Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

New in Town by John Mulaney:
We listened to this story-driven stand-up session on the road trip to Blacksburg a couple weeks back. His delivery is on point, which makes some of the stories funnier than they should be. The album was worth a listen, but not quite as good as The Top Part.

Final Grade: B

Law & Disorder by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker:
Most of John Douglas' recent true crime books have been pretty forgettable. This one breaks the pattern by being an examination of the flaws of death penalty implementation backed by crime stories, which gives the narrative some overarching direction. A few new cases, such as the West Memphis Three and the Amanda Knox case, are covered in depth -- this helps reduce the feeling of stale fixation caused by citing JonBenet Ramsey in every new book.

Final Grade: B

Luther, Season Three:
The final (4 episode) season of Luther is great, and proves that you don't need 22 episodes to build to an amazing conclusion. The final case exhibits shades of Black Mirror and the characters all get appropriate wrap-ups.

Final Grade: A-

The Sun Never Sets by The Herd:
This is a fun album of Australian hip-hop, notable for its old-school 74 minute running length. The songs are varied in style and clever in lyrics, and generally fun to listen to.

Final Grade: B+