  You remember that one, don't you, MAGA?  A supposed patriotic, spirit-lifting songfest featuring mostly Country Music singers and a brief appearance by Trump-aholic rocker, Kid Rock. (One of the mere handful of performers who would've agreed to play the Trump-Kennedy center before Trump decided he'd take a wrecking ball to it out of spite.....)

BQ, unlike Trump and his gang, did watch the show. In fact, we watched it, simultaneously with Bad Bunny's NFL extravaganza.

Now for our impressions on this one-of-a-kind crazy showdown between the Royal Kingdom of Trumpovia.......and the rest of us who'd like to think we're still living in the United States of America.

Turning Point's show featured Kid Rock and three Country singers on an indoor stage surrounded by what looked like a couple hundred people. 

We're no great fan of country music and/or Kid Rock, so we feel unqualified to judge this show on its artistic merits. It is what it is....or was, we guess.

But in regard to the production.....the producers and director of this show displayed either enormous hubris or enormous stupidity by letting the show run so long, it was still dragging on while the second half of the Super Bowl already started. 

(So maybe Bad Bunny, in retaliation, should have stayed on the football field,  still dancin' away while the  Seahawks and the Patriots continued their dreary combat highlighted by their relentless defensive teams who allowed few touchdown to slip by them. Now that's entertainment!)

But enough about Kid Rock (of which very little is more than enough.....)

Let's talk Bad Bunny Halftime Show. 

Our impressions:

An exuberant spectacle, just as anyone would expect from a Super Bowl Halftime show.

Platoons of fast 'n furious dancers gyrating through an ambitious, imaginative production design, including an entire Latino landscape of sugar cane fields, neighborhoods, homes, weddings, even Puerto Rican electrician linemen trying to restore power to the island. 

True enough, none of it in English. But with all of the non stop music, dancing,  and sugar cane mazes, who cares?  Plus Lady Gaga, Cardi B, Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba.....what did MAGA want 'em all to to? Deliver the Gettysburg Address?

Keep in mind, Trump speaks English, and we've listened to him far longer than we've ever spent listening to Bad Bunny......and we don't understand any of gibberish coming out of Trump's cognitively decaying brain......but Bad Bunny can bring the house down in Spanish any time and we're there.....

So it's fitting that Bad Bunny's message and intent of diverse American unity during that 20 minute show came across far louder and clearer than the hours of English verbal diarrhea that dribble out of Trump's mouth every single day.  

Trump declared the show 'an insult to America'. Pardon us, but our definition of an insult to America was posting a picture of the Obamas as apes.....and and then lacking the basic humanity and decency to feel deeply ashamed or apologetic about it.

But enough of Trump, who's so poisoned America that the once beloved-by-all Super Bowl halftime show became part of a cultural civil war....

BQ ratings:

Turning Point's All-American Halftime Show............1 star. (*).

Bad Bunny's Halftime Show......4 stars (****). 

How about next year's Super Bowl show feature Taylor Swift marrying Travis Kelce live on stage? That should be sufficient to give Trump a fatal stroke while tweeting about it at 3 am, that is if the Big Macs and Filet O Fish sandwiches still haven't done their job by then......