Bookshelf Tour

What? Brown Behind Brown

"Things have been pretty exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia–a little too exciting if you ask resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy.  Just as the town starts to buzz over its Civil War reenactment, a popular local man disappears.  No one's seen Tommy Van Allen's single-engine plane, either–except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it during a foggy evening's mousing.  Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite human, postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss.  But things really take an ugly turn when the town reenacts the battle of Oak Ridge–and a participant ends up with three very real bullets in his back.  While the clever tiger cat and her friends sift through clues that just don't fit together, more than a few locals fear that the scandal will force well-hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day.  And when Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking places loved ones in danger, it takes more than a canny kitty and her team of animal sleuths to set things right again..."

~ Cat on the Scent

Need I say anything more, considering I just talked about the previous Mrs. Murphy book with so much delight? No? Good, because the same joy still applies concerning my love of this cozy mystery series. As you can see, I immediately followed Murder on the Prowl (Mrs. Murphy #6) with Cat on the Scent (Mrs. Murphy #7) because I just did not get enough. So if I had a copy of book 8, I would be all over it at the moment.

Nevertheless, Cat on the Scent is standard Brown; loads of characters, talking pets, and small-town murders. I would say the pacing of Cat on the Scent slowed down from the rush of the previous book.  However, the new premise of “ruthless women and sexily cunning wiles” was equally as wonderfully delivered. Here and there, Brown’s characters continue to share pieces of their opinion over real-world topics.  One of those topics was the necessary versus unnecessary need for the Civil War. If you pay attention, you can see which line Brown is on.

An interesting aspect of Cat on the Scent comes somewhat as a spoiler; the villain(s) wins.  I suppose you'll just have to read the book to find out the stakes, lengths, and how.

Anyway, what more can I say besides I love this series?  I suppose I'm not hard to please.  I say, let's order the next five books!

~ 8. Back 2 High School - Towel Style ~

I'm one post away from the last set of pages for this comic.  It's really interesting because–as I mentioned within the first post–I wrote/drew this comic my junior year of high school.  Now flash forward to this past May, and the last and final graduating class has exited the school.  So yeah, my high school is no longer.  One of the city's hospitals is taking over the property and doing some expansion work.  A couple of weeks ago the school opened its doors one last time for the community to come aboard, take pictures, and (I believe) participate in an auction for some of the memorabilia.  I didn't make it.  I'm still not quite sure if I really wanted to see some of my old classmates roaming those once traumatic halls, with their older faces greeting me.  That's just the truth.  

Even so, it's a surreal feeling knowing my high school closed, probably because my memories of my experience there are so damn strong.  The good, bad, and indifferent; high school is hardly forgettable for just about anyone.  And personally, it probably didn't help that I didn't get over high school until I turned 21.  

I remember getting yelled at in 9th grade because I didn't want to play basketball–yet I loved lifting weights.  (I passed P.E. with a 65 and was happy because that meant I didn't have to retake it.)  I remember learning how to drive in 10th grade, and the excitement of passing the drivers' test.  My junior year I was in a play, and developed my first long-standing crush.  And no one can forget the edge of freedom that your senior year brings out of you.  I got really cocky during that year.  Part of that was because I was on the newspaper staff and my comics were featured in each newspaper.  When I look back, I was pretty damn brave and ambitious.  So yes, very good memories.  Some troubling, but all good.

Taking this comic and reflecting on its conception leads me to think how high school does determine where you'll go in life.  Well, to a degree.  I suppose what I really meant was it fosters the beginnings of your aspirations mingling with your character.

The Creamy Ways of Rita Mae

"When a phony obituary appears in the local paper, the good people of Crozet, Virginia, are understandably upset.  Who would stoop to such a tasteless act?  Is it a sick joke–or a sinister warning?  Only Mrs. Murphy, the canny tiger cat, senses true malice at work.  And her instincts prove correct when a second fake obit appears, followed by a fiendish murder... and then another.  People are dropping like flies in Crozet, and no one knows why.  Yet even if Mrs. Murphy untangles the knot of passion and deceit that has sent someone into a killing frenzy, it won't be enough.  Somehow the shrewd puss must guide her favorite human, postmistress "Harry" Haristeen, down a perilous trail to a deadly killer... and a killer of a climax.  Or the next orbit may be Harry's own."

~Murder on the Prowl

Y’all know what time it is, right? If not, it’s Rita Mae Brown time (now don't you snicker!). Seeing this is the sixth book in Brown’s Mrs. Murphy cozy mystery series, I still don’t have much to say other than I simply adore these books.  If that's a valid summation, please believe it.  Anyway, they're light and probably written for an acquired taste, considering they're about a dog and cat detective.  Nevertheless, Brown’s way with words still has the “creamy” quality I savor.  It's a quality that begs me to grab a blanket, pillow, and turn off the PS4. So I had a great time spending hours cozying up to this book, especially as a thunderstorm blew into town. Matter-of-fact, I raced home to get to Murder on the Prowl minutes before the storm broke. 

The Pull

Jumping from the above synopsis, there’s always an extended cast introduced on top of the "good people" of Crozet. Said extended cast takes a minute or two to adjust to; Brown considers each character's history, purpose, determination, and reason.  However, should you find yourself lost in their mix, Brown has a Cast of Characters page present for you to revert to. You know, in case you need a cheat sheet. Still, I repeat, after a while you won’t need it. You’ll get them just fine because they have the tendency to come alive the further you read.

Whether it's via the perspective of her cat or dog sleuth, it's always interesting watching her players operate.  Especially within the given theme of each book (Murder on the Prowl took on teenage academic pressure while spiraling into something desperate and horrifying).  No, her characters aren't superbly deep and complex, but what they are is twisted and vivid to their roles.  So by the end of her books, I’m always left desperate for the next story.  Especially after her villains lay down his/her side of the in-hand events.

I have to keep reading this series. They're the quintessential definition of a cozy (next to Murder, She Wrote). I want to curl up with these books each time I pick one up.

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Find My Kill Switch | Surviving Dead Ice

I’ve been meaning to get back to you guys on my experience with Laurell K Hamilton’s twenty-fourth Anita Blake not-so adventure, Dead Ice. The truth is I had to cleanse my reading pallet with something else in the meantime.  Now if you will, think wasabi level pallet cleansing. Anyway, this particular entry didn’t take months to read, so score one for energy drinks and those pulled pork sandwiches I mentioned in a previous post. Nonetheless, it took damn near two weeks for me to finish.  Insufferably so?  Yes, mostly toward the middle and end.  Though it suffered from the standard uselessly overtaxing furry politics and relationship soap operatic melodrama–that continuously killed the crime thriller buzz–it didn't totally shrivel up and suck.  But it didn't collect any prizes either as it continued to circle the drain.  I have a wagon full of things I want to snark about; foot jittery to serve you with them all. However, to try to sum a bit of it up, Hamilton’s camel clutching way of making her readers undergo Anita’s solar system size ego (which doubles as bloating insecurity) remains one.  Also, Anita continues to talk a very good game, but is mostly dense at the end of her barking. The many vampires, aliens, poltergeist, zombies, and animals in her life remain noncommittal. Seriously, I can’t think of one of Antia’s lovers who sparks the slimiest sense of concern or welfare inside of me. 

However, I do believe the character of Asher is now the punching bag the character of Richard once was.  Which is lame because his "issues" are obviously pulled out of somebody's ass just so Anita can have someone to fuss with, while pumping page counts on the tired subject.  The details are hardly worth getting into, as it's just daytime TV types of drama anyway.  With a supernatural spin, of course.  Nevertheless, that doesn't shake off the weariness it creates. The truth is every male character’s life only revolves around Anita's conjecture and vagina (or milky breast, or throat pulse, or whatever). Even so, in the general, I’ve long conceded that this series has turned into the author’s high school fantasy gone wild. I just can’t seem to see it any other way.  I've also long since learned to unhook myself over the majority of the relationship mumbo-jumbo-gumbo-humbo-dumbo-tumbo. 

There’s no need to get invested; all roads of angst, politics, and quarrels on sex/relationships lead simply to Anita’s vagina monologues. Again and again.  And in the infamous words of Cyndi Lauper–though nowhere near as ingeniously expressed and told–"time after time."

Nevertheless, I keep reading. It’s a thing where the real joy comes from the post snarking. What I can say is Dead Ice kind of did a throwback to my favorite book in the series (back when it was engaging, for me anyway). That book would be book number two, The Laughing Corpse.  That, I will say, was a nice touch despite long overdue.  So in keeping with all I've said, I’m not going to go any further. The truth is if you’re familiar with this series, you either share pieces of my view or don’t at all. And if you’re new to this series, I would suggest you not even bother getting to this point. So no sense in my trying to hearten anyone. 

Eventually, you’ll probably find yourself like me; jade, unconcerned, and still wondering what happened to the series after book nine. Now! This post is for those who found themselves rolling their eyes through the majority of Dead Ice. God people, I though I was going to have to get my eyes checked after this one! And the way Hamilton repeats everything to the reader page after page did not help the situation.  Not to mention her obsession with gyms and fitness. Anyway, let’s get to where I rolled my eyes, shared through a few lines taken from the book...

*Activating Kill Switch*

15

I fought the urge to sigh.  If you're a cop and a woman, never date a celebrity; it ruins your reputation for being a hardass.  I was a U.S. Marshal, but ever since we'd gone public with our engagement I'd become Jean-Claude's fiancee, not Marshal Blake, to most of the women I met, and a lot of the men.  I'd really had hopes that the FBI would be above such things in the middle of crime-fighting, but apparently not.

Two pages into the book and this ever so common subject comes up right on time.  Why does the author always–and I mean always–have to bring up Anita's obsession with gender role constructs and the this-versus-that of being a woman in her career field.  A field, which I believe, she should be removed from because of potential bias in the face of her assignments.  The truth is she does sleep with all the vampires and wereanimals in the city of St. Louis.  She's involved in their power plays and politics.  She's, essentially, the center of the supernatural communities' attention.  Yet, she gloats about the FBI needing her to kill supernatural creatures case after case, year after year.  Meanwhile, her vagina is up on the table (often pimped out by the city's master vampire, Jean-Claude) should any supernatural creature need a power boost.  Somebody, fire her!

14

'She said, these rings would be worthy of Helen of Troy, another raven-haired beauty [indicating Anita Blake]'

'Raven-haired means black hair,' Lisandro said. [Duh, dude. Duh.]

'Are you saying she compared me to Helen of Troy?' [Asks Anita Blake]

Nice try!

You are not Helen of Troy, Anita.  Cease this degree of madness, Hamilton.  Anita's not on that kind of level and never will be.

13

'I can't imagine a world where I didn't get grief for looking the way I do as a man.'

The insipidity boring (not to mention emasculated) Micah character states this because he's so short and so "beautiful."  Needless to say, the cringe for me was so real.  This line seemed shot straight out of somebody's fantasy delusions. 

12

'But the only reason I'm with Jade is that she's my black tiger to call; we're metaphysically tied to each other.  We didn't exactly choose each other.  I'm all full up on vampires.'

Is that a fact?

11 

'I did, because what if by refusing to risk screwing up my own happily-ever-after, I cause the Great Evil to rise again and destroy not only you, Nathaniel, and Jean-Claude, but everyone and everything?  The destruction of civilization as we know it seems a high price to pay for not wanting to add another person to our commitment ceremony.'

Did you just read the same thing?  Micah states this, and I've finally come to the conclusion that he irritates me more than any of Anita's other were-posse members.  Evidently, Anita has to add two were-tigers to her harem in order to keep the Mother of all Darkness–or the reportedly mother of vampires–from reviving.  That, of course, means finding two tigers for Anita to sleep with so that the Great Evil doesn't destroy civilization and mankind via some joke of a cosmic prophecy. Really.  Just step back and really, I mean really, digest Micah's statement.  It sums up the series beautifully.   I actually went to clean my bathroom after this one.  Priorities, man.  Priorities.

10

'I'm sleeping with all of you, so sex with all of us would work, but we're talking about a lot more than just sex.'

I vanquish you and your petty lies in the name of truth and justice!

9

'Lazarus was dead only a few days.  You've been dead a lot longer than that, Mr. Warrington.  Do you truly believe that Anita can do what our Lord and Savior never dared?'

First, resurrecting and raising zombies are two different things.  Resurrecting is bringing someone back to life.  Zombie raising is waking one's corpse up from the grave.  Now, obviously Mr. Warrington is a zombie Anita raised.  So let's look at it, though.  According to this piece of dialogue, Jesus couldn't resurrect the dead over an extensive period of his or her death.  As it concerns this dialogue, he wouldn't dare try.  However, Anita's power is suggested as having the strength and ease to do so?  To, quite implied, step into realms of resurrection that Jesus wouldn't even touch.  Just let that shit marinate for a second.  Got it yet?  Great.  So is Hamilton trying to use her Anita avatar to square with Jesus now?  That's only slightly not weird.

8

'I'm sorry, Susannah, really sorry; that must have been awful.'  And just like that I had my lesson.  I shouldn't assume that every woman a man bashes gave him a good reason to do it.

Girl, what!?

Cringe!  Anita states this.  Are we reading this correctly?  Is she saying that if a men beats on a woman it's usually with good reason?  Yikes!

7

'I don't understand any of this.'

She and everybody else says this a lot!  And I mean a lot!  It's actually a recurring answer within the past 5 or 6 books.  "The wall is painted purple."  "I don't understand any of this."

6

I studied his profile, because he was the only one looking away now.  'So, you're not apologizing for almost killing him, really; you're apologizing for accidentally almost killing him.'

Get the hell outta here with this nonsense!

5 

'Don't apologize for not being little; you'll be able to lift weights that I can't even imagine lifting.'

This is Anita talking to a damn lycanthrope of some sort.  Or shapeshifter.  Anyway, it's a creature that can shift into a humanoid version of an animal.  So why oh why is this conversation necessary?  I can only guess Hamilton's gym obsession again.  Otherwise, I hardly see why a shapeshifter should concern him or herself with building muscle.  Or is that just me?

4

'Your eyes better stay on my face, Benito, because one rule across all were-animal cultures is that if someone is just nude and not trying to be sexy you're suppose to ignore it.'

Anita and her mouth again.  She knows she likes the attention and she knows she wants it.  Who is she kidding?  A housefly?  Something in which she'll never sleep with.  It's attitudes like this that really screws with the inconsistent of Anita's already cruelly flawed character, from a developmental standpoint.  She demands and obsesses over her need for adoration, praise, sex, attention, and every golden sparkle she wants; however, she loathes and gets snotty by the backwash.  If this was explored correctly in Anita's development, I would accept it.  But since it's just a key-in-a-hole-to-turn piece of impulsive Mary Sue drivel, I can't.  Even the whole "rule across all were-animals" is pretty dumb when you consider they all fight to have sex with one another as power plays, and sleep naked in groups.  Per this series world-building, of course.

3

'The hell you're not; you come in here threatening to kill one of your own people because your lover chose him over you.  If you were all human, that would be first-degree homicide.  You threatened to kill Asher so that Jean-Claude will agree to you becoming my hyena to call; it's like threatening to kill someone unless a woman agrees to marry you.  Again, that's a crime; marriage under duress isn't legal, and threatening to kill people, well, the cops frown on that, too.  Then you threaten to pull out all of your hyenas and go to another city, knowing that we didn't have enough muscle to protect the city from other preternatural baddies without our guys unless we play with you.  That may not be illegal, but it's still not honorable.  But wait, there's more, you threaten to use all the soldiers at your beck and call to declare a preternatural war of a scale that hasn't been seen in this country since the 1800s.  Dozens, maybe hundreds, would die, and threatening shit like that is what makes gang task forces bust your gang up and take the leader off to jail.'

 Oh, dear. So self-righteous when it conveniences her.

2

'Sometimes, but it's more you are so powerful psychically that you just bull your way through everything, so subtle energies are lost to you because you give off so much of your own energy it makes you blind to other practitioners.'

So basically Anita is so powerful and wonderful that she overshadows everybody else in her business.  So much so that even she only sees herself.  Heh.

1

'I think they need to kiss everybody, not just me, to see if there's a spark, because I do not want to have another woman in my life who doesn't work with the men in my life.'

My blood pressure at this point.

0 

'...The longer we keep him on [a video chat line], the better chance we have of our techs tracing this to its source.'

'You mean where they're filming?' I asked.

Nooooo, Anita.  Where they're quoting scripture and eating cold hot dogs.  Like, WTF?  Of course where they're filming–Ms. Badass Federal Marshal!  This dumb question coming from the necromancer whose power overshadows everyone else's.

Enough.  I'm done. BOOM! 

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