The First Monday in June 2022 - An Update

It's not something I talk about a lot but since January of 2021, Jo and I have been dieting. Since we started I have lost 60+ pounds and am sitting at my new cruising weight of 155 (give or take a couple of pounds). Jo has done fantastically and I'm so proud of what she's done. Anyway, the reason I bring it up here is because last night when I went to bed I decided to try a little experiment. Jo and I always weigh ourselves Monday morning. I do as soon as take the dogs out and before I have breakfast. So last night, after a day of regular meals I decided to weigh myself before I went to bed;  159 pounds. After I took the dogs out this morning and before I went on my run, I had a poop and then weighed myself; 156.0 pounds. When I came back from my run (50 minutes of just running; it feels good to be running and not just walk / running again. But I digress), I weighed myself again; 154.2 pounds. I had breakfast, relaxed for a couple of hours and had a final weigh-in; 156.2. I guess my point in this rambling discourse is that I'm amazed at people who weigh themselves two or three times a day. It must just drive them crazy doing that because things change so much depending on what you're doing. Once a week is more than enough. Anyway, we did indulge ourselves a bit today, as we've got a week to get back on track. Lunch at Benino's and 3 games of Sequence. (Of course Jo won two out of three). We changed out dinner plans and bought a prepared meal at JIG's (John's Independent Grocer) and then even had dessert tonight. Back to the regular scheduled dieting tomorrow. 😊😌😋😎

So on to the purpose of this post; books. Some new books (synopses will be provided); finished one book (a review will be provided) and my ongoing look at Women Author's whose work I've been enjoying. 

On with the show!

Just Finished

1. Ms. Tree, Vol 1: One Mean Mother by Max Allan Collins (2019). This is the 2nd book I've read by Collins.

"I had previously read Max Allan Collins A Killing in Comics and enjoyed it very much. Collins has had an extensive career in comics, script writing etc. so I thought it might be worth trying one of his graphic novels. Ms. Tree, Vol. 1: One Mean Mother was my choice. It's a collection of comics from the Ms. Tree collection; as he explains it in the preamble, it's a selection of ten issues (not from the beginning of the series) but what he considered the best work in the series. It starts with Gift Of Death and ends with a throw-in short story.

Ms. Tree, Michael Tree, is a PI who took over her husband's business after he was murdered on a case. Mike, her husband, was an ex-cop turned PI (yes they have the same first name). Ms. Tree now lives with her stepson (guess what, he's also a Michael), in a somewhat fractious relationship. Tree's PI business is quite successful, she has two partners and from what I we gather, a busy team of operatives.  Ms. Tree is quick with her anger, her fists & her gun, all quite successful and in high heels as well. It's pulp, gritty detective stories at the best. But there is a twist; in one of the later issues Ms. Tree will discover the joys of motherhood, her softer more feminine side. But like any mother wolf, she can be one mean mother when her family is threatened.

The cases in this particular graphic novel tend to revolve around the Muerta crime family. The leader of the gang Dominic had Ms. Tree's husband murdered and she, in turn, exacted revenge on him (We learn this all in flashback. Throughout the course of this novel, Ms. Tree will have regular contact with various members of the family, both negatively and positively. Oh and young stepson is in love with the daughter of Dominic Muerta. Shades of the Montagues and Capulets, you say?

All in all, it's an action filled comic series. Excellent, crisp artwork, tense stories. Ms. Tree is super and her team (when they get in on the action) are solid and loyal. Each individual story stands on its own and the book makes a comprehensive, intertwined story. I've ordered the second book in this series and am looking forward to reading it. Give it a try (3.5 stars)"

New Books

1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows #2). I just finished the first book in this duology. It was excellent. Looking forward to reading this book.

"Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets—a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world."

2. The War Widow by Tara Moss (Billie Walker Mystery #1). I saw this in one of my locals and it seemed interesting so I thought what the heck, why not try a new series. 😏

"Bestselling author Tara Moss returns to crime fiction with a stunning new series, and a stunning new heroine. Meet PI Billie Walker - smart and sexy, with a dash of Mae West humour, she's a hard-boiled detective with a twist. She's a woman in a man's world ...

Sydney, 1946. Billie Walker is living life on her own terms. World War II has left her bereaved, her photojournalist husband missing and presumed dead. Determined not to rely on any man for her future, she re-opens her late father's detective agency.

Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating spouses - it's easy, pays the bills and she has a knack for it. But her latest case, the disappearance of a young man, is not proving straightforward ...

Soon Billie is up to her stylish collar in bad men, and not just the unfaithful kind - these are the murdering kind. Smugglers. Players. Gangsters. Billie and her loyal assistant must pit their wits against Sydney's ruthless underworld and find the young man before it's too late."

3. Black Tide by Peter Temple (Jack Irish #2). I enjoyed the TV series so very much and the first book was excellent.

"The only family Jack Irish ever saw were Irish men in faded football team photographs on the pub wall. So when Des Connors, the last link to his father, calls to ask for help in the matter of a missing son, Jack is happy to lend a hand."

Women Authors Whose Work I'm Enjoying - Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer nee Stella Martin 

Georgette Heyer was an English author of romances and mysteries who lived from 1902 - 1974. Over her career she wrote 50+ novels. I've enjoyed 4 thus far and have another 3 awaiting my attention. Let's check out those books.

1. Detection Unlimited (Inspector Hemingway #4 / 1953)

"Slumped on a seat under an oak tree is old Sampson Warrenby, with a bullet through his brain. He is discovered by his anxious niece, Mavis, who is one of the ten people in the village is the running for chief suspect, having just cause to dislike Warrenby intensely.

Only Chief Inspector Hemingway can uncover which of the ten has turned hatred into murder."

2. Duplicate Death (Inspector Hemingway #3 / 1951).

"London is the scene for a card party given by a social-climbing hostess. Suddenly, the seemingly civilized game of Duplicate Bridge is interrupted by a double murder, both victims murdered by the same sinister method, strangled with picture wire. The crimes seem identical, but were they carried out by the same hand? And, what was the connection between the first, a mysterious man of the world, and the second, an ambitious widow? Inspector Hemingway has his work cut out for him, and the odds of solving this crime are stacked up against him.

Things become even more complicated when Miss Beulah Birtley, the fiancée of the inspector's young friend Timothy Kane, becomes Hemingway's prime suspect. Kane is determined to prove the lady's innocence-but when he begins digging into her past, he finds it's more than a little bit shady... That morning, Miss Beulah bought the weapon. Before supper, she had spit out her hatred for the victim in poisonous--and public--words. And at the party, she was the last to see him alive. They found him slumped in a chair-his handsome head lolling forward on his well-cut dinner jacket--his florid face hideously distorted. A horrible death, observed the Inspector. But very simple for a young lady like Beulah to arrange... Mrs. Haddington, the second victim, is found strangled in the exact same spot where one of her daughter's many suitors had also been strangled. Fortunately, the first-rate detective doesn’t miss a trick."

3. They Found Him Dead (Inspector Hannasyde #3 / 1937).

"Silas Kane's sixtieth birthday party is marred by argument and dissension amongst his family, and then the next morning, Kane is found dead. The coroner's verdict of death by misadventure would seem to confirm that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog. But then his heir is shot, and threats are made against the next in line to inherit his fortune. The redoubtable Superintendent Hannasyde is called in to investigate. All clues point to an apparently innocuous eighty-year-old woman, but as the Inspector delves further into the case, he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems?"

The complete list of Heyer's works can be found at this link. Enjoy your week.