📺 The Bay (2019) 5 seasons – A British crime drama set around Morecambe Bay that follows detectives as they solve missing‑person and murder cases while wrestling with demanding personal lives; across five seasons the series builds layered mysteries, moral ambiguity (code for characters are fucked up), and tight pacing, blending procedural detail with serialized character arcs and a strong sense of place that makes it compelling for fans of atmospheric, character‑driven crime drama.
📚 Emile Gaboriau (1866) The Lerouge Case – follows the investigation of a widow’s murder, led by detective Monsieur Lecoq. Through clues and reasoning, he uncovers hidden identities, secrets, and the truth behind a staged crime with keen deduction!
📕 Alan Drew (2017) Shadow Man – Set in 1986 Southern California, Shadow Man follows Detective Ben Wade, a man on the very edge of a nervous breakdown, and barely able to control his sanity on a daily basis, as a serial killer case exposes buried family secrets, childhood trauma, and the fragile edge of suburban safety. A tense, character-driven thriller with an eerie psychological core. 👎 I eventually had to give up even reading this book when it became apparent that the swim coach who was a major suspect for molesting boys, and apparently he actually molested the detective on the case as a child, but was not called in for questioning. This book seems to want to go on and on about reasons that people become bad people, but hide it in a mystery novel form. I talked to Google's Gemini and it told me that this is a diary common development as our world has become more and more woke. Anyone that didn't realize the swim coach murdered the Mexican kid, and the "serial killer" was just an additional bit so that the author could push his woke agenda is a moron.
📕 A. J. Finn (2024) End of Story – Sebastian Trapp, a famous mystery writer with a terminal disease, invites journalist Nicky Hunter to write his life story. Turns out Nicky Hunter is actually his son Cole Trapp, thought to be dead, now living as a woman, who returns in his new female identity to prove Sebastian murdered his mother years ago, only to find his sister did it. 👎
📚 S. R. Crockett (1908) Deep Moat Grange – The story follows a young man named Elsie Benson who becomes embroiled in the dark secrets of a decaying estate called Deep Moat Grange. The plot centers on a series of mysterious disappearances and the sinister influence of a local family.
📚 A Study in Scarlet (1887), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson debut in this 1887 mystery, where a murder marked by the word RACHE leads Holmes through brilliant clues, hidden motives, and a backstory of revenge that reveals the killer’s tragic Mormon path. 👍
📚 The Valley of Fear (1914-15), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – A classic Sherlock Holmes novel, The Valley of Fear blends a locked-room murder at Birlstone with a dark American backstory of espionage, secret societies, and revenge. Holmes unravels both threads to expose how past crimes return to haunt the present. 👍
📚 The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson uncover a deadly scheme behind a family curse on the Devon moors, where fear, greed, and a terrifying hound mask a human villain’s greed. 👍
📚 The Sign of the Four (1890), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson unravel a dark case of treasure, betrayal, and murder linked to India, a secret pact, and the mysterious phrase “the sign of four,” while Mary Morstan’s fate hangs in the balance. 👍
📗 Robert Bly (1990) Iron John; A Book About Men – reimagines a Grimm fairy tale to explore how men move from boyhood into mature adulthood. Bly argues that modern culture has weakened male initiation, leaving many men emotionally unformed, overly compliant, or disconnected from strength, tenderness, and responsibility. Using myth, poetry, and Jungian ideas, he calls for a more integrated masculinity that honors both vulnerability and discipline. 👎 a timid poet who never took part in organized sports when Young is probably not the best person to take advice on about being a man. Aside from this this book is just one endless sentence of shit after another.
📗 Henry Kissenger (1994) Diplomacy – a sweeping analysis of international relations shaped by power, statecraft, and historical context. He examines how figures like Metternich, Bismarck, Roosevelt, and Churchill used diplomacy to balance national interests with global stability, contrasting European realpolitik with the more idealistic American foreign policy tradition. Kissinger argues that enduring peace depends less on moral aspiration and more on pragmatic negotiation, strategic restraint, and a nuanced understanding of history. Blending scholarship with firsthand insight, he portrays diplomacy as the continual art of managing conflict and preserving order in an ever-evolving international system.
📕 Lewis Carol (1942) The Screwtape Letters – A tedious and self-important, more preachy than profound. The concept of demons exchanging letters about corrupting humans sounds clever at first, but the execution feels heavy-handed and moralistic. The book often sacrifices story and character for sermonizing, with Lewis using the format to lecture rather than entertain. Its dated tone and smug moral stance make it feel less like a satire and more like a sanctimonious essay disguised as fiction. For readers looking for genuine wit or insight into human nature, it can be a frustrating and overrated experience. 👎
📕 Charles Belfoure (2015) House of Thieves: A Novel – A gripping historical thriller set in Gilded Age New York, blending high society elegance with criminal intrigue. The story follows architect John Cross, a man of integrity forced into the underworld of burglary to save his son from ruthless gangsters. As Cross uses his architectural expertise to plan heists, he becomes entangled in a dangerous moral conflict between duty and corruption. Belfoure vividly portrays the opulence and decay of the era, exploring how desperation can dismantle principles. The novel’s fast-paced tension and sharp social observations make it both atmospheric and deeply compelling.
📕 Charlie Lovett (2014) First Impressions – intertwines romance, mystery, and literary history through a captivating dual narrative. The story follows Sophie Collingwood, a modern-day bibliophile who becomes entangled in a search for an elusive book that may reveal secrets about Jane Austen’s life and the true origins of Pride and Prejudice. Alternating between Sophie’s quest and Austen’s own struggles as a writer in the eighteenth century, Lovett explores themes of love, authorship, and the timeless power of storytelling. Blending fact and fiction, the novel celebrates the enduring magic of books and the connections they inspire across generations. 👎
📺 Slow Horses (2022) 5 seasons / 30 episodes – British espionage series blending sharp wit with tense intelligence drama. Centering on a group of disgraced MI5 agents relegated to a dingy department called Slough House, the show focuses on their acerbic leader Jackson Lamb, whose brilliance contrasts with his unkempt, cynical demeanor. As these misfits navigate bureaucratic failures and dangerous missions, the series skillfully balances dark humor with suspenseful, emotionally grounded storytelling. It exposes the imperfect humanity behind spy work, portraying flawed characters who find redemption, purpose, and unexpected heroism within the bleak corners of Britain’s intelligence world. ❗ Incredibly annoying theme song.
🎦 From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) – blends crime thriller and horror with a darkly comic twist. Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, it follows two criminal brothers, Seth and Richie Gecko, who take a family hostage while fleeing to Mexico, only to stumble upon a seedy bar infested with vampires. The film’s abrupt tonal shift midway transforms a tense, gritty escape story into a chaotic blood-soaked battle for survival. Featuring George Clooney, Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, and Salma Hayek, its mix of sharp dialogue, shocking visuals, and pulpy energy turned it into a cult classic of 90s cinema. 👎