2009 Book 37: Deadly Beloved
Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins, isbn 9780843957785, 203 pages, Hard Case Crime, $6.99
I wish I could say I clearly remember the Ms. Tree comics, but I don't. It's been a long time since I read them, and none of them are still in my collection, so I was pretty able to approach this "relaunch" (the author's own words) of the character with less nostalgia to color my impressions. The Terry Beatty cover jogged my memory slightly, though.
What we get is a pretty decently told "origin story." Michael Friday (female), former police deskworker turned "partner" (as in, "glorified secretary") in a private investigator firm, marries fellow former cop/private eye/boss Michael Tree (male) ... and he is killed on their wedding night. She inherits her husband's Agency and his name (Ms. Michael Tree) and a year later gets involved in solving a strange murder which may or may not have connections to her late husband's seemingly cut-and-dry murder.
Collins plays a lot with narration and flashback, giving bits and pieces of the back-story when it best moves the entire piece forward. The lack of chronological order enhances the tension of the story, allowing at least two major cases (Mr. Michael Tree's murder, and the Addwater murder-by-spouse Ms. Tree is investigating "now") to develop evenly without one overshadowing the other. Of course, it being her origin story, Ms. Tree's character is fleshed out the most (and yes, she appears "in the flesh," as well), with series supporting characters getting some nods but not any real development in this initial installment.
You can see the influence of Mickey Spillane on Collins' work here, mostly in a positive way. Ms. Tree is definitely a female Mike Hammer --hard-bitten (seeing your new husband murdered right in front of you will do that to a person), not afraid to do what needs to be done (amazing, how many people she shoots "in self defense"), brassy. She is a combination, really, of Hammer and his trusty Gal Friday Velma.
There are a few clunky moments (for instance, the character names are a bit Dickensian, which works on the comics page but is a bit awkward in prose form), but the whole story hangs together well, building in tension. I can't say I was particularly surprised by the reveal of the actual behind-the-scenes bad-guy, but I can't say I particularly "called it" early on either. Which made me satisfied that there were enough valid options to sort of keep me guessing.
I'm actually surprised that Hard Case Crime has not commissioned further Ms. Tree novels -- they've got Collins working on his Quarry books instead.
The great thing about the Hard Case Crime books is the cover price -- I can recommend most of their titles and not feel like I'm directing people to spend large amounts of money on a book they won't be satisfied with.
I wish I could say I clearly remember the Ms. Tree comics, but I don't. It's been a long time since I read them, and none of them are still in my collection, so I was pretty able to approach this "relaunch" (the author's own words) of the character with less nostalgia to color my impressions. The Terry Beatty cover jogged my memory slightly, though.
What we get is a pretty decently told "origin story." Michael Friday (female), former police deskworker turned "partner" (as in, "glorified secretary") in a private investigator firm, marries fellow former cop/private eye/boss Michael Tree (male) ... and he is killed on their wedding night. She inherits her husband's Agency and his name (Ms. Michael Tree) and a year later gets involved in solving a strange murder which may or may not have connections to her late husband's seemingly cut-and-dry murder.
Collins plays a lot with narration and flashback, giving bits and pieces of the back-story when it best moves the entire piece forward. The lack of chronological order enhances the tension of the story, allowing at least two major cases (Mr. Michael Tree's murder, and the Addwater murder-by-spouse Ms. Tree is investigating "now") to develop evenly without one overshadowing the other. Of course, it being her origin story, Ms. Tree's character is fleshed out the most (and yes, she appears "in the flesh," as well), with series supporting characters getting some nods but not any real development in this initial installment.
You can see the influence of Mickey Spillane on Collins' work here, mostly in a positive way. Ms. Tree is definitely a female Mike Hammer --hard-bitten (seeing your new husband murdered right in front of you will do that to a person), not afraid to do what needs to be done (amazing, how many people she shoots "in self defense"), brassy. She is a combination, really, of Hammer and his trusty Gal Friday Velma.
There are a few clunky moments (for instance, the character names are a bit Dickensian, which works on the comics page but is a bit awkward in prose form), but the whole story hangs together well, building in tension. I can't say I was particularly surprised by the reveal of the actual behind-the-scenes bad-guy, but I can't say I particularly "called it" early on either. Which made me satisfied that there were enough valid options to sort of keep me guessing.
I'm actually surprised that Hard Case Crime has not commissioned further Ms. Tree novels -- they've got Collins working on his Quarry books instead.
The great thing about the Hard Case Crime books is the cover price -- I can recommend most of their titles and not feel like I'm directing people to spend large amounts of money on a book they won't be satisfied with.