Okay, this is it - my 500th post on this blog! (Well, technically, it is my 501st post, but since the first post was not a book review, but more-or-less an introduction, I don't really count it.) When I first started this blog, I don't think I ever imagined in August 2015 when I started this blog that five years later I would have read 500 books/comics/graphic novels - that averages out to about 100 per year. Wow, that's a lot of reading! So many have been so good, a few have been pretty bad, and some have been redeemable. But, above all else, I am thankful to my mother who got me started with my love of reading - it has opened an entire world (worlds, really!) to me and has taught me so much in terms of grammar, spelling, history, geography, and so much more. Without books, I know I would never be where I am today!
So, that brings us to my next reading venture - the fifth Goldie Vance graphic novel by BOOM! Studios. While I miss the regular monthly issues of the ongoing series that got cancelled after only 12 issues (and three stories), I am glad that BOOM! has seen fit to continue the series in the graphic novel format. I am rather surprised, though, that the creators (Hope Larson and Brittney Williams) have stepped back and allowed other writers and artists take over the series. While Williams does provide the cover for this fifth graphic novel, Jackie Ball provides the story and Mollie Rose provides the interior art - and Ball and Rose do a wonderful job of carrying on the legacy started by Larson and Williams and remain true to the characters, settings, and mysteries.
"Larceny in La La Land" finds Goldie heading off to California with her friend Cheryl and her girlfriend Diane - Cheryl has an internship at the Jet Propulsion Lab, while Diane has a summer gig shadowing Daryl Belchera. Goldie, on the other hand, is going out there with her mother, who has been called out as a consultant due to the movie filmed at her mother's Mermaid Club (which was a very nice reference to the recent book that came out, The Hotel Whodunnit, a review of which can be found elsewhere on this blog!). So, California, here we come...and a reunion with Goldie's old nemesis-turned-friend, Sugar Maple!
Goldie and her friends, of course, do all of the typical tourist things, but soon the others are caught up in their work, leaving Goldie on her own. As chance would have it, Goldie happens to spot a female detective chasing a criminal - and when the detective loses her hat, Goldie sees it as an opportunity to get involved in yet another mystery! Goldie just happened to be taking photos at the time she saw the chase, and she happened to get a photo of the license plate of the car that the man the detective was chasing drove off in, and she happened to be able to track down the owner of that license plate, as well as the address of the owner - so, when she shows up at Del Avery's office with her hat, she also manages to talk her way into becoming Avery's assistant - especially when a well-to-do woman shows up asking for their help in finding out who stole a precious pair of tap shoes (not worth much, but the sentimental value is worth more).
Ball provides a great little mystery involving a string of stolen items that leads Goldie and Avery on a chase through the upper class of Hollywood and the forgotten stars of the silent film age. It seems a number of silent film stars have had items of sentimental value stolen, and Goldie, with a fresher, younger point of view, manages to point Avery in the direction to find the clues needed to solve the case. There are plenty of twists and connections among the characters, and, of course, there is a big climax with a plan to set-up the thief and wins Goldie the respect of a hardened detective who originally told Goldie she had absolutely no interest in teen detectives (because she used to be one herself!).
Rose's art, while not a mirror image of Brittney Williams' art, does maintain the same simple, almost-cartoon style art that works so well for this series. As I read the story, my mind basically "saw" it as an animated film, making me realize that this series would make a wonderful series of animated movies (even if only direct-to-DVD) - I think they would sell pretty well to the younger audience as a family-friendly series of movies. Maybe, one day...
No word yet on whether a sixth graphic novel is in the works, but my fingers and toes are crossed!
RATING: 10 cups of steaming hot rocket fuel out of 10 for proving that the innocence of yesteryear provides the perfect setting for some great mystery and detective stories!
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