Book tip

Life or Death

Michael Robotham

So many books, so little time — during which even more books get written. Anyway, go back to 2016 and this gem by Robotham. The question: why would a man in prison break out of prison — the night before he's going to be paroled? It's a long story, but not long enough. I never wanted this saga of Audie Palmer, imprisoned for his part in a robbery that ended up with multiple dead, to finish, and I was scared as hell what would happen to any of a number of characters I'd come to love or fear. Masterful stuff, beautifully nuanced and plotted. The problem? Robotham has several more thrillers. I'm damned glad to learn about him and his mastery, but there's that time thing ...

— Rick Koster

Event tip

Goodspeed on the River concerts

East Haddam

Before the cold weather arrives, get out and enjoy one of these outdoor concerts on the Goodspeed Opera House lawn. It's a lovely site right on the Connecticut River, of course, but even better in these coronavirus times is that you can watch first-class musicians perform live and in person (imagine that!). The Playbillies starred in the first round of concerts, and now David Lutken and The Seat of the Pants Band are taking to the stage through Sept. 27. Lutken portrayed Will Rogers in Goodspeed's "The Will Rogers Follies." Showtimes are 5:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Tickets are $25, and the show runs about an hour and a quarter, with no intermission. There are COVID safety precautions in place, including keeping groups of concertgoers who buy tickets together in designated seating areas, with those areas all 15 feet apart. Call (860) 873-8668 for tickets.

— Kristina Dorsey

Streaming tip

Palm Springs

Hulu

Do the folks who wrote "Groundhog Day" get residuals for all the subsequent films that borrow heavily from the premise? Here we go again with "Palm Springs," in which Andy Samberg plays Nyles, a nihilistic, beer-swilling and reluctant wedding guest who stumbles into a time loop and has to repeat the day of the ceremony over and over again — albeit at a posh resort in the titular locale. There are at least two others in the same situation: A guest portrayed wonderfully by J.K. Simmons who blames Nyles for their predicament, and also Cristin Milioti as Sarah, the older sister of the bride who shares Nyles' penchant for drink and cynicism. Naturally, she and Nyles start out annoying each other but, with plenty of time on their hands and a gathering of maddening wedding guests to loathe, they eventually fall in love and start to try to figure out how to short-circuit the physics of their situation. Samberg and Milioti share chops and chemistry, with excellent material from screenwriter Andy Siara and fine guidance from first-time director Max Barbakow. Take "Groundhog Day" and multiply by string theory and Hunter Thompson and you get a terrific, very funny and clevery fresh take on the formula.

— Rick Koster