Prologue to Murder - the second Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery

As the year comes to a close, I can't think of a better way of ending it than reading a murder mystery being solved by a woman who owns a bookstore.  Two things I love - mysteries and bookstores - combined in one story makes for great reading, and a strong, likable protagonist certainly doesn't hurt!  And Addie Greybourne is just that - a strong-willed, determined woman who doesn't let anything, or anyone, get in her way of solving a mystery.  And it doesn't matter that she's surrounded by townspeople who don't particularly care for her, but when she becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, well, it doesn't make things easy for her.

Prologue to Murder finds Addie trying to get her bookstore going strong after the events of the last book. She helped Police Chief Marc Chandler solve a murder, and so one would think she would be on stable ground. But, no, because the local librarian has gone missing and the gossip columnist for the local newspaper points the finger right at Addie! Marc doesn't believe she had anything to do with it, nor does her best friend (and Marc's sister) Serena. Of course, when the librarian turns up dead, and Marc's ex-fiance Lacey shows up in town, it's certain that Addie is going to find herself in the middle of things once again.

Author Lauren Elliott provides plenty of twists and turns in her second "Beyond the Page Bookstore" mystery. A librarian's death appears to be an accident - she seems to have fallen down a ladder. But forensics shows a blow to the head may be the real cause of death, so the question Addie must answer is - who wanted June Winslow dead, and why? The local gossip columnist, known only as Miss Newsy, appears to be gunning for Addie - and she's not the only one! Marc's ex, Lacey, has blown into town, and she has set her sights on rekindling that old romance; but to do so, she will have to get Addie out of the picture. To Addie's dismay, not only does it look like Marc is falling for the conniving pariah's tricks, but so is Serena, who has suddenly let Lacey become a partner in her tea shop! Lacey has everyone wrapped around her little finger, leaving Addie to try and figure out who killed June Winslow on her own.

Well, not quite on her own...

A very handsome doctor by the name of Simon Emerson has entered the picture. After a slight mishap (in which Addie and Marc are finally acknowledging their feelings for each other and she slips and says "David"), Addie and Marc aren't speaking. So, who could blame her for going out with a handsome doctor? Especially when he seems to have no problem with her investigating a murder - in fact, he actually helps her! But as attractive as he may be, deep down, Addie still has feelings for Marc. So, now not only does she have to solve a murder and clear her name, but she has to figure out exactly who she really loves before she ends up losing both men in her life!

Oh yeah, on top of all of this, Addie has been invited to host the ladies' local book club at her bookstore.  As if she didn't already have her hands full.

It was rather fun to follow along with Addie as she weeds through the numerous possibilities of who wanted June dead, why did they want her dead, and exactly how did they kill her. With all of the distractions, it certainly was not easy to figure out, but then again, in real life, is anything clear cut and without distraction?  Never!  Plus, with a possible buried pirate treasure, this book has all the makings of a great mystery!

One last thing that I just have to mention - the world's most popular female detective, Nancy Drew, gets a mention in this book. On page 149, when asking the good Dr. Emerson for help, he comments about her detective skills by saying, "Good work, Nancy Drew." And don't think that I missed the Emerson reference, either (Nancy Drew fans will easily recognize that as the name of the college where Nancy's boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, was a student). No mystery book with a female lead is complete without at least one Nancy Drew reference!

RATING:  10 original manuscripts out of 10 for keeping me guessing up until pretty much near the end as to the identity of the killer!

The Backstagers and the Theater of the Ancients (Backstagers Book Two)

Actor and writer Andy Mientus returns to the world of the Backstagers with this second novel in his series based on the BOOM! Studios comic book. Now, I'm going to be up front and honest - as I started to read this book, even though I read the first one and remember pretty much the plot of that story, I did have a difficult time remembering each of the characters. Because I don't read the comic book, so am not overly familiar with the Backstagers, I had to refer back to the cover with the introduction of each character in the story, so that I could get a visual image of the characters as they appeared in the book.  Once I had them in my mind, though, the story flowed pretty easily.

The Backstagers and the Theater of the Ancients once again finds the backstage crew at St. Genesius Prep up to their necks in trouble and adventure. Having resolved the mystery of the ghost light, it now safely tucked in the great auditorium down the halls behind the "Unsafe Door," the crew is ready to get to work on the next play, Tammy - a rock opera about a young deaf girl! But what at first everyone thinks will be an easy show - after all, these kinds have become experts in their respective backstage positions - becomes a near tragedy, because everything is thrown into chaos when everyone has to assume new roles!  Beckett suddenly finds himself in the director's chair when Blake throws a temper tantrum and storms out! Sasha unexpectedly finds himself on his own in the lighting booth, having to figure everything out for himself. Aziz is forced to create and build the entire set by himself, while Reo must handle not only the props, but costumes as well!  Hunter has his hands full with stage managing, and Jory? Well, Jory has suddenly become obsessed with social media - so much so, that he his work as costume designer has been passed on to Reo, and the magical Designer's Notebook has been laid to the side, unused. But not unwanted....

An unexpected invitation to Greece has Jory quitting the backstagers and flying off on his own to what he thinks will be a fantastic opportunity. He takes the Designer's Notebook along (just in case he gets inspired to do some designs for the show, despite his having quit the show), unaware that he is walking into a trap.  Someone wants the Notebook, someone who's intentions are not exactly benevolent in nature. And back at St. Genesius, Tammy is not coming together at all.  Even the idea of having two actresses handle the leading role - one deaf and one hearing - does not seem to be enough to save the show. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and Beckett is beginning to realize that this may be the first show at St. Genesius to never actually make it to the stage.

Mientus provides another look at the chaos that is the backstage life of the theater. He hits the nail on the head with a lot of the conflict that occurs, the mishaps, and the many, many, MANY trials and errors when it comes to costuming, lighting, and props, as well as blocking and set-building. While the finished project may come across so seamlessly, anyone who has ever worked in theater can attest to the fact that what these backstagers go through in their production of Tammy is pretty much an every day thing for actors, directors, stage managers, and every other backstager. With my own experience in the community theaters here locally, it makes the reading of this series all the more enjoyable.

However, all that being said, the one thing about this book that TRULY made me smile and captured my interest even more than the theater aspect is the use of Adrienne, a young deaf girl who takes on the lead role in the production of Tammy! Mientus captures so many nuances about deaf culture and how people view deaf people and the accommodations that can be made to utilize a deaf actress to actually play a deaf character on stage - there is no way I can imagine Mientus not having had some experience with deaf people in his own life.  Adrienne is portrayed very realistically, and the use of sign language throughout the book (with artist Rian Sygh providing some great visuals of the signs themselves!). Kudos to Mientus for remembering that this idea of "all-inclusiveness" should also include deaf people!

The gang, of course, rescues Jory and save the day (in quite a wild and fun way), and the overarching story becomes a bit more clear, as the kids now have three of the magical theater artifacts that a certain unknown someone is trying to get ... and if that cliffhanger at the end is any indication, the backstagers may end up having to fight someone they thought they could trust over those artifacts in upcoming books!

RATING:  9 God mics out of 10 for creating a story with a wide variety of characters who are there for one another through thick and thin and can solve a mystery amidst all the chaos that is theater!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Two

It was with great pleasure that I finally was able to read the second volume of Leonard Starr's Mary Perkins, On Stage collected newspaper strips.  I relished the first volume, with its young, shining star who lives a soap opera life in New York in the 1950s.  I am amazed, with each daily strip, how Starr was able to maintain fast-paced storytelling, all the while providing readers with unbelievable build-up, ongoing subplots, and drama, romance, and action that rival some of daily soap operas on television today!

Before I even get started about the stories in this volume, I have to talk about the art.  Leonard Starr has some of the most expressive faces I have ever seen in a comic panel.  Without his characters saying one word, it is easy to tell what they are thinking or feeling - whether it be sad, angry, surprised, scheming, or any other emotion - - Starr has the ability to draw his characters in such a way that the reader is drawn into those emotions.  I think it helps make the stories all the more real and captures the readers' attention even more.  There are no "stiff" or "cardboard cut-out" characters in his strip.  Each character, both major and minor, are all brought fully to life through the art.  And the backgrounds!  It is amazing just how detailed some of those backgrounds can be - from scenes of the city in the last panel of the very first strip to shrubbery and plants to the castle in the last story.  Amazing, utterly amazing!

Now, on the stories in this volume...

The first story is a little bit light-hearted, as Mary finds a new acting job - and she'll be the star! But only if the producers can get an old Vaudevillian who, unbeknownst to any of them, is down on his luck and determined to make this play his comeback - even if it costs Mary her reputation!  Of course, things start turning serious when a television host makes the moves on Mary in order to help advance her career - and when she spurns his advances, well ... you can pretty much guess what happens from there.  Moving right along, the next story gets off to a start with the sudden appearance of shy little Magnolia Peachtree Dade (what a name!), who is not necessarily everything she first appears to be - and before you know it, Mary is being followed, Magnolia is taking advantage of Mary's generosity, and a mysterious suitcase turns out to be an important clue as to a bank robber's ill-gotten gains!

As with any good continuing drama, one story leads into another, and the resolution of Magnolia's tale leads right into Mary's next adventure, where she tries her hand at some summer stock - and where she meets the self-absorbed Jed Potter.  But as anyone knows, an outside persona can hide something completely different inside, as Mary soon learns. But, tragically, this story does not have a happy ending by any means.  Which leads readers to the next story, in which Mary is tricked into becoming a Hollywood starlet - but is the cost too high?  Enter: the enigmatic Johnny Q - an alleged gangster who saves the day and worms his way right into Mary's heart!  (You didn't really think there would be a continuing drama like this without any romance, did you?)  Of course, this sets the stage for the final story and the unexpected return of ... Pete Fletcher! 

It's the final story that I truly liked the best - a mystery, a creepy old castle, a ghost, and a "phantom" type leading man that turns Mary into a sleuthing actress as she tries to figure out who is sabotaging the production in which she is currently starring.  Johnny Q, Pete Fletcher, and a whole slew of backstabbing, conniving, jealous, bitter, and downright vicious supporting characters keep the action going, the stories engaging, and the characters thriving.  I don't know if anyone can truly compare to Leonard Starr when it comes to daily-strip storytelling!

RATING:  10 special German watches out of 10 for so easily drawing me into the life of Mary Perkins and making me truly care about what happens next!

Boystown, Season Five

Previously in Boystown ... Jacqueline is about to give birth to her child prematurely - will it survive?  Logan has made the decision to take his own life - will he survive?  One young man falls over the balcony to crash to the cement below - will he survive? Two other young men are hit by a speeding car - will either survive?  And meanwhile, a group of unsuspecting members of the Mancini and Ciancio families are flying to California for the wedding of Gino and Justin, when the plane crashes - who will survive?

It's easy to see why anyone would rush to read Season Five of Boystown to find out how all of these cliffhangers are resolved!  Author Jake Biondi maintains his television-style storytelling, with each chapter an "episode," and the drama that builds and builds with each episode is beyond anything Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest, or any other nighttime soap could ever hope to compare!  The feud between the Mancini and Ciancio families continues to escalate and become more and more deadly as more and more secrets about both families are revealed.  And the drama extends well beyond the two families, as their friends get caught up with adultery, blackmail, and murder like there's no tomorrow.  Of course, based on those cliffhangers, for some of these characters, there is no tomorrow...

Biondi opens this season immediately following the events of season four.  (NOTE - going forward, there are spoilers, so if you don't want to know what happens, then I suggest going to read season five first, then come back for this review!)  Adam looks down at Dustin, who has just fallen down from the balcony above and lies silent on the concrete, blood forming around his body.  Cole looks down from above, shocked at what he sees!  Later, they arrive at the hospital, only to discover Jesse there - instead of going to California for the wedding, he got off the plane and rushed to Logan's house, only to discover that he overdosed in an attempt to kill himself.  Both Dustin and Logan are now fighting for their lives - but they aren't the only ones!  Jensen is being prepped for surgery after having been hit by the speeding car, and Keith is unable to reach Emmett by phone to let him know.  Hugo is looking for Rachel, but she is with Ben, who is satisfied with the bomb he placed aboard the plane heading for California - unfortunately for him, he's nothing more than a loose end for Rachel, and we know how she handles loose ends...

And yes, the plane crashes with all on board - and sadly, not everyone makes it out.  What was intended to be a wedding and joyous occasion turns into a solemn funeral for loved ones taken way too soon.  Gino and Justin postpone their wedding, and unexpectedly, Gino's aunt, Camille, arrives at the Ciancio mansion, looking to stake her claim.  But, as with any good soap, she has much more devious plans in store and she is hiding a secret that will affect everyone in both families!

While some mysteries are resolved (such as who shot Derek and who is the father of Joyelle's baby), other mysteries begin to surface - such as what are the Mancinis hiding in the winery that they don't want anyone to discover?  What doe that key unlock that Gino now holds half of and Camille is desperate to find?  Who is stalking Cole and to what lengths will he go to make Cole his forever?  Who killed Ben and who will take the fall for it?  Biondi has a way of quickly drawing you into the storylines and actually caring about (and hating!) some of the characters - and like any well-written soap, each episode moves the stories at a good pace, introduces new stories, mysteries, and characters, while solving other mysteries, concluding other stories, and eliminating other characters (because you don't want the "show" to be bogged down with so many characters that you can't keep track!).

The sex scenes remain prevalent throughout this book, as with prior books, but it is interesting that Biondi inserts (no pun intended!) considerably more straight couple sexual situations than he does gay in this book.  Rachel is by far making her rounds with all of the straight men in Boystown, and she is a conniving, scheming, lying, backstabbing, murderous villain that you can't help but love.  And with the introduction of Camille, Rachel may have finally met her match!  With of these two villainous vixens will come out on top?

Once again, Biondi leaves readers with more than one cliffhanger:  gunshots with two bodies falling overboard from Gino's yacht; Cole is kidnapped and held captive by his stalker; Derek arrives at his honeymoon suite, expecting to see Cole, but finding someone else instead; someone takes Joyelle's baby, leaving Joyelle on the hospital floor, not moving; Hugo finds Jensen with a bloody knife, holding a lifeless body in his lap; David and Adam get ready to make use of the suite intended for Derek and Cole, only to have the room explode; Michael is poisoned and falls to the ground; and someone thought dead prepares to make his return to Chicago to wreak havoc on both the Mancini and Ciancio families!

If that's not enough to bring you back for season six, I don't know what is!

RATING:  9 cop cards with graffiti slurs out of 10 for the sizzling, sexy, scheming, scintillating, steamy, sensational soap story that is Boystown!

The Second Enchantment Lake Mystery - The Clue in the Trees

While this is technically the second "Northwoods Mystery," the publishers decided to take the title of the first book and re-name the series after that, making this an "Enchantment Lake Mystery" instead.  But, that's okay.  As long as the writing is good, the plots are believable, and the characters are engaging and enjoyable to read, they can call the series whatever they'd like.  And since this second book in the series succeeds in all three categories, then let's take a look at the second Enchantment Lake Mystery!

The Clue in the Trees is a bit misleading, since the only thing that our protagonist, Francesca (Francie) Frye (a/k/a "French Fry" or "little Frenchie"), finds in the trees is a hand spade, and quite frankly, that little hand spade does not really provide a clue to anything.  It certainly does not provide a clue as to who killed Dr. Digby, the cantankerous old archaeologist that everyone had reason to hate.  And the author, I think, has a little fun with this, since Francie gains some new sidekicks in this book - two new friends from school, Raven and Jay - and Jay provides Francie with some proposed names for her latest mystery (that she insists she is not going to get involved in trying to solve!) - "The Perplexing Puzzle of the Perished Paleontologist" or "The Theory of the Three Thoughtful Thespians" or "The Bewildering Breach of the Buried Bones" or ... well, you get the gist.

Alliterated titles aside, The Clue in the Trees does provide Francie and her friends with a perplexing and bewildering mystery to solve.  Francie, who heard her brother arguing with Digby on the day he died and later saw him washing his hands in the lake after she discovered his body, is determined to stay out of it.  Despite the fact that everyone in town calls her the Northwoods Nancy Drew (yes, everyone's favorite pop culture icon gets referenced more than once in this book!), Francie does not want to solve this one.  Her brother Theo, who has returned under mysterious circumstances and has been keeping secrets from her, such as what really happened to their mother, seems to be prime suspect number one, and since all evidence points to him, Francie does not want to know.  But circumstances conspire against her, and although she auditions for and gets the lead role in the school's play as a distraction, she still can't avoid following the clues that fall into her lap.  Particularly when they lead her in the direction of that mysterious silver box that belonged to her mother...

Yes, you remember that box she saw at the mansion across the lake in the last book, right?  Well, it returns in this book, and Francie wants to find it more than anything.  She believes it is her last connection to her mother.  But if she found it without any difficulty, then where would the drama be?  Author Margi Preus continues to keep things not-so-easy for Francie as she continues to search for answers to her family's past.  In the meantime, she is also finding herself drawn more and more into the mystery surrounding Digby's death and how her brother fits into everything.  There are some surprising twists along the way, and the ultimate resolution is somewhat out of left field (and a bit beyond belief - but a quick search on the internet shows that the reason for Digby's death is an actual thing, so when you read it and think how crazy it sounds, go look - it's based on fact!), but Preus does provide a climactic chase through underground tunnels, a hidden passage, and a battle with a villain holding a very large kitchen knife!

All-in-all, a very satisfying read and a great mystery - and while I don't see any more solicited on Amazon yet, my fingers are crossed that a third mystery will be forthcoming!

RATING:  10 pieces of mastodon bones out of 10 for giving readers an older teen detective with great characters, a well-plotted mystery, and an underlying subplot throughout the series!

Dark Shadows Audio Book - Bloodline

The continuing story of the Collins family has been kept alive by Big Finish Productions in these audio stories, and my love for the show, its stories, and its characters has waited impatiently for each new story to come long.  While I have not exactly enjoyed the latest offerings (where they put three or four short stories together on each audio), they finally got it right with the 13-part episodic tale, Bloodline, which picks up where the last mulit-part story, Bloodlust, left off - David Collins and Amy Jennings preparing for their wedding!

Now, before we begin, I do have to say that the first few episodes are a big jumbled - at least to me.  There are a number of new characters, new voices, and it gets a bit difficult to tell them apart and figure out who is who and what is going on.  I'm not sure if this is because the episodes are written by different people, which obviously creates a different feel for each episode, or if it's because there are a number of actors involved who are not from the original Dark Shadows cast, and so it takes a bit of getting used to in order to differentiate their voices.  Whatever the reason, once you get through the first three or so episodes, the story really starts to pick up the pace, the actors get into their groove, and it really begins to feel like Dark Shadows once again...

The story begins with David and Amy preparing for their wedding.  But, as we all know, things are not going to go exactly as planned.  Someone is out to ensure that Amy and David never get married.  Barnabas returns to Collinsport, with Dr. Julia Hoffman in tow!  Of course, Grayson Hall passed away years ago, so actress Julie Newmar (yes, THAT Julie Newmar) steps into the role, and those who listened to "The Curse of Shurafa" audio story will recall that Julia was transferred into another body - and Julie Newmar provides the voice of that new body!  It's a great way to bring back such a wonderful character (just as they did with Barnabas), and Newmar definitely provides listeners with the feel of Dr. Hoffman.

The first half of the story provides the build-up (including a hospital explosion that cuts of Barnabas' blood supply and results in the death of Cody's father), and while there are some subtle hints of things to come, it isn't until the second volume of Bloodline that things really hit full force!  Just as the wedding begins, David disappears - and no one at the wedding even remembers him!  Why was Amy wearing a wedding gown?  Why was everyone there?  And who in the world is David Collins?  It turns out that David was thrown into the past - back to when his ancestor, Quentin Collins, was about to be born.  But what happens when Quentin's mother suddenly falls in love with David - will he inadvertently change time?

It turns out, though, that David is not the only one who disappears and is forgotten.  One by one, members and friends of the Collins family begin to disappear.  Harry Cunningham is thrown back in time...as is Jacqueline Tate...and Lela Collins...and Cyrus Longworth-Jennings...and Vivian Bell...and Quentin Collins and Amy Jennings...and others!  Each is thrust into a different time, where they have to be careful to avoid entanglement with the people of that time so as to not alter the timeline and destroy their own future!  But what happens when Jacqueline is accused of murder and put on trial?  And Cyrus is haunted by the ghost of Jenny Collins?  And poor Harry, who finds himself in the hospital being treated by none other than Cody's father?  And Lela faces off against the misguided and vile Reverend Trask, who is hell-bent on condemning Victoria Winters as a witch?  And Quentin and Amy find themselves in the near past, where Amy has the opportunity to protect her son from harm?

Time travel was a big staple in the original series, so it fits in nicely that the writers use multiple levels of time travel in this story to create a huge central tale of vengeance on the Collins family.  It is also fun to see the return of Rosier, who first hides within Cody, offering him his heart's desire - but who is ultimately taken by Amy, who uses Rosier to try and put an end to all of the turmoil taking place at Collinwood.  But, it is ultimately Barnabas' own bloodlust that brings everything to a crashing resolution, as he not only feeds on Cody, but also brutually attacks, feeds on, and kills a young couple in Collinsport!  It is this feeding frenzy and Dr. Hoffman's desire to protect and help Barnabas that leads to the big revelation of who has been doing all of this....

I'm certainly not going to spoil the big reveal - as it definitely ties in to a previous audio story; however, I will say that Big Finish give fans a HUGE payoff with this story by providing listeners and fans with something we never thought we'd see (or rather, hear!) again - the voices of Joan Bennett, Thayer David, Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, and Dennis Patrick!!!!  I can't even begin to tell you the giddiness that came over me as I heard their voices in the story.  Now, I'm not about to spoil anything by explaining how they play into the story, but I will say this - some are flashbacks in the past, while others are actually in the current story!  So, if you are a fan of the original series, this is the one audio drama that you cannot miss!

I understand that the producers have to introduce new characters to slowly take the place of the actors who are either getting too old to continue or who have passed on - so that the Dark Shadows legacy can continue in the years to come - but I do wish that more of the original cast had been used in this - Kathryn Leigh Scott was barely used at all, as was Lara Parker.  David Selby and Nancy Barrett probably saw the most screen time, which wasn't really all that much, with Marie Wallace and Christopher Pennock coming in a close second.  I still have more of the anthology audios to listen to, so hopefully the original cast will show up in more of those.

In any event, Bloodline was a successful continuation of the Dark Shadows saga, and I can't wait to see what Big Finish has in store for fans next!

RATING:  8 time-surviving tape recorders out of 10 for keeping these characters and stories alive with a true Dark Shadows feel for fans like me!

Hardy Boys Adventures, Book 19 - Dungeons & Detectives

I really hate the fact that the Hardy Boys books are better written than the Nancy Drew books these days.  I've always been more of a Nancy Drew fan, simply because the Nancy Drew books were more focused on mystery, while it seemed the Hardy Boys books were more about adventure.  And even though this new incarnation of the detective brothers is called "Hardy Boys Adventures," the stories are definitely more about the mystery, and the ghostwriters clearly put more time and effort into the plotting and execution than the writers of the Nancy Drew stories.

The latest HBA book, Dungeons & Detectives, is a prime example of what makes this series a step above the current Nancy Drew books.  First, it is not about sabotage.  While in recent years, the Nancy Drew books seem to all be stories about sabotage, the Hardy Boys books have offered up various mystery tropes - hidden treasures, kidnapped and/or missing people, revenge, hauntings, etc.  This latest book (which, surprisingly, has over 200 pages!  the first Hardy Boys Adventures book to offer such a high page count!) features the brothers hunting down a stolen comic book, all the while dealing with a comic store owner and comic book fans who all have secrets.   Throw in an old castle with a moat and hidden rooms, a Halloween costume party that offers up a myriad of ways for a crook to commit a crime, and a nosy high school reporter who is determined to solve this case before the Hardy Boys do, and you've got the perfect trappings for an exciting story!

Something that does surprise me about this book is how many pop culture references are in the book.  There are mentions of the actual Dungeons & Dragons game, the latest issue of Detective comics, Black Panther, Wonder Woman, Chewbacca, Wolverine, Bruce Wayne, James Bond, and even Captain Kirk from Star Trek.  Frank even dresses up like Sherlock Holmes at one point!  I have to say, though, that the top-notch, best pop cultural references goes to pages 106-07, when Frank and Joe meet the intrepid high school reporter, Charlene, in costume:

Her costume rang a bell, but I couldn't quite place it until I saw the HELLO MY NAME IS ... sticker she was wearing with the name Nancy written beneath it. 

"Nancy Drew!" I said.  Nancy was another real-life teen detective, and her master sleuthing had made national headlines a few times. We'd actually teamed up with her to solve a big case last Christmas and became friends--well, I mean, after she got over thinking we were suspects!

It was nice to see a nod to A Nancy Drew Christmas, the Nancy Drew Diaries special edition that was published last year, which featured the Hardy Boys.  This type of reference hearkens back to the olden days when the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books would reference previous mysteries that the teen detectives had solved.  Considering the length of this book and the reference, it makes me wonder if perhaps this mystery was originally intended to be a "special edition" for the Hardy Boys (considering the typical Hardy Boys book is about half the length of this one).  In any event, the reference was great to read!

As for the mystery itself, the brothers must help their local comic book dealer locate a stolen comic book that could potentially be worth tens of thousands of dollars.  Sabers & Serpents #1 was a comic created by the dealer's father and his partner back in the day, and it was based upon a role-playing game the two had created.  Unfortunately, circumstances led to not only the partnership dissolving, but nearly all of the first issues of the comic being destroyed in a fire!  It seems that rare first issue had a map to a treasure, but the partner, Filmore, had torn out the page that contained the map from every comic - well, at least from every issue except the one owned by the comic dealer!  Frank and Joe have to wonder if it was stolen by someone who knew about the treasure map and was determined to find that treasure in the old Scottish castle.

The hunt is on, and honestly, reading about the Halloween party at the old castle, the boys going through the hidden tunnels, finding captives in a dungeon, facing off against a knight in armor with a deadly ax to grind, and chasing after a ghostly menace who is determined to get to the gold - it reminded me of the 1970s' television episodes, "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula," where the three attend a Halloween party at an old castle and make their way through the catacombs in search of a solution to their mystery.

Overall, the story was a lot of fun (especially for a comic book geek like me!) and the mystery was well-plotted.  Even I was surprised by the identity of the culprit behind everything.  Now to wait for the next book, when the boys return to Black Bear Mountain (the site of a previous mystery in this series)!

RATING:  10 lifeless bodies falling from the rafters out of 10 for proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew can still provide fantastic mysteries for kids today!

Draw the Line - an out of the ordinary super hero tale

Here is another one of those rare instances where I pick up a book that is NOT a series book - but the premise intrigues me enough that I step outside of my norm and give it a try.  The reasons I picked up this book are pretty obvious - first, it deals with a young man who loves super heroes and who writes and draws his own online comic; second, it has actual comic pages within the book (which, it turns out, are pages from the protagonist's online comic); and third, it deals with that age-old struggle of a young gay man who is afraid to come out in a community and at a school who is very much antagonistic towards gay men.  Bundle all three of these together, and there's a likelihood I will enjoy the read.  And, I did.

Draw the Line is the story of Adrian Piper, a young high school student in a backwater Texas town.  Adrian stays in the background, preferring not to be noticed.  While he secretly publishes an online comic about a gay superhero, he keeps his own sexuality a secret (except from his two closest friends).  Adrian expresses his dreams and fantasies through his comic book alter ego - but when a vicious hate crime happens right in front of him and his friends, Adrian does something he never thought possible - he stands up for the gay kid who was being attacked!

Author Laurent Linn tells a compelling story that is more than just a teenage coming out tale.  This is a story about choosing to stand up for what is right.  It's about conquering your fears and helping your fellow man, even when it could cost you everything.  It's about asking yourself where do you draw the line when it comes to discrimination and bigotry?  And considering this is Linn's first novel (which, by the way, he not only wrote, but he drew all of the illustrations found throughout the book!), I'd say he did an exceptional job!

As I reader, I easily found myself drawn into Adrian's world - identifying with his desire to just blend into the background, hoping to avoid all of the bullying and drama, while at the same time, wishing he could be that super hero that fights injustice, stands up for what is right, and is loved by everyone.  I definitely found myself rooting for Adrian when he finally did take a stand, and getting angry when the police department and school refused to believe him, because the bully was the start quarterback (whose father happens to be on the police force).  It's definitely a situation that occurs in the real world, where people are protected from the wrong-doing that they do simply because of their "star" status!).

What was not so real (but, which I realize was written simply for the storytelling aspect) was the fact that Adrian's crush happens to also have a crush on him - how many times in the real world does the little wallflower have a crush on one of the hottest guys in the class, and it turns out that the guy happens to also be gay and happens to also like the wallflower?  That is Hallmark movie material, not real world identification.  Yet, it does bring those "awwwwww" moments into the story and provides Adrian with a "reward" of sorts for all the trauma he faces once he decides to be honest with the world about who he is.  There is, however, a very much real-world aspect to the story and the bully, which I won't specifically reveal here, as it will spoil the story, but let's just say that the author definitely got that part right!

Kind of a shame this is only a one-off book, as I would love to read more of the adventures of Adrian and his friends!

RATING:  10 rounds of Teen Drag Queen Bingo out of 10 for giving the world a not-so-typical coming out story with comic books and super heroes, in every sense of the word!

Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Case of the Missing Adults (a Dynamite Graphic Novel)

So, I recently took a cruise with some of the cast of the old soap opera Santa Barbara, so that has put me behind in my blog posting - however, the cruise gave me an opportunity to do some more reading, including the new Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment!

"The Case of the Missing Adults" is completely different from the prior two Dynamite forays into the Nancy Drew universe.  "The Big Lie" was set in a dark, pulp world, while "The Case of the Cold Case" (a/k/a "The Palace of Wisdom") was simply a modern take on the teen detective.  "The Case of the Missing Adults," however, takes Nancy, Frank, and Joe into a world for young readers to enjoy.  The three teen detectives are still in high school, with Nancy having just moved from River Heights to Bayport (what is it with Dynamite wanting to make everything in Bayport???) and beginning her first day of school at Bayport High School.  Needless to say, she runs into Frank and Joe and before you know it, the three are off to solve the mystery of what-in-the-world happened to all of the grown-ups?

The mystery is not complicated, and there are definitely a lot of childish jokes and silliness scattered throughout the story - but at its heart, writer Scott Bryan Wilson has captured the essence of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys - Nancy is single-minded and determined when it comes to solving a mystery and helping others, while Frank and Joe love to solve mysteries, but they also have a sibling rivalry going on that sometimes distracts them from the task at hand.  Nevertheless, all three of these junior sleuths are quick-thinking, skilled with deductive reasoning, and aren't afraid to get their hands dirty to solve a crime!

The mystery itself involves an entire city of adults who go missing on Nancy's first day of school.  The teachers are gone, the custodial and culinary staff are gone - heck, even the police are gone!  Where did all the grown-ups go?  While most of the kids in Bayport are loving the complete lack of supervision, Nancy, Frank and Joe know that something is afoot and start searching for answers. Could it have something to do with the upcoming science fair?  And why is it that the adults in the nearby town of Vansant (Bayport's bitter rival) are still around, and life over there seems as beautiful and as perfect as ever?  A come-to-life science skeleton, coded commercial, and a midnight van to Vansant provide Nancy and the Hardy Boys with the clues they need to find the culprit behind the mass kidnapping!

The art is somewhat rudimentary, as artist Bob Solanovicz creates a cartoony world where all of the teenagers, despite being high schoolers, all appear to be pre-teen in appearance.  I realize this is the artistic style that seems to be the "in thing" right now with children's books (look at Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, and similar books on the shelves right now, and you will see the very simplistic, somewhat childish art that graces the covers and interiors of those books), but this style of art does not truly appeal to me.  While I did enjoy this story, the art was a huge detraction for me.  That being said, with the art being what it is, and the story being so enjoyable (when read with a kid's perspective in mind), I could very easily see this graphic novel being made into a cartoon for television that would likely be very successful.  It has all of the elements that seems to appeal to children today, and quite frankly, it would offer some much-needed role models for the children to look up to (something that is sorely missing in most cartoons and children's books today!).

I'm guessing there are plans (hopes?) for Dynamite to do more in this series of graphic novels, as the book ends with the statement, "Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys will return to crack cases, do homework, and break hearts."  The book also closes out with some character sketches by the artist, as well as some fun little "detective games," such as a crossword puzzle, a "spot the difference" game, a comic page to color, a connect-the-dots image, and a memory game.  While not particularly difficult (for an adult), the games offer some fun activities for the children and pre-teens at whom the comic is aimed.

One final saving grace for the book is the fact that it comes in hardcover, with a glossy finish - making it perfect for shelving with the Nancy Drew books.  I was expecting soft cover, so was surprised when it arrived and was hardcover format.  A definite plus for the book!

RATING:  7 bowls of cold chili with corn chips out of 10 for bringing Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to yet another new audience with a cute little story that any age can enjoy!

Unsettled Things - A Pameroy Mystery in Kentucky

I will be the first to admit - I have been pretty lucky in the past when I've picked up new series to read. For the most part, I have enjoyed the books, and I have gone on to continue collecting and reading the various series.  Some have been better than others, but only a very few have been so bad that I just decided to put a stop to it after finishing the first book. Unfortunately for the Pameroy Mystery series, this happens to be one of those very few cases.

Unsettled Things, which is the first Pameroy Mystery, caught my attention for two reasons - first, it featured a young protagonist who had supernatural intuition and could see and interact with ghosts; second, this first mystery is set in Kentucky, which is my home state where was born and raised. With these two things going for it, I pretty much figured I couldn't go wrong. Well, no bones about it - I was wrong!

The protagonist for the series is Lillia Pameroy - a twelve-year old girl with the knack for not only seeing ghosts, but also becoming immersed in visions of the past.  Growing up, she was made to believe it was all in her imagination.  An "imagining," she calls it.  But for the first time, she is made to believe that these imaginings are more than just in her head.  A visit with her grand aunt in the heart of Kentucky opens up a whole new world when Lillia sees a ghost, who appears to be leading her on a path that will not only put a restless spirit to rest, but also reunite long lost relatives.  With the help of newfound friend Zoe, as well as some unexplained moments with the older Miss Margaret, Lillia faces not only the truth of her own abilities, but the truth about her family and how she fits in.

All in all, the plot to the book sounds like a great mystery. Unfortunately, author Brenda Felber does not succeed with the execution.  First, and probably the worst part, is the fact that Lillia is not a likable character at all. She whines throughout the entire story, and none of her conflicts come across as real.  Maybe it's me reading this from an adult perspective, but I didn't find anything at all complex or sincere about Lillia, and I felt absolutely no empathy for her predicament. Rather, she is written more as a spoiled little brat rather than a sympathetic young girl with the ability to see ghosts and into the past.  I try and remember back to my younger days of reading, and even then, I don't see myself actually finding any redeeming qualities about Lillia that would have made me like her.  In fact, I found Zoe to be a much more fascinating and rounded-out character in the story.

Second, the mystery itself felt very second-place to the story of Lillia and her family issues.  It seems Lillia's mother previously lost a child, and Lillia was able to sense it, even as a small child.  So, that creates some tension between Lillia and her mother; and when her father drops her off at her grand-aunt's house while he takes her younger brother on a trip, it leaves Lillia feeling more left out.  And while these things might create a subtle undercurrent with most stories, they seem to always be thrown into the forefront of this book.  There is actually very little of the mystery itself in the first half of the book, and there is no real active mystery-solving until the last one-fourth of the book, which made it difficult for me to keep pushing through, wondering when the mystery would actually begin.

Finally, the constant shifts between first-person point of view and third-person point of view were a bit jarring and clunky.  The story would have been a much smoother read if Felber had simply maintained a consistent POV throughout the entire book.  I personally think the third-person point of view would have read nicely, but I'm guessing the author felt it necessary to use first-person voice in order to give readers some insight into Lillia's mind.  Unfortunately, it made the book more difficult to read.

Once the mystery starts, however, there are some good moments, such as when Lillia begins to see spirits from the past, and when she finds herself immersed in the home of one of the ghosts - for this moment reveals to her a secret connection to one of the townspeople who she and Zoe had agreed to help!  Just wish there had been more great moments like this throughout the book, as it would have made it a much better read.

I'm planning to keep this book, simply because it is set in Kentucky, so I will keep it with my other series book set in my home state - however, I won't be picking up any more books in this series, as neither the character nor the writing are enough to hold my interest.  Ah well, you win some, you lose some...

RATING:  3 servings of homemade mac and cheese out of 10 for the supernatural elements and the Kentucky setting.

Scotty Bradley Mysteries No. 8 - Royal Street Reveillon

Scotty Bradley and his very non-traditional family are back for an eighth book in this mystery series by Greg Herren. I am so glad that this series has continued, as I honestly never thought it would make it this far. Herren's Chanse McLeod series has had seven books, and now the Scotty Bradley series has surpassed it (even though I found the Chanse McLeod books first).  Where McLeod is a more traditional gay detective, Bradley is a think-outside-of-the-box, fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants detective with a rather unusual family - two husbands, a live-in nephew, and parents who are open to just about anything and will do everything they need to in order to protect their family...

Royal Street Reveillon finds Colin gone, off on a mission he can't talk about, and Frank is doing a show in Montgomery - leaving Scotty to care for his nephew, Taylor. And what better way to keep a young man busy than to take him to the grand premier of Grand Dames: New Orleans! I have to give Herren credit for his continuity here, as he builds this mystery around the reality television show that was mentioned in the previous book - a bunch of rich women in a particular city who snipe, gripe, and basically backstab one another every chance they get. (Real Housewives, per chance?) For Taylor, it turns out to be a fantastic night, as the creator/producer of the show only has eyes for him - and invites him back to his hotel room to prove it!  For Scotty, though, murder turns out to be on his menu for the evening....

First, he returns home to discover Colin standing over a man that he has clearly just murdered. After helping him clean up the evidence and dispose of the body, Scotty gets a phone call. From Taylor. Saying he doesn't feel so good, he woke up in Eric's suite naked, and, oh, yeah, Eric is dead.  Tis the season to the jolly, right?

Herren offers up a well-plotted murder mystery with lots of suspects, lots of motives, and a lot of red herrings (which frustrate me, but at the same time, add to my enjoyment of the book, as it keeps me from guessing the murderer's identity way too soon).  I will admit, I did guess the killer pretty early on in the story, but not for the reasons I first thought, and not because of any particular action or words of this person - rather, with as many mysteries as I have read over the years, I've come to the realization that 9 times out of 10, the killer is someone who keeps to the background and seems innocent enough without any real involvement - but who is ultimately revealed to have connections to all the victims.  Such is the case here.  However, Herren did have me wavering from time to time, thinking perhaps I was on the wrong track, offering up one after another potential suspects who had more than enough to hide.

On top of all that, throw in the whole Colin and Russian terrorists subplot, the car accident that wasn't really an accident, and Taylor's kidnapping - well, it's easy to see that there is quite a lot going on in this book.  NOPD officers Venus and Blaine are on the case (cases?), and at every turn they tell Scotty and Frank to keep out of their investigations. But when not only their lives, but Taylor's life, are on the line, how can they stay out of it?  Plus, let's face it - a gay man will have an easier job getting information out of upper-class, uppity rich divas than a police officer any day of the week.

The only problem I have with the book is the same problem I had with the last one - Herren has a habit of repeating himself - often! His descriptions of characters and their backgrounds are repeated in detail several times throughout the story - and after two or three times, it leads one to wonder if he either has forgotten he already provided all of those details, or if it is simply padding to fill out the book to a certain page count.  As with the last mystery, it wasn't enough to really ruin my reading of the book, but it was enough to be noticeable and distract me from the story.  Hopefully, in future books, he will shy away from the repetition.

And speaking of future books - when are we going to see a team up between Scotty Bradley and Chanse McLeod???

RATING:  8 highly sophisticated Russian tracking devices out of 10 for keeping the New Orleans mysteries coming and keeping the readers on their toes in trying to solve the mystery!

DC Super Hero Girls, Graphic Novel No. 8 - Spaced Out

And thus we come to the final (at least, for me) DC Super Hero Girls graphic novel. It's been a good run, more or less, and while not every one of the eight graphic novels were exceptional, I'd say that more were good than were not.  It has been fun reading stories that were not continuity heavy, they weren't all doom and gloom, and the heroes, while less than perfect, were still - - well, heroes! With these young women (and the few young men), they may have doubted themselves and their abilities, but there was never any question of what was right and wrong.  The stories were lighthearted, the adventures time- and universe-spanning, and the villains ultimately vanquished as they should be in any good superhero comic.  But, alas, for reasons unknown to me, DC decided that these well-drawn characters and good-natured stories were just not good enough - so, they redesigned the Super Hero Girls (with art that I absolutely hate!) and changed the tone of the stories (from what was light-hearted and fun to what comes across as silly and childish) and introduced a whole new DC Super Hero Girls...but more on that later...

"Spaced Out" introduces Jessica Cruz Green Lantern to the DC Super Hero Girls universe.  As in the DC Universe proper, this Jessica Cruz is fearful and not overly confident with her power ring.  The story opens in Coach Wildcat's training class, where Jessica backs away from a fight with a monkey. Of course, she becomes even more afraid when Principal Waller informs her she must go to Oa, the planet of the Green Lanterns, for her official induction ceremony.  Of course, she's not going alone - Big Barda, Star Sapphire, and Supergirl are going with her (along with a stowaway, but I won't spoil that surprise!).  Thus, the girls' space adventure begins!

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Wonder Woman is supposed to be watching Krypto. But when Krypto takes off after Catwoman's cat, then gets loose in Metropolis and finds a stray dog with her litter, it takes Wonder Woman, Batgirl (along with Ace, the Bathound), Flash, and the whole DC Super Hero Girls crew to track down the missing dog.  As such, readers are treated to two adventures within this one graphic novel!

It is fun to watch Jessica Cruz not only learn more about herself and her power ring through this adventure, but to see how she grows in courage with the help of her friends.  The use of Zod, Non, and Faora as the villains was perfect, as it gave some simple conflict with Supergirl's desire to reconnect with people from her homeworld, while at the same time, utilizing villains with strength far above that of the other heroes - meaning that they have to work together to overcome the Kryptonian criminals.  Writer Shea Fontana provides a very satisfying story (or should I say stories), and Agnes Garbowska provides art that blends seamlessly into the series (kind of a shame this is the last one, as her art was beautiful).

The book does at least acknowledge it's finality in the series, as writer Sholly Fisch and artist Marcelo DiChiara provide a mini-back-up story that has Zatanna showing the Super Hero Girls an alternate reality, where Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman are criminals, the girls all have secret identities, and instead of Super Hero High, they are attending Metropolis High.  It is an introduction to the new art style for the series, as well as a first look at the changes in the characters.  I'm not a fan of this new direction, so rather than collecting it simply for the sake of completing a series, I've decided that this graphic novel will end my DC Super Hero Girls collection.  And such a shame, as it has been a real jewel in the DC Comics world, and it's a shame that DC felt the need to change it.

So, goodbye DC Super Hero Girls - it was  true pleasure reading your stories and sharing in your adventures, and know that this fan will miss the fun-loving stories that you've had along the way!

RATING:  9 bowls of Slurp-O-Slop ice cream out of 10 for giving the girls two fantastic stories as a fun-tabulous send off!

A Ted Wilford Mystery, no. 6 - The Counterfeit Mystery

This sixth Ted Wilford mystery was not overly exciting - however, it was definitely a product of its time!  Of course, the entire series is a product of its time (no cell phones, no computers, etc.), so when reading the books, I have to remind myself of that fact.  However, just because it is a story out of time does not mean that it can't be exciting, or that it shouldn't be enjoyable from the first page.  But I have discovered that these Ted Wilford mysteries are sort of hit and miss - some are really good, while some are not quite that good (and the mystery not overly engaging).  Sadly, this one falls into the latter category.

The Counterfeit Mystery is set during the summer following his graduation from high school and just before he is ready to leave for college. He doesn't have much work at the newspaper, and just when he thinks he will have a lot of free time the last few weeks of his summer vacation, he gets a call from Mr. Dobson, the editor at the town newspaper.  Along with newcomer Nancy Lindell (who happens to be he niece of the newspaper's secretary), Ted is brought into the editor's office to meet Mr. Woodring - a salesman set to introduce a whole new concept to Forestdale - trading stamps!  I had to smile when I read this, as I realized that most people I know today would have no idea what trading stamps are (and no, it doesn't mean collecting postal stamps and trading them as you would baseball cards or comics!).

For those who don't know, trading stamps were stamps that a person could collect every time they went shopping.  For every dollar you spent, you earned a certain amount of stamps.  You collected the stamps in books, and when you had a certain number of books, you could redeem them for various things - from dishes, to utensils, to pots and pans, to toys, to any number of items.  The more an item was worth, the more books of stamps were required to be redeemed to get it.  Additionally, you could purchase an item using both stamps and money - for instance, if you wanted a bicycle, and it cost you 250 books of stamps, but you didn't want to wait that long - sometimes, there was a special offer, and you could get the bicycle by redeeming 100 books of stamps plus $100 (that's just an example, so don't go trying to go search and see if that is accurate).  I can remember back in the day when I was a kid, my mom collected Green Stamps, but I don't remember if she ever had enough to redeem them for anything (she probably did, and I just never paid attention, as I was too worried about toys and Nancy Drew books LOL!).

In any event, Ted doesn't seem thrilled with the whole concept, but Mr. Woodring convinces the paper's editor, who agrees to endorse it.  Plus, Mr. Dobson has volunteered Ted's services to act as his assistant while he is in town trying to drum up business for the stamp sales. Ted chooses to use the opportunity to keep an eye on Mr. Woodring and make sure the entire thing is on the up-and-up.  It ultimately pays off, since the stamps that start showing up are a purple shade, while the original stamps that Mr. Woodring showed Ted and the others in Mr. Dobson's office were blue! Is Mr. Woodring counterfeiting the stamps, or is something else going on?

In the meantime, Ted gets to know more about Nancy and discovers that she has come to town for an ulterior motive. It seems her grandmother makes mention in some of her letters of a town named Freeport in the state, but it seems no one has ever heard of it!  Neither Ted nor Nancy can find any mention of it in the newspapers or other books in the local library, and even some of the older townsfolks have never heard of it.  How could a whole town disappear?

 The counterfeit stamps part of the mystery is rather tame, and the clues to that pretty much fall into Ted's lap without him actually having to look for them (except for when Mr. Woodring disappears, then Ted has to take action to actually hunt the man down).  His and Nancy's efforts to locate the ever elusive Freeport seems to find them doing active clue-hunting, but to no avail.  And, like pretty much every children's mystery story written, the two mysteries are eventually determined to have a connection, and solving one leads to the solution of the other.

The one element of this story I did find somewhat interesting was Ted and Nelson's trip to Hobotown, an area of the city where the hobos tended to congregate and set up temporary "homes." They are looking for Mr. Woodring, and the clues lead them to this community of hobos, and it was rather intriguing to see how author Norvin Pallas portrayed the people. Pallas wrote them as a tight-knit group of men who looked out for one another, had a code of honor, and did not tolerate outsiders; yet, the do decide to help Ted in his mystery, providing a very important clue to help him solve the case.

I only have two more books from the series - books 7 and 11.  While 8 of the books in the series have been reprinted in paperback editions, for whatever reason, the remaining 7 books are only available on e-readers, which I refuse to get.  So, once I read those last two books, then my reading of Ted Wilford mysteries will have reached its end...

RATING:  7 purple cows out of 10 for bringing back memories of my youth and my Mom with an outdated program that I hadn't thought of in years!

A Blake Harte Mystery, Book 4 - Reach

With this fourth novel in the Blake Harte mystery series, author Robert Innes has without a doubt secured his place as one of my all-time favorite mystery authors.  Innes' ability to write a well-crafted murder mystery with endearing characters that will keep you guessing right up until the very end (or, for seasoned readers, at least until the half-way point!) shines through in each of his books, and this latest one I've read is a shining example.

Reach continues the ongoing threads of Detective Sergeant Blake Harte's growing relationship with young Harrison (as they take the next big step in this book), as well as his varied relationships with his superior and co-workers in the Harmschapel police department.  Readers also gain a bit of insight into Harte's past, as a criminal that he helped put away seven years ago comes back to haunt him in the worst possible way.  Thomas Frost was a serial killer who Harte captured just as he was about to claim his sixth victim. Kerry Nightingale is the one who "got away," so to speak.  But now, seven years later and from behind bars, Frost taunts Harte by claiming that he will finally finish what he started all those years ago.  "Before the end of the week," he threatens, "Kerry Nightingale will die!"

Innes then tells one of those "locked-room" stories that he is so good at.  Harte is determined to protect Nightingale at any cost, even if that means sitting outsider her apartment all night long with a security guard right next to him.  In a high rise building, there is no other way in or out - and yet, the next morning, Harte and the guard hear a crash inside, and when they rush inside, they find Nightingale on the floor, choking out the last bit of life she has left.  There are marks where she had been strangled, just like Frost had done to all of his previous victims.  But Frost is still behind bars ... so how in the world did Kerry Nightingale die?

All signs seem to point to the apartment building's other security guard, who was an ex-boyfriend of Nightingale.  As Harte investigates, it seems everyone has secrets, including Nightingale herself!  But even if that other security guard did kill her, how did he get in it and out of there without Harte and the first guard seeing him?  And how did he escape?  And to make matters worse, the prison where Frost is being held has footage of Frost from the morning when Nightingale dies - and at the time of her death, he can be seen with his hands out in front of him, as if he is choking the thin air!  Harte knows it is impossible for Frost to have killed her from behind bars, but there seems to be no rational explanation.

Then Harte learns that Frost had a son...and that Nightingale wasn't the only victim...and the ex-boyfriend's roommate can't provide a secure alibi for his roommate's whereabouts on the morning of the murder.  When a second body turns up and the ex-boyfriend goes on the run, Harte thinks the case is all wrapped up. But something is off about the whole thing, and when he finally confronts the ex-boyfriend, suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place!

Once again, Innes throws some nice little twists into the story, and while I had figured out a few of the aspects to the crime, the actual murderer didn't actually become clear until nearly the end.  At 160 pages, it is not a lengthy read, nor is it excessively heavy reading - but it is thoroughly enjoyable reading that you won't be able to put down.  Factor into that the background characters (Mattison and Patil's budding relationship; Sergeant Gardiner's bitterness about being passed on for Harte's position; and the unexpected death of one of the supporting cast that will shake everything up going forward!), and you've got the makings of a fantastic tale!

Can't wait to see what Innes has in store for the next novel!

RATING:  10 abortion clinic pamphlets out of 10 for keeping the mysteries fresh, unique, engaging, fast-paced, and utterly captivating!

The House of Mystery - Book #1

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, when I was first getting into comic books, I was buying pretty much everything off the rack (DC and Marvel - never really fancied Archie comics). That included a number of horror anthology titles by DC, including books like Ghosts, Unexpected, Secrets of Haunted House, and, of course, House of Mystery.  As my tastes in comics evolved, I eventually stopped reading the horror anthologies, and apparently I wasn't the only one, as they all seemed to disappear by the mid-'80s or so.  Thus, I never really gave them another thought...

Flash-forward 30 plus years, and this year, while at a comic convention, I was looking through a box of comic-related items and came across this novel of The House of Mystery, written by Jack Olsek and illustrated by the mega-talented Berni Wrightson!  I assumed it was a paperback novel-sized comic in book form, but no! When I opened it up, it was an anthology of eight prose tales of horror and suspense!  Obviously, I wasn't going to pass it up - I mean, a throwback to be sure, published back in 1973, and now that I've read it, it certainly brought back a lot of memories of those horror comics and their chilling tales of irony and the unexpected.

The book gets off to a great start with probably the most recognizable horror staple - the vampire!  In "Chamber of Horrors," a young man who seems to never have any luck happens to meet the perfect girl who - surprise surprise! - is actually interested in him. But when he drops her off that night at her house, he sees two people carrying what appears to be a coffin into the house.  No one will believe him, so he investigates on his own, only to discover that the girl and her parents are vampires! But, are they?  The police investigate, but find nothing out of the ordinary. The girl has a logical explanation for everything. Is he simply going mad, or do vampires really exist...?

"Nightmare" is one of those tales where the protagonist is someone you can't wait to see get what's coming to him. Kelso (what a name!) is a bitter man who is not happy about anything - certainly not about the trip to England that his wife forced upon him, nor about their excursion to see Stonehenge. He is belligerent to the tour guide and other people on the tour, he is downright nasty to his wife, and when he storms away from Stonehenge in the heat of the day to find some shade, he finally gets the peace and quiet he's been looking for. But what if those stories the tour guide was saying are true? What is Stonehenge is the place of ritual sacrifices? Kelso is about to find out...!

The third story, "Collector's Item," shows the lengths a man will go to when shown the ultimate collector's item - but at what cost?  "Born Loser," is yet another tale of a married man in an unhappy marriage. When he finds romance with a woman at work, he decides to summon a demon to get rid of his wife - but with witchcraft, there is always a price to pay! Then, in the fifth story, "Tomorrow, the World," a man in the psych ward is accused of killing a woman, but he insists he is innocent, that she was the victim of a satanic cult.  A new psychiatrist is hoping to help the man - but is the man's story a figment of his imagination, or is there something to his conspiracy theory?

"The Haunting" is a nice little twist on the haunted house tale, very much in the vein of The Sixth Sense.  The next story after that, "You Only Die Once," is another unhappy marriage tale (there seem to be a lot of those, don't there?) where a greedy husband is tired of waiting for his wife to die, so he sets a plan in motion to get rid of her before she can give away her fortune, leaving him penniless.  Of course, she's not going down without a fight!

The eighth and final story, "Act of Grace," is the perfect tale to end this one - it is one of irony, of sadness, of hopelessness, and of facing reality.  A young boy is sent to an orphanage - but he doesn't mind, as he has his Happy Place that he can go to any time he wants. No one believes it exists, until the other boys at the orphanage who have been bullying him watch him disappear into a stone wall! A successful psychiatrist is brought in to help him - but what will happen when they severe the boy's connection with his Happy Place?  Tragedy, in no simple terms....

Each story is introduced by a beautiful pen and ink drawing by the master of horror himself, Berni Wrightson.  And the stories are beautifully told so that it is very easy to imagine each one on the comic page - my mind vividly displayed each story, panel by panel, as I read the pages, leaving me to wonder if these were ever adapted into the comic book series published by DC Comics.  Regardless, the horror fan in me thoroughly enjoyed the read, and I am going to have to track down the second book that was published by Warner Brothers.

RATING:  10 mushroom filled boxes in the basement out of 10 for living up to the tagline on the back of the book:  "For the Connoisseur of Terror"!

Nancy Drew Diaries, No. 18 - The Stolen Show

When a character has been around for 90 years (wow! that's hard to believe, seeing it in writing like that!), I can imagine it becomes difficult to come up with new stories to tell.  In the beginning, Nancy Drew solved mysteries involving lost wills, missing relatives, swindlers, haunted houses, and the like.  Somewhere along the line, however, the writers (more so after Simon & Schuster took over ownership of the property) seemed to fall back on one particular type of mystery: sabotage.  With the now defunct Girl Detective series and the current Diaries series, sabotage seems to be the only kind of story that the writers know how to tell.  We may get an occasional surprise story once in a while, but for the most part, you can pretty much count on a Nancy Drew mystery involving sabotage.

So, when I picked up The Stolen Show and started to read it, I sighed when it became apparent that this mystery was centered around someone sabotaging the contestants at a dog show.  A drugged dog, gum stuck in the hair of a dog, and the threat of more attacks has Nancy searching for a dog owner who will do just about anything to guarantee his or her dog wins the biggest dog show of the year!  The only thing is - Nancy (and the reader!) are in for a real surprise when she stumbles (literally!) upon an entirely different mystery - one that makes the doggie sabotage seem like kibbles and bits.

Yes, that's right - the big mystery in The Stolen Show isn't about the dogs at all.  Surprise! If you don't want any spoilers, then I suggest you stop reading this review right now, go read the book, and then come back.  Go ahead.  I'll wait....

Okay, I waited long enough!  You see, Nancy goes chasing after one of the suspects, thinking she is hot on the trail of solving the sabotage mystery, only to discover that her suspect is actually an officer of the law - Interpol, to be exact.  You see, the dog show circuit is being used by some criminal masterminds to smuggle rare and stolen jewels across borders. The international police have been trying to catch these crooks for some time, and they even have their own agent who infiltrated the dog shows in order to sniff out the culprit (see what I did there?).  But, to no avail.  The crooks keep evading them at every turn.

Well, it's a good thing they ran into Nancy Drew, because faithful fans of the teenage sleuth know that there's no mystery she can't solve!

The ghostwriter of this particular book manages to tell a pretty good mystery, and there is some great suspense with the kidnapping of Bess, a chase in a blinding snowstorm, and the ultimate showdown between Nancy and the jewel smuggler.  The camaraderie among the girls reads natural, and Bess and George's willingness to step up and help Nancy in any way possible doesn't feel overdone or forced.  I was a bit disappointed, however, that Nancy does not really hunt down or follow-up on clues to eventually solve the mystery; rather, it seems one event after another happens, until Nancy suddenly connects the dots and in an Agatha Christie-style reveal (all the suspects gathered in one room as Nancy rattles off the various things that led her to uncovering the culprit's identity, with a couple of misleads along the way), she unmasks the jewel thief.  I miss the days of Nancy finding one clue, that leads to another, and then she stumbles across another, and then begins to piece them all together to solve the mystery.  These days, it seems Nancy is pretty much "given" the solution, rather than working hard to find it.   Perhaps that is the problem with all the technology we have these days - it makes solving mysteries way too easy!

In any event, that one drawback did not at all ruin my enjoyment of the book.  This is definitely one of the better Nancy Drew Diaries, and if this is the direction that they are going with the series, then I hope they stick with it!

RATING:  8 plates of poutine out of 10 for making Nancy Drew mysteries enjoyable to read again!

Hunting Prince Dracula - the second Audrey Rose Wadsworth novel

After ending the reign of terror of Jack the Ripper, one would think Audrey Rose Wadsworth would want to shy away from murders and horror-filled mysteries.  Perhaps that is what she thought possible when she heads off to Romania with Thomas Cresswell to study at the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science.  There are only two spots available for the school, and a number of students are vying for those spots.  Audrey and Thomas will have to utilize all their skill and focus to beat all the other students and gain a spot in this prestigious school under the tutelage of Headmaster Wadim Moldoveanu.

But that focus gets derailed when a series of murders occur, beginning with a man staked through the heart just outside of their cabin on the train to Bucharest...

Author Kerri Maniscalco draws on another of history's blood-thirsty villains for this second mystery in the Audrey Rose Wadsworth series, Hunting Prince Dracula.  A man staked through the heart on the train to Romania, a clove of garlic in his mouth.  They arrive at the very castle that was owned by Vlad the Impaler, now turned into a college for the study of the forensic sciences, where shortly after their arrival, one of the students is found dead in the nearby town, his body completely drained of blood - - and two teeth punctures in his neck!  A young woman from town has been missing, and one of the maids at the castle is discovered dead.  When Audrey and Thomas find a body in the tunnels under the castle, being viciously attacked by bats, they reach the inescapable conclusion - someone is desperately trying to bring the myth of Count Dracula to life!

Without a doubt, Maniscalco picked the perfect Gothic setting for this mystery - an old, chilly castle filled with shadows, underground tunnels, secret passages, and a cold, stern headmaster who seems less alive than the castle itself.  Audrey quickly befriends the maid who is waiting on her, as well as the headmaster's own daughter who is defying her father by sitting in on classes of her choosing.  Audrey also learns more about Thomas when his sister unexpectedly shows up at the castle to visit her brother - as well as, Audrey discovers rather inadvertently, his sister's secret love.  And speaking of love, that festering romance between Audrey and Thomas definitely builds in this mystery, as Audrey has to weigh her growing feelings for her friend against his inept and interfering attempts to protect her.

In some ways, this mystery felt like the season two opening episodes from the 1970s Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries, "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula."  In that two-part story, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew had to find the missing Mr. Hardy, all the while dealing with the unexplained deaths of people who appear to have been attacked by a vampire.  In this mystery, Audrey and Thomas are trying to track down a killer who is making it appear that either a vampire or a vampire killer (or both!) is at work, all the while searching for Thomas' missing sister and Audrey's missing maid.  Plus, there's the little matter of the Order of the Dragon that may hold the clues to unraveling the mystery and revealing the identity of the killer (killers?).

I'm not going to lie - at 424 pages, Hunting Prince Dracula is a pretty hefty read.  But it is definitely well worth it.  The story is engaging, the characters are so much fun (I particularly love the banter and biting sarcasm between Audrey and Thomas), there is plenty of action and suspense, and the Gothic elements will keep the reader turning page after page - they did me, that's for sure!  As with the last book, the end of this mystery sets the stage for book three, which, of course, just came out in paperback ... so it's off the bookstore I go!

RATING:  10 long plain boxes tied with twine out of 10 for showing the world that dark, spooky castles still make the perfect setting for a good mystery!

Short Lived Comic Series #10 - First Comics' Meta-4

I picked up this series for several reasons - first, I came to know Stefan Petrucha as a comic book writer when her wrote the Nancy Drew graphic novels for Papercutz and had the pleasure of meeting him when we were both on a panel at New York Comic Con; so, I know he writes some great stories.  Second, I loved quite a few of the comic books that First Comics published back in the day, so I figured if First put it out, there was a good chance it would be good.  Finally, the art on the covers is absolutely fantastic.  With all three of these things going for it, I just couldn't pass it up.

What I didn't realize, though, was that the book was published right as First Comics was getting ready to end its publishing era, and so the series only lasted three issues.  Thus, just as I was getting into the story, getting to know the character - BOOM - that's the end (and although the letter column at the end of the third issue said the series would be back with a mini-series, that never happened, since First Comics closed its doors not too long after that third issue was released).  So, Meta-4 (not to be confused with the Meta-4 comic published by Image Comics in 2010) was yet another short-lived comic that never got to truly come into its own...

It turns out that Meta-4 is somewhat similar to Comico's Elementals (which featured a team of four individuals - two men and two women - who harnessed the powers of the four elements) published back in 1984 and Continuity's Urth-4 (which also featured a team of four individuals - three men and one woman, who harnessed the powers of the four elements) published back in 1989. See a theme here? So, I was curious to see how Petrucha would take this concept in a different direction - - or whether it would simply be another rehash of an already existing idea, since Meta-4 saw publication in 1991, after the two previous comic series about earth elementals.  Perhaps he got his idea from the other two comics, I'm not sure - but I am sure that his story took this concept in an entirely different direction!

Emily Cayce, Allis Krafe, Craig Fallow, and Dirk Penderwhistle (gotta love the names!) are the four individuals who are gifted with the powers of the elements.  Emily, Allis, and Craig are college students, while Dirk is a drug addict and criminal. The powers they discovery they have are alien in nature, and, of course, the government wants to know (i.e., control!) them.  The series opens with all four young adults waking from a coma they have been in for the past three years, to discover that they are being watched by scientists and the government.  Each of them has experienced some weird dreams, but it turns out those dreams were precursors to the powers that they possess!  Emily (water) is able to control the "fluid forces" that exist within crystal; Allis (fire) is able to use energy of any sort; Craig (earth) is able to assume the form of any terrain that he is near; and Dirk (air) is able to manipulate electrical and mechanical paths.

The three-issue series not only provides readers with the origin of the group's powers, it also gives readers a really good lock into the psyche of each of the characters (including the government men and the scientists studying the team).  These characters are more than just typical, cardboard cutout stereotypes.  They are unique, interesting, and quite frankly, fun to read.  And lest you think the series is all cerebral - there are plenty of action sequences as the four elementals learn more about themselves and their newfound powers and fight to escape their captivity by the government. Petrucha inserts plenty of subplots that would have led to a number of great stories (had the series continued), and the third issue ends with a cliffhanger worthy of any nighttime soap of the '80s!  Sadly, because First went defunct, the promised follow-up mini-series never happened, so readers have never been able to learn just what became of the Meta-4...

Gibson's art reminds me a bit of Mark Wheatley and Marc Hempel's art from First Comics' Mars series.  It is not refined (such as George Perez or Jerry Ordway), but it has its own style that fits the story.  In some instances, the faces and expressions are exaggerated almost to the point of caricature, but surprisingly enough, it works.  The story is offbeat, and so the characters and art should be as well.  Petrucha's writing and Gibson's art mesh nicely to give readers the constantly off-kilter feel that the four main characters are likely experiencing as they wake up from their coma (so that the readers have the same feelings as the characters).  Nicely done!

Wish there had been more - perhaps one day Petrucha and Gibson will team-up again and complete the tale?

RATING:  8 strangers dressed up in french-fry outfits out of 10 for a quirky, unique, and definitely one-of-a-kind comic series that was well worth the read!