Aside from reading (preferably at the beach), one of my favorite pastimes is watching movies or TV with my husband. We enjoy analyzing plots and talking about what we do or don’t like, what surprised us, or how we might have handled a scene differently. It seems the better ones are most often based on novels, usually with strong, well-developed characters, emotional punch, interesting settings, and/or hard-to-guess plot twists. This is my list of stories I think are strong in those characteristics and would make great movies or TV shows/series.
This book ticks all my must-haves in a great movie: a compelling story, characters, and setting. Shortly after losing her husband to a debilitating illness, Emma Dance unexpectedly inherits her great-aunt’s beach house where she’d spent happy childhood days. Located at the North Carolina coast, it’s a perfect place to try to hide from the grief and emotional drain of the past few years. Despite her desire to lock herself away from the world, Emma slowly emerges and makes friends, possibly even a new romance. Eventually she finds joy once more in everyday life. While delivering an emotionally satisfying story, the author perfectly captures life at the beach—from the breath-stealing beauty of sunrise and sunset, to the force of a storm’s wind shrieking through the seaside house.
Visit Emerald Isle, NC again in this single title story about Emma, a woman who spent much of her early life at the beach but then fate took her elsewhere. Now she has a chance to go back and reclaim the happiness she remembers...but is that possible?
Emma Deveraux married Gregory Dance soon after college and now, thirteen years later, she is a widow and about to be homeless. Her husband’s long illness has left her broken financially and emotionally devastated. Over the angry objections of her stepson, Macon, she sold the family home to pay the debts and now,…
This story is a good mystery, but more importantly, it makes me laugh (in a good way). I think it would be a great date-night movie. Brand-new private investigator Alex O’Hara inherits her father’s PI agency and (oh, joy!) snags her first paying client. Thus begins the fun. With sharp writing, a crafty plot, a light romance, and fun and relatable characters (including a heroine who is a bit of a klutz—a woman after my own heart), the author leads the reader on a fun and engaging search for a missing man.
Alex O’Hara finally gets a case that will give her bottom line a much needed boost. She might even be able to change her diet from ramen noodles to prime rib. All she has to do is track down a man who’s been missing for over ten years. Piece of cake . . . until an old flame arrives and a mugger roughs her up with orders to back off.
One thing I look for in my “screen” entertainment is a fascinating location. This story takes place in Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe. I’ve never been to either, but both are described so well in this book, I feel like I might have visited at some point. The story follows Raine Endicott, Levi Hill, and several other members of their former college hiking club through a 60-mile, four-day trek through the national park. When one of the members is found dead, the danger for our couple starts. While suspensefully leading the reader through the murder investigation, the author weaves in details of outdoor life—like coming upon bears on the trail—and paints a vivid picture of the beauty and majesty of the settings.
If the Yosemite backpacking trip doesn’t kill them . . . someone they trust just might.
Reuniting members of their college hiking club, Leave No Trace, in Yosemite National Park to raise money for a wildlife charity seems like a terrific idea to Raine Endicott. She needs time away from her dead-end job in San Francisco to reassess her future, escape from the city, and enjoy nature’s splendor. Connecting with old friends is a bonus . . . especially Levi Hill, the man she turned down all those years ago. A decision she lived to regret.
This story is filled with quirky characters, a beautiful backdrop, suspense, and sweet romance, perfect for a romantic comedy. Escaping an abusive fiancé, Laurel McDowell flees with her feisty feline Rufus and her few belongings to her family home in California’s Big Sur. Trouble quickly follows. Soon, she is embroiled in a money laundering conspiracy and finds herself in the cross-hairs of the Russian Mafia. Luckily, FBI forensic accountant Jake Carlson is on the case. This author has a gift for humor, and I found myself chuckling as I read. The supporting characters—Laurel’s restaurateur mother, her two artist sisters, and a high school friend—are likable to the point I wish I could take a cross-country drive to visit.
Desperate to escape her abusive fiancé, sculptor Laurel McDowell pawns her engagement ring, loads everything she owns into her VW Beetle, and heads for the sanctuary of her family home in Big Sur.
After her ex’s body washes up on Carmel beach, she finds herself dragged into a scheme involving money-laundering Russians, a pair of bikers named Snowflake and Twitchy, and a hot FBI number-cruncher who’s more comfortable in a T-shirt and shorts than a suit.
Every once in a while, I like a good, scary movie (as long as there’s a limit on the gore). Little Darlings is one of a collection of short stories featuring a murder taking place on Friday the 13th. I made the dubious decision to start reading it one night before bed. Immediately, I was sucked into the story of three friends on a weekend getaway who find themselves terrorized by four black-eyed children who come knocking. The author did a fantastic job of creeping me out to the point where I was listening for the story’s “little darlings” long after turning out my light. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well that night. I see this as an episode in a Twilight Zone-type series.
A Friday the 13th Short Story: 13 authors ~ 13 suspenseful stories. Murder and mayhem on Friday the 13th...
Mollie Burrows and her friends, Caroline and Beth, rent a cabin in Colorado for a therapeutic getaway. Beth is despondent after a recent miscarriage and Mollie hopes the trip will alleviate Beth’s depression. The owner of the general store in town warns them about the Black-Eyed Kids—supernatural entities who pose as children and terrorize anyone who allows them into their homes—but Mollie scoffs at the ridiculous notion.
Not long after they get settled, four children knock on their door—and their eyes…
Called to the deepest, darkest basement at FBI Headquarters to investigate the murder of former agent recruit Adrienne Garza, FBI Agent Jackson Yates is forced to look beyond the earthly to the spirit world for answers. Shaken by what he finds, he turns to psychologist Rachael Sullivan for help. When she receives messages from beyond the grave, messages that seem to point to the identity of Adrienne’s killer, she is compelled to follow the trail into danger. Drawn together by forces beyond their control, Jack and Rachael seek the killer and encounter Adrienne’s Ghost.
He’s riddled with guilt. She’s annoyed with the status quo.
The death of a crime boss’s daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl’s murder. Tess Fleishman’s pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him.
He's riddled with guilt. She's annoyed with the status quo. The death of a crime boss's daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl's murder. Tess Fleishman's pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him. As Neil delves into the heart of the town's secrets, will truth deliver solace? Or will Tess prevail?
