DARKEST HOUR a fine fine film starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill

In 1940, Hitler and the Nazi war machine were rolling  througb Belgium, Norway and France. The German machine looked unstoppable. The entire British army was trapped in France, falling back to the channel beaches near Calais and around Dunkirk. Much of the British government wanted to sue for peace via Mussolini in Italy. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, was named Prime Minister with heavy opposition by Chamberlain and Attlee. Churchill had initiated a disaster at Gallipoli in WWI and still carried the stigma. The  movie is the very real moves by Churchill and his few supporters to rally the nation to fight the scourge of Nazi Germany. Since World History is rarely if ever taught in high school. EVERYBOdY should see this excellent film.

THE FLOWER GIRL MURDER BREEZY, FAST-PACED CONTINENT-HOPPING

The Flower Girl Murder

By Keith Hirshland

ISBN: 0692046682

A 2018 release from Amazon

Daisy Burns was a likable, devoted wife and mother who spent her spare time volunteering at school events. Everyone loved Daisy. Really? So why did someone shoot her and then dump her body behind a Planned Parenthood chapter in North Carolina? It actually doesn’t matter much, except as it relates to the title of this wide-ranging detective story.

By turns engaging, witty, tongue-in-cheek and clever, Hirshland’s story bounces around some of the more visually interesting parts of the North American continent. The story has a pretty hairy beginning—no, not what you might expect.

Lancaster Heart is a big-time TV star in a small East Coast community. He pretty much has it all, including a sexy willing and bright girlfriend, plus the genes for a really nice head of hair. But his heart is in Reno, where his dad owned a good television station and he wants to return.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast, principally in Nevada, is tuning up, cleaning their weapons and looking for somebody to shoot.

The novel jumps the continent and lands Lancaster and his girlfriend Brodie in the middle of a murder investigation. Meanwhile readers are treated to some occasionally overlong character and place development, but in general the story sails along at a good pace, seasoned with clever and relevant dialogue. There are a few plot lines that seem to wander off into the desert, but most of the story is wound up in a very enjoyable and satisfactory way. This reviewer will look for other stories by this author.