Blog Archives - JARED R. LOPATIN

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (Film)

8/29/2025

I was so excited for adaptation of Richard Osman's book THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB. I had just finished the third book in the series so there were a few muddlings in my brain regarding the first book but I still recalled the general plot. I knew it would be a good adaptation and was it ever! There were a few changes (minor) so the ending left me feeling a little confused for a moment - only because I was trying to remember if certain events had transpired in the book or not. For the most part, this is one of the more faithful adaptations I have ever seen. I wonder if that's because Osman works in film and television as well. It was a great movie with a phenomenal cast. I mean, Helen Mirren as Elizabeth, with Celia Imrie as Joyce, Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim, and Pierce Brosnan as Ron. Just genius casting. Then you throw in Tom Ellis, David Tenant, Richard E. Grant, and Ingrid Oliver (those were the people recognizable to me). The actors who were new to me were wonderful as well. I love seeing good writing come to life and the main quartet...I mean, you couldn't really go wrong with those four, could you? It was remarked that this was a continuation of the movie RED and I have to admit - there's probably world where those two stories intersect (Helen Mirren, after all). Obviously, some storylines from the book were not included to their fullest but that's part of editing, I suppose. It was a delight from start to finish. I recommend reading the book first, of course, but definitely check out the film if you love a murder mystery with a dash of charm, caper, and humor to it.

WE COULD BE RATS by Emily Austin (Audiobook)

8/29/2025

Read by Candace Thaxton

I'm just going to say it: Austin is brilliant. This is her third book (strangely, I ended up reading them in order, not that they're connected in any way save for the brilliance), and there's something about her writing that I connect with so deeply. This novel focuses on Sigrid and Margit (sisters) who are dealing with their lives in different ways. The rambling, stream-of-consciousness way that Austin writes is powerful and quirky and humorous and nostalgic and...and...and. I could go on with adjectives to describe it but at the same time, she's crafting a story that keeps you wanting more. These characters are fully fleshed and handling real topics - serious topics - with such awkward finesse that you can't help but love them. I am really looking forward to Austin's next book. There are so many quotes from this book that I loved; I'll only post a few.

5/5

Quotes:

"Dad's not much of a texter. I've witnessed him attempt to type on his phone and it's like watching a hooved animal try to play a string instrument."
"[...] and the intense allegiance I felt to other children. I remember seeing adults as the other. As a group I wasn't a part of. I thought I had waited as long as I could to jump ship from the kids' boat to the grownups'. I thought of the kids who jumped early as turncoats. I thought they were traitors who abandoned their Barbies for makeup and jeans. I knew we all had to jump ship at one point but I wanted to wait until the last possible moment."
"I would prefer to be told to never lie rather than to be told I should lie sometimes."
"I always had a big imagination but you can't have a big imagination when you grow up unless you're using it to design video games or write fantasy novels or something."
"There is this magnetism between queer kids. It's a weird phenomenon. We find each other even before we realize we're queer."
"I decided that, deep down, we're all who we were when we were kids. I think being a teenager is about hiding all of your quirks and contorting yourself to fit in and impress people. And being an adult is about refinding who you were when you were eight years old."
"I wanted to the streets to be built to accommodate unicorns."

ERIC by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

8/24/2025

#9 - Discworld

This is a shorter book but a delightful one. We're back to Rincewind and Death (two of my faves). Plus, I love a bit of reimagination when it comes to cosmology and the afterlife. I also love that at the top of every page of this novel, the word FAUST is crossed out and ERIC is written in its place. It's just playfully delightful as Pratchett tends to be. I have a feeling this is going to be expanded upon in later novels and I'm eager to see how it relates to the greater Discworld...well, world. To place so much in the hands of two incompetents with someone else really pulling the strings, it's probably inadvertent in its metaphorical relatability, though I'm unsure that anything Pratchett does is inadvertent.

5/5

Quotes:

"Rincewind glanced sidelong at the parrot, who had been unnaturally silent for some time and was now cowering up against his ear like an elderly spinster in a strip club." (45)
"'Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind.'" (115)

THE BULLET THAT MISSED by Richard Osman (Audiobook)

8/23/2025

Read by Fiona Shaw.
#3 - The Thursday Murder Club

I love this series. It's charming and funny and twisty. Though not suspenseful, it certainly has me eager for the next page. Osman mentions that he likes to write full chapters in one go which is why he keeps them short. I also appreciate how each adventure leads to the next, which is his goal, instead of a Murder, She Wrote situation. Not that there's anything wrong with Murder, She Wrote; just a little suspicious that she always happens to be in the location where a murder occurs. I hear they're rebooting it with Jamie Lee Curtis. Should be interesting, but I'm getting off-track. This third in the series is wonderful and just deepens the relationships between the characters. I love this quartet and the lunatic fringe they encounter. I did work out at least part of this story before the end but certainly not to the extent Osman reveals. I'm excited to see how they do the series on Netflix, though we all know screen adaptations are never as good as the book.

5/5

Quote:

"I just think that you can be very talented and have lovely hair. Perhaps I'm shallow but both of these things are important to me. Claudia Winkleman is a good example."

THREE SHATTERED SOULS by Mai Corland (Audiobook)

8/19/2025

Read by Jaine Ye, Greg Chun, Sophie Oda, Roger Yeh, and Zion Jang.
#3 - Broken Blades

I didn't know this was the last of the series. I would have sworn Corland was going to write a quintet. Still, it was a nice return to the realms and these characters. I think the fact that it was wrapping up moved the story faster than I was expecting it to. I was also pleased by Corland's ability to interweave deeply personal moments from the characters with the political adventures. None of it felt like fluff or filler. I would welcome another set of stories in the realm and Corland has said she may revisit with other characters. I am sad that we won't get more from these characters, but Corland ended it in a satisfying way.

Quote:

"Miracles and whores: that's what we exist in now."

4.5/5

GUARDS! GUARDS! by Terry Pratchett (Paperwork)

8/17/2025

#8 - Discworld

I had fun with this. It didn't go anywhere I thought it was going to, but that's pretty common with Pratchett, I've come to find. I see that this is the first in the City Watch series and I am quite curious to see how it all plays out, especially for Vimes and Carrot. Plus, love Lady Ramkin and I'm hoping for more of her. I'm hoping (but not expecting) for a return of the dragons, or at least some dragons. The more the Patrician features, the more I'm intrigued. I don't think this is my favorite line of story arcs (Death definitely holds first place with Witches in the second) but this might be taking third.

4.75/5

ONE PERFECT COUPLE by Ruth Ware (Audiobook)

8/12/2025

Read by Imogen Church.

I liked It. I didn't love it. I think I went into it with different expectations considering it was compared to Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. Yes, there is an island and, yes, people are being picked off, but it doesn't have the same big bad energy of someone with specific machinations pulling the strings. Lyla is a fine vehicle for the story to be told but I never really felt connected to her beyond that. Ware has a good premise. I would have liked to have seen more from behind the scenes; I don't know that it would have been possible without giving the game away but the ending felt like a bit of an info dump and there was no way the reader could have predicted it. All in all, though, it was a relatively easy read and kept me entertained.

4/5

I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Audiobook)

8/8/2025

Read by Yu-Li Alice Shen, Eunice Wong, Leiana Bertrand, and Saskia Maarleveld

This is, arguably, the darkest of the Sutanto novels that I've read thus far. It is suspenseful and twisted and I devoured it. Jane, the protagonist, is not the innocent heroine that appear in other Sutanto books. She has a dark side, though she is far from the worst of characters that appear in this book. I love the psychological element of this novel and the way Sutanto keeps you wondering what will happen next while still giving just enough information that you (think you) have an inkling of what's going on. It's very well put together and the ending...well, I suppose it was fitting.

Quote:

"This is what most people don't realize; self-hatred is indulgent. I know how contradictory it sounds, but trust me. Hating yourself is not the opposite of narcissism. In fact, it's just another facet of it because, at the end of the day, the attention is still placed on you."

5/5

THE NEW GIRL by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Audiobook)

8/7/2025

Read by Eunice Wong

Definitely a Sutanto fan. This was weird to read right after the THEO TAN series but it harkens back to the AUNTIES series, except with less humor. Sutanto creates an environment that, frankly, reminds me of Caroline B. Cooney's LOSING CHRISTINA series. (I should reread that.) A world where gaslighting is the norm as everyone tries to hold onto what power they have. Sutanto adds the element of social media in the form of a school app where people can post "anonymously." Her talent for building up a protagonist who seems to stumble into murder situations is brilliant (both the AUNTIES series and this novel have it). Lia is, of course, the likable heroine who ends up on the wrong side of things. You can't help but root for her. Lots of fun twists and turns and I was along for the ride.

5/5

THEO TAN AND THE IRON FAN by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Audiobook)

8/6/2025

Read by Kimberley Wong and Caleb Yen.
#2 - Theo Tan

I had fun with this one. It has a little bit of a Rick Riordan feel to it. It definitely feels like an ending though - I think this is just a duology. Theo and Kai on another adventure, this time in Diyu, meeting kings and demons and other spirits was just what the doctor ordered. Sutanto really fleshes out these characters and the ending is (without spoiling anything) apropos for this story. The audiobook is well done with alternating voices to signify Theo chapters and Kai chapters and the writing is such that you're left wanting more from each chapter. It's also a learning experience for me. I consider myself a Sutanto fan.

4.75/5