Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cat’s Claw by Dolores Hitchens

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cat’s Claw by Dolores Hitchens:   Reviewed by Jeanne Rachel Murdock is an apple-cheeked, white-haired little old lady who lives with her prim sister Jennifer in Los Ang...

Scott's Take: Wesley Dodds: The Sandman by Robert Venditti, Illustrator Riley Rossmo

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Riley Rossmo, is a miniseries whose main character is the original Sandman (there are several Sandman). This read is set back in the 1940s in the DC Universe. The original Sandman is just starting out and has not joined the Justice Society Of America. The JSA was one of the original super teams before the Justice League. They protected their world until the red scare forced them to disband. The United States government turned on them.

 

The original Sandman was a gas mask wearing vigilante who used sleep gas to fight crime. He had the ability to see the future in nightmares which showed him horrible fates awaiting people. He would attempt to intervene. I am using the past tense since he is currently dead in the DC Universe, but was alive during this miniseries flashback.  

 

In this graphic novel, someone has stolen his chemical formulas for chemicals weapons that he accidently created in the process of creating his sleep gas. Thus, the hunt is on to find out who plans to use them in WW2 which is currently raging outside the USA. While this read also explores his origin, it also deals with his relationship with his father. A man who was shaped by the horrors of WW1 and warped a young Wesley Dodds by intimately discussing the horrors of war with him.

 

This is an action-packed mystery with a character I am not very familiar with but found myself enjoying. The artist is talented, but I found the cartoony art style not fitting for this tale. While some really good splash pages were created, the use of bioweapons and the horrors that arose from them, was diminished by the art choice.  This is an interesting miniseries with some twists and turns. Overall, I enjoyed this hoopla read.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fwpGi2

 

 

My reading copy came by way of the Hoopla App through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2024

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: An Irish Country Christmas by Alice Taylor

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: An Irish Country Christmas by Alice Taylor:   Reviewed by Jeanne Alice Taylor was one of six children growing up on a farm in County Cork in the 1940s. At the time of this story, s...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood:   Reviewed by Kristin Willowjean “Will” Parker is no stranger to trouble, having spent the last few years traveling with a circus and evad...

Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair

The fantastic members of the Crime Thru Time historical mystery online discussion group drew my attention to a new series set in one of my chronological times of interest, the 1940s. I felt compelled to investigate. The Right Sort of Man (Minotaur, 2019) is set in London in the aftermath of World War II, before rebuilding commenced and rationing was still very much a part of everyday life. Author Allison Montclair is apparently a pseudonym of Alan Gordon, the author of the Fools’ Guild historical mystery series set in the 13^th century. See the footnote on Montclair’s entry on the website Stop! You’re Killing Me.

Miss Iris Sparks, who is secretive about her participation in the recently ended war, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a war widow living with her obnoxious mother-in-law, are both at loose ends. They decide to open a marriage bureau in Mayfair and after three months are pleased with their modest success. Their budding matchmaking careers are jeopardized though when one of their clients is murdered, and Scotland Yard decides the man Iris and Gwen set her up with is the culprit. Gwen, whose accurate assessment of people is awe-inspiring, knows the mild accountant is not guilty. Iris uses her war contacts to look into the dead girl’s background and finds some questionable activity. The pair delves into the alibis of her associates, which leads them into some hair-raising encounters with purveyors of black-market stockings and clothing coupons.

Secondary plots involve Gwen’s intense grief at the loss of her husband and her attempts to detach from her controlling mother-in-law. Iris has her own set of deep regrets about the war, which aren’t helped by encountering a former fiancé who is now with Scotland Yard. The mother-in-law is masterfully drawn as someone we all would despise. Another fine character is Sally, their debt collector, who is actually an actor and budding playwright.

Perhaps one of the best parts of this story is the authenticity with which postwar London is portrayed. References to the shattered buildings, the stories of nights sheltering in the Underground, and the basic deprivations are worked unobtrusively but authoritatively in and around the story line. And the reminders of the loss of sons, brothers, husbands, comrades, not just numbers but lives that were dear to the people they left, are always there.

Fortunately, my local library has purchased both books issued so far. I didn’t have to wait long for the first title and I was number #32 on the waiting list for the second one when I last checked. Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus and selection as the best mystery of 2020 by the American Library Association’s Reading List make this book a must-read for traditional and historical mystery fans.

·         Hardcover : 336 pages

·         ISBN-10 : 1250178363

·         ISBN-13 : 978-1250178367

·         Publisher : Minotaur Books (June 4, 2019)

·         Language: : English

Aubrey Hamilton ©2020

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Crime Time : THE HOMICIDAL SAINT – Axel Brand

Crime Time : THE HOMICIDAL SAINT – Axel Brand: Axel Brand is the nom de plume of award-winning historical-fiction novelist Richard S. Wheeler. He uses Brand for his crime/mystery ser...