Friday means Friday's Forgotten Books. For the complete
list of books, authors, and reviewers, please surf over to Patti Abbott's
excellent blog..........
Billed on the cover as “The First Ever Ms. Tree Novel!” the
book opens with Ms. Tree describing a dream she has had while reclining on the
couch of her psychiatrist, Dr. Cassel. In her dream she is attacked by a figure
who is revealed eventually to be her late husband. As her dream goes on she is
forced to kill him to save her own life. What her dream represents is unclear
and something the Dr. would like to pursue. Moreover, since she missed the last
two sessions and she is the last patient of the day, the Dr. is willing to stay
late and listen as Ms. Tree explains the events of the past week or so.
His willingness to stay is a good thing because, in direct
contrast to her current state on his couch, Ms. Tree has been on the move and
very active on a number of fronts. She is directly involved in a recent murder
case that has made tabloid type headlines in the news media. Marcy Addwater, who has a history of mental
instability, without question gunned down her husband and a hooker he was with
in a motel room. The cops see the incident as twin murders committed by an
angry and crazed wife fed up with her husband’s chronic infidelity. Bernie
Levine, who also happens to be Ms. Tree’s attorney, sees a defense strategy and
wants Ms. Tree’s help. After meeting her, Ms. Tree sees a vulnerable woman at
the brink that needs help in every sense of the word and quickly agrees to
help.
Over the next 203 pages (including author afterword which
goes into extensive detail about the graphic novel history of Ms. Tree) Ms.
Tree works the case as well as other issues while trying to keep her husband’s
legacy, the detective agency, afloat. Her skills, while considerable and clearly
evident, are constantly in question by others in the agency and elsewhere who
are supposed to be helping her and not causing problems. Much of her energy is
spent dealing with subtle and not so subtle sexism in her world. While set in
current times there is a constant undercut of sexism throughout the work as if
the novel was written forty or fifty years ago. This could be due to the
graphic novel history of the character dating back to 1980, the inspirations
for the character which go back considerably further, and the attempt to go
back to the beginnings of the character as a sort of setup for the graphic
novels. Or, it could be just another stylistic choice by the author seeking to
build character development.
Told throughout the novel in the format of her telling the
psychiatrist all that has happened the book quickly pulls the reader into her
world. When the real world has fallen away in favor of the reader living
through the character and experiencing the character the author has succeeded
at what he or she is trying to do. That certainly is the case here and is done
very well through the technique of a patient and her doctor. The choice of
story technique is in direct contrast to the action nature of the work. A pace
that, at times, is clearly and with reason broken by frequent interruptions for
the patient and Dr. to converse on a minor issue. By doing so, the reader is
reminded of the setup and point of view while at the same time reinforcing the
point that Ms. Tree is working her way verbally to a point in her tale. The
questions are where the tale will lead and what the point will be?
The case is complex, the characters real and very
interesting, and the action plentiful while, like the reader, Ms. Tree is
reclining. This is a very good book and another excellent offering from Hard Case
Crime.
Deadly Beloved
By Max Allan Collins
Hard Case Crime
December 2007
ISBN# 0-8439-5778-6
Paperback
$6.99
203 Pages (including author afterword)
Kevin R. Tipple © 2007, 2013
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2 comments:
I have some of the early Ms. Tree comics, from the black & white independent boom. Strange to think of her graduating to a novel.
Sounds very cool, Evan.
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