some more books
Few more quick book write-ups. Two novels, two graphic novels.
Bad Moon on the Rise is the 6th Casey Jones Mystery by Katy Munger, a NC author. I've really enjoyed this series and wondered if she'd stopped writing them as it'd been awhile since the last one. But this new one is great fun, after getting off to a bit of a slow start with me. Casey's character is the best part of the series--she's a blowsy, outspoken white-trash (her words) blonde who doesn't really have an official PI license, sleeps with just about any law officer she meets, and cuts corners to solve mysteries. There's a lot of humor in the books but this one has its dark side, too, as Casey enters the criminal's world to find a missing teenage boy whose mother is a drug addict. She ends up going along with a plan to infiltrate a women's prison, as a convict, in order to help a friend and find out what happened to the boy's mother. I highly recommend this series and you could easily start with this one and figure out any backstory along the way.
Katy Munger also wrote Desolate Angel, under the pen name Chaz McGee. It's the first in a new series about a homicide detective named Kevin Fahey, who happens to be dead. Fahey was an alcoholic and a rotten detective, and he's sticking around for some reason unknown to him, at first. He can see what's going on with his family and coworkers though he can't communicate or assist them. He follows his replacement, Maggie, as she investigates a murder that Kevin knows is identical to one he botched years ago, sending an innocent man to prison. He and his former partner, Danny, are the only ones to see the resemblance in the crimes, and for some reason Danny isn't speaking up. It's Kevin's mission to right the wrongs and find the real killer before he strikes again.
I liked Desolate Angel, though I wasn't a huge fan of the melodramatic way in which it was written, with lots of angst and regret from Kevin as he sees what he ignored in life--the love of his wife and kids, etc. Every now and then he'd throw in a funny or practical zinger, and I wanted more of these. I'll keep reading the series because I liked the characters a lot, and Katy Munger is a great writer.
Ramna 1/2 Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi was a fun book, but the joke of the boy who turns into a girl when he jumps into cold water, and back into a boy with hot water, grew thin really quickly. Or maybe it was all the bare breasts in a book that's meant for kids. It was clever and I loved the main girl character but this one volume was plenty for me.
Sand Chronicles Vol. 1 by Hinako Ashihara, OTOH, was a fabulous graphic novel that contains lovely, detailed artwork and a story worthy of any novel for teens. After her parents divorce, Ann moves with her mother to a rural part of Japan where her grandmother lives, and the book goes from her childhood to teen years as she struggles to make friends and adjust. Ann's mother commits suicide and it's only through the support of her gruff grandmother and Daigo, a constant friend and eventual love interest, that she can move past her guilt and carry on. Fully fleshed-out characters, a rich story, and the great artwork made me love this book a lot.
Bad Moon on the Rise is the 6th Casey Jones Mystery by Katy Munger, a NC author. I've really enjoyed this series and wondered if she'd stopped writing them as it'd been awhile since the last one. But this new one is great fun, after getting off to a bit of a slow start with me. Casey's character is the best part of the series--she's a blowsy, outspoken white-trash (her words) blonde who doesn't really have an official PI license, sleeps with just about any law officer she meets, and cuts corners to solve mysteries. There's a lot of humor in the books but this one has its dark side, too, as Casey enters the criminal's world to find a missing teenage boy whose mother is a drug addict. She ends up going along with a plan to infiltrate a women's prison, as a convict, in order to help a friend and find out what happened to the boy's mother. I highly recommend this series and you could easily start with this one and figure out any backstory along the way.
Katy Munger also wrote Desolate Angel, under the pen name Chaz McGee. It's the first in a new series about a homicide detective named Kevin Fahey, who happens to be dead. Fahey was an alcoholic and a rotten detective, and he's sticking around for some reason unknown to him, at first. He can see what's going on with his family and coworkers though he can't communicate or assist them. He follows his replacement, Maggie, as she investigates a murder that Kevin knows is identical to one he botched years ago, sending an innocent man to prison. He and his former partner, Danny, are the only ones to see the resemblance in the crimes, and for some reason Danny isn't speaking up. It's Kevin's mission to right the wrongs and find the real killer before he strikes again.
I liked Desolate Angel, though I wasn't a huge fan of the melodramatic way in which it was written, with lots of angst and regret from Kevin as he sees what he ignored in life--the love of his wife and kids, etc. Every now and then he'd throw in a funny or practical zinger, and I wanted more of these. I'll keep reading the series because I liked the characters a lot, and Katy Munger is a great writer.
Ramna 1/2 Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi was a fun book, but the joke of the boy who turns into a girl when he jumps into cold water, and back into a boy with hot water, grew thin really quickly. Or maybe it was all the bare breasts in a book that's meant for kids. It was clever and I loved the main girl character but this one volume was plenty for me.
Sand Chronicles Vol. 1 by Hinako Ashihara, OTOH, was a fabulous graphic novel that contains lovely, detailed artwork and a story worthy of any novel for teens. After her parents divorce, Ann moves with her mother to a rural part of Japan where her grandmother lives, and the book goes from her childhood to teen years as she struggles to make friends and adjust. Ann's mother commits suicide and it's only through the support of her gruff grandmother and Daigo, a constant friend and eventual love interest, that she can move past her guilt and carry on. Fully fleshed-out characters, a rich story, and the great artwork made me love this book a lot.