Goldie Vance, Book Two - The Hocus-Pocus Hoax

BOOM! Studios' popular little sleuth is back in her second prose novel, once again written by Lilliam Rivera with illustrations by Elle Power and Mel Valentine Vargas.  The comic books published by BOOM! have been a lot of fun to read, and I am absolutely thrilled that they expanded the character from the comic page into full-length prose novels.  The first book, The Hotel Whodunnit, captured the spirit of Goldie Vance, and so I had no doubt this second novel would be just as good.  And I was right!

The Hocus-Pocus Hoax (they really like their "h" alliterations, don't they?) presents Goldie with a magical mystery.  The Crossed Palms Resort Hotel, where Goldie's father works as a manager and Goldie works as a valet and assistant hotel detective, is hosting the League of Magical Arts Convention!  The owner of the hotel, Mr. Maple, has worked very hard to convince the League to hold its convention at his hotel, and he's determined that absolutely nothing will go wrong while the guests are at his hotel!  This, of course, means that anything that can go wrong, will.  And, with Goldie Vance around, you can bet your bottom dollar that a mystery is bound to rear its ugly head.

It stars off with a simple silver ring (one of the magician's tricks) misplaced.  Then another magician's Chakra Cards are not where they are supposed to be.  Then some flash paper goes missing.  Then three rabbits mysteriously disappear!  What at first seemed to be forgetfulness turns into a full-fledged mystery that Goldie has to solve before the star attraction - Dr. Von Thurston, magician extraordinaire - suffers a set back of his own.  Of course, not only does Goldie have to contend with the fact that she must do her investigation on the "hush-hush," since the guests cannot find out crimes are being committed at the Crossed Palms, but she must also deal with the persistent interference of Von Thurston's son, Derek, who is a self-professed part-time detective.  Goldie actually gets a taste of her own medicine (just ask the hotel's real in-house detective, Walter Tooey!) as she struggles to find clues and stay one step ahead of the villain behind all of the missing items.

Is it a case of a jealous magician?  Or perhaps it's a case of a bitter assistant?  Or maybe even a sneaky competitor who wants to see the Crossed Palms lose business?  Goldie has more questions than answers - but she does have her usual crew to help her out - her best friend, Cheryl; her fellow valet, Rob; and her something special crush, Diane, with whom she continually has to postpone or interrupt their first date due to the unexpected mystery that has fallen in her lap.  Goldie and her crew set about to discover just who is sabotaging the magicians' acts and ruin the convention that they have worked so hard to make perfect.

Once again, Rivera manages to provide a story that would make Goldie Vance's creators proud!  The characterization is spot on, and the mystery is filled with plenty of misdirection, red herrings, and subtle clues to keep the reader engaged right up to the big reveal. Goldie has all of the enthusiasm, spunk, and smarts that make her a great detective and a fun read.  And while the inclusion of Derek Von Thurston at first is a bit annoying, it isn't long before the reader realizes that there is more to Derek than the one-dimensional bother he first appears to be.  The reader, right along with Goldie, begin to see Derek in a different light as the story progresses, and he actually turns out to be a valuable assistant (so would that make him an assistant assistant detective?).

The final eight pages of the story are in comic form, with the art by Mel Valentine Vargas.  While it is clear that Vargas attempted to keep the look of Goldie and her cast consistent with original Goldie artist Brittney Williams, unfortunately the art falls a bit short.  The characters look quite a bit older in Vargas' art, and they don't have that innocent appeal that Williams brought to them.  Elle Power, who provided the cover and the pattern illustrations throughout the book hits the mark a bit closer to Williams' style, and unsure why they did not use Power for the comic pages as they did in the first book.  (And, for that matter, I'm disappointed we only get one set of comic pages in this book, while we got two sets in the last one!)

 

One little editing snafu that I did have to mention, as it stood out so strikingly.  At the conclusion of the book, a server brings a vanilla cake to the table where Goldie and her friends are preparing to watch the big finale of the magic convention (p. 227).  Yet, on the very next page, Cheryl exclaims, "Chocolate cake!" (p. 228)  Not sure how this got through the editing process, or if perhaps it was a magic trick of a cake changing flavors (that would certainly fit with the story!), but in any event, it made me giggle and did not really detract from the enjoyment of the story.

Overall, the book is a winner, and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed we will get more books in the future (even though there are none currently listed on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other bookseller website).  It would be a shame to see this series come to an end, when Goldie Vance has so much potential and so many more opportunities for great stories to be told!

RATING:  9 abraca-yoga classes out of 10 for keeping the sunshiny world of Goldie Vance alive and providing readers with a truly enjoyable mystery worthy of the teen detective!

Goldie Vance GN - Volume Five - Larceny in La La Land

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!

Goldie Vance, Book One - The Hotel Whodunit

From the comic page to the prose novel, sixteen-year old Goldie Vance makes the jump into her very own mystery series! I was first introduced to this plucky young detective in the BOOM! Studios comic book series, which then graduated into a graphic novel series, and now, through Little Brown Young Readers, has become a series of prose mystery novels, and I could not be more thrilled! The comics have been very enjoyable, so the idea of reading a full-length novel, with the opportunity for a more in-depth mystery is definitely one I can get behind.

Goldie Vance is the creation of Hope Larson and Brittney Williams - but, interestingly enough, neither of them are involved with this book. That doesn't matter, though, because the writer and artist fully capture Goldie's world and the wonderful characters therein. The Hotel Whodunit is written by Lilliam Rivera, with illustrations by Elle Power (incorrectly identified as Elle Powers on the back of the book). The cover, as well as the limited pages of comic art story in the book, so closely resemble Williams' rendition of the title character that one might not even realize Power is not the original artist for Goldie Vance! And Rivera's writing?  Well, that's spot on!

This first mystery finds Goldie becoming enthralled with the whole Hollywood lifestyle! A movie is being made at the Crossed Palms Resort (where her father works, and where Goldie herself works as a valet attendant and part-time hotel detective's assistant), and the star of the film is a big hush-hush secret that even the staff are not to be aware of - but, anyone who knows Goldie knows that she's going to plant herself right in the middle of the action and nothing will be a secret that she can't uncover! And uncover she does, when she steps in to help the actress when she trips and nearly falls - and immediately endears herself to Delphine Lucerne, a/k/a "the Temptress of the Ocean." She will be playing the queen of all mermaids in the film and she is to wear a crown jewel bathing cap that is worth a small fortune! She begs Walter Tooey, the hotel detective, to let her help, and of course, he relents.  But then the unthinkable happens...

During filming at the Mermaid Club, where Goldie's mom works and has been cast as an extra mermaid in the film, the lights go out - and when they come back on, the jeweled swim cap is gone! Goldie's mother was the last person to touch it and see it, so naturally, she becomes suspect number one. Goldie knows her mom didn't do it, but she must race against time to clear her mom's name before she not only loses her job in the movie, but also her job at the Mermaid Club!  Was it the local nosy reporter, Scoops, looking to create some news of his own? Or was it the mean-spirited director who doesn't seem to be happy with anything? Or was a jealous co-star who wanted her own shot at stardom? Or was it the costumer who doesn't seem happy with the production company? So many suspects and so little time.

Once everything clicks, Goldie must insinuate herself into the production in order to catch the crook before he/she manages to get away with the swim cap! But, as always, she creates quite the catastrophe, all culminating in a fun-filled climactic show down that reveals more than a few secrets among the cast and crew of the film!

Rivera is definitely a true fan of Goldie Vance, for she captures the characterization and the world so perfectly - I have no doubt that Larson and Williams are very proud of this novel.  It is a great way to pay homage to such a wonderful creation, and I'm thrilled to know a second book in this series is already scheduled!  For mystery fans or Goldie Vance comic fans, this is a must-read novel!

RATING:  10 heavy statues of Neptune out of 10 for expanding the world of Goldie Vance to a whole new realm of readers with the perfect jumping-on point for new fans!

Goldie Vance GN - Volume Four - Goldie Vance Cracks the Code!

Looking back on this blog, I realize I never posted any thoughts on the Goldie Vance comic book series published by Boom! comics.  It originally came out as a monthly series, with break in-between each 4-issue arc. However, for whatever reason, after the first twelve issues, Boom! decided to switch the publication from monthly issues to graphic novels only, so "issues 13-16" was sold only as a bound graphic novel, labeled Volume Four (as issues 1-4 was Volume 1, 2-8 was Volume 2, and 9-12 was Volume Three).

Anyway, if you're thoroughly confused, don't be!  If you love a good, clean mystery in the same vein as Nancy Drew, then go out to your local comic store (or makes Barnes & Noble order it for you) and pick up any of the trade paperbacks of this series.  It has a teenage protagonist whose father runs a hotel in sunny Florida, and she has taken it upon herself to assist the hotel detective (no, these storeis are not set in the present) in solving cases. But rather than your typical missing luggage or stolen jewelry, Goldie usually finds herself smack dab in the middle of international mysteries!

Volume Four (which has no specific title, although the tagline on the back says it all:  Goldie Vance Cracks the Code!) finds Goldie finally being taken seriously by her father, as well as Walter Tooey, the real hotel detective.  He asks her to help him figure out what has happened to a couple of bands who have not shown up for the music festival that weekend, and to also see about what is causing the recent power outages.  Two simple enough tasks, right?  Wrong!  Remember, Goldie and Nancy share a love of mysteries, as well as coincidences, so from the get-go, the reader knows that there is something a lot more sinister going on here...

It seems the music festival, and the music industry in general, is harboring some very dark secrets, and that someone is using the records for something other than music.  Goldie figures out that it is one particular song being played by the local radio station that happens to be playing every time the power goes out in town.  With the help of her friend, Cher, she discovers not only what it is that is causing the black-outs, but also uncovers some secret messages in Russian on the album covers!

Of course, Goldie jumps the gun and ends up accusing the wrong person, which gets in a lot of trouble, not just with her father and the hotel staff, but also with her girlfriend!  So, when Goldie stumbles across the identity of the real culprit, she's left with the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome and has to find a way to prove she is right this time!

For this story, Jackie Ball has taken over the writing chores, from a story by original creator of the character, Hope Larson.  The artist is also new, with Elle Power now doing the art instead of original co-creator Brittney Williams.  Yet, despite the change in writer and artist, the characterization remains consistent, as does the art style and quality.  Honestly, if I had not looked at the credits in the front of the book, I would not have noticed the change in creative teams.  Which, quite frankly, is a good thing, because that means that the story and art are so well done, the change had no impact on the great stories being told.

And, this is a small thing for some, but for me, it meant a lot - the book has four chapters (one chapter per issue), and it maintains the numbering - meaning the first chapter is listed as Chapter Thirteen (which would have been issue 13 if the series had remained monthly), and the trade provides us with what the covers of each issue would have been if the series had maintained that publication schedule.  So, even though I had to switch from monthly issues to trades, at least there is some consistency!

"...a spunky teen detective in the tradition of Nancy Drew," says The A.V. Club, and I would have to agree.

RATING:  9 sticks of American gum out of 10 for providing a good, clean mystery that can be enjoyed by mystery fans of all ages!