An accidental re-read, but an enjoyable one.  As I started reading it, I remembered my frustration the first time around with the slow, purposefully vague start, but once into it, I enjoyed the banter and the mystery again - and had no recollection as to whodunnit.

Night Shoot is a wild slasher flick in novel form and it is a ton of fun with plenty of dreadful characters who couldn’t die fast enough!

Elspeth is our main character. In order to receive her degree in film & photography she has to complete a project with a group of mostly idiot jerk-offs. The lead jerk in charge decides his family’s ancient and crumbling ancestral home called “Crawford Manor”, surrounded by woods and sea, would be the perfect setting to film their horror flick. And he’s not wrong. I think I might like to move in there after reading the description. But there’s a catch. The whole thing must be done in a day and they MUST be gone by nightfall. Absolutely no exceptions or excuses. If not, well, they’ll see.

Naturally, as these are slasher movie characters and the people aren’t that bright, things go awry and the group decides to come back and film at night and that’s when the fun filled bloodfest begins!

I love horror films, good or bad it does not matter, almost as much as I love books and reading this novel was the very best of both worlds. The story sets up its dark and ominous atmosphere very well, creates a cast of killable characters and tosses in a huge handful of madness. It was a really fun book that moved fast and was relentless and creative and disgusting when the killing began. The characters make dumb horror mistakes and you’ll want to scream at all of them and that’s why I love things like this. They make me feel smart and smug and superior. As if I wouldn’t do the same thing in their shoes, lol.

The end is either going to work for you or not, I think. It made me cringe so hard in revulsion at one particular reveal and really got under my skin. It leaves you hanging a bit so be prepared for that. Despite not KNOWING EVERYTHING (and I’m one of those annoying people who needs to know everything), I still enjoyed this book so very much. It’s wacky and a little pervy, totally gruesome and definitely worth reading if you like this type of thing. If they ever film this madness, I will be the first in line. 4 1/2 stars

Bonus recommendation: I think a viewing of the film Castle Freak starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton would go nicely with this book! Treat yourself to both of them.

4 1/2 Stars

Conferences are good for any company since they function as a way to show off new merchandise, promote upcoming business happenings, and even present new associates or managers. In short, this sort of event will affect your entire standing to the public, and it's necessary that they're properly covered. Simply by working with a conference photographer, you won't encounter any problem with this.

Through the assistance of an expert photographer, you can guarantee that your entire conference is meticulously recorded, from the speakers and their speeches to the response of the crowd. Their photographs won't only become official files of the company, but they can also be utilised when crafting promotional materials.

In order to guarantee that you'll receive the most wonderful pictures from such experts, don't forget to carry out these three crucial things:

1. Inform the photographer about the program

Ahead of the conference itself, consult with your conference photographer the program that you will comply with. Be sure that they know the actual time the gathering will begin so they can be at the venue as early as possible, enabling them to prepare without rushing. This can also lessen the times you have to direct the photographer about what's going to occur next as you already briefed them. They must also be advised of how long each speaker is going to be on stage so they can figure out how many photographs they can get for everybody. In addition to that, tell the photographer when photo opportunities will be performed so they can get ready and discover the ideal spot to capture the images.

2. Inform the photographer regarding your guests

After that, explain to the photographer which people you've invited to the event, from the presenters down to the audience. Advise them which people will be presenting at the event and which ones must they capture the most images, especially the VIPs. Above all, make sure that your photographer has an idea of the number of people who'll be present at the gathering. Whether you're hosting just a few people or lots of them, the photographer should know it so they can blend in with them and move all over the venue without becoming an interruption.

3. Let your photographer get the hang of the place

Lastly, you should let the photographer to be accustomed to the location days prior to the conference. As a result, they can observe a couple of things which will affect their pictures, like the seat plan, the lights, the stage's backdrop, as well as size of the stage. Additionally, advise them about the things that will be used by the speakers throughout the gathering so photographers can also take note of them, including lecterns, sofas, or projector screens. This will allow them to tailor their methods based on your venue and know which equipment to bring to the event.

Hiring a conference photographer will surely make the documentation of your event much simpler. However, you should collaborate with these individuals properly if you want to obtain the images you love. Therefore, meet with your photographer beforehand and discuss all of these crucial things to them at once.

I was worried that I wouldn't like this book because of my disastrous encounter with Venetia, one of Heyer's regency romances, but this was pretty good. 

Mr. Frank Amberley, a barrister visiting his relatives in the country, comes across a man shot dead in a parked car with a woman standing alongside whilst trying to following his cousin's poor directions for a short cut. He reports the murder but doesn't mention the woman because he strongly believes she didn't do it and doesn't trust the local constabulary not to try to pin it on her by mistake, apparently. You could easily accuse him of arrogance, I suppose, but he does seem to be a clever man.

This kicks off an amateur investigation where Amberley liaises with the police without telling them everything. I didn't guess the solution to the mystery although I had an inkling about part of it. I enjoyed the dialogue the most, I think. There was a lot of clever talking or whatever you want to call it, where characters don't exactly say what they mean but you follow along anyway, or characters mock each other without the author having to come out and say it. Or maybe others wouldn't say it was like that at all but I had fun with it regardless.

The last summing up chapter could have been a teensy bit shorter, but overall it was fun.

I read this for the "Terrifying Women" square for the Halloween Bingo but it could work equally well for "Murder Most Foul" and "Amateur Sleuth". It may work for "Country House Mystery" as well, although the number of suspects isn't quite as limited as some country house settings although you are still limited by being in the country.

Previous update:

52%

When Fountain came in apologising for keeping his visitor waiting, he was turning over the pages of a dusty volume culled from the obscurity of a top shelf and said absently: ‘Not at all, not at all. I have been looking over your books. My dear sir, are you aware that they are all arranged according to size?’

This book has a kind of wry humour that amuses me. And we now have multiple amateur detectives acting at cross purposes.