All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

This books starts off slow and builds.  It begins with Nicolette Ferrell being called back home by her brother Daniel to the mountains of North Carolina from Philadelphia where she works as a guidance counselor and is engaged to a successful lawyer named Everette.  Her dad is in a home now due to his dementia and he owes so much money that the only recourse is to sell the house if they are to afford to keep him in the home.

When she gets home one of the first people she runs into is Tyler her high school boyfriend who is going out with Annaleise Carter.  When she goes missing it brings up the memories of the last girl who went missing ten years ago, Corrine Prescott, Nic's best friend, and a complex girl who brings out the best and worst in people. You loved her and hated her at the same time.  There was a big investigation with a state investigator coming down to pick apart the town.  Everyone believed that her boyfriend Jackson did it because she was pregnant and the two had just fought and broke up. She had left a message on his phone to meet him. He swears that they didn't, but did they?  Annaleise was her, her brother Daniel, and Tyler's alibi for that night.  She witnessed Daniel hitting Nic and Tyler hitting Daniel.  But there was still suspicion hanging over Daniel and Tyler as well.

Annaleise was an artist who drew drawings of sad girls, including several of Corrine. Jackson would tell Nic that Annaleise acted like Corrine and hit on him and Daniel just like Corrine did.  She also left a message on a policeman's phone the night before she disappeared that said she had information on the Corrine Prescott case.  But she's not the only one with information about the case. Nic's father keeps saying that he sees that girl and that Nic isn't safe and he tells her about his papers in the house hidden somewhere.

Everyone is at the breaking point. The tension in the book is palpable. Interestingly the book is told backward. It starts with her going down there then it picks up two weeks later and then goes backward one day at a time until it gets to day one then it goes forward by two weeks.  It's an odd way to write a book, but at the same time, Miranda reveals what she wants to reveal on which particular day. You would think that you learn more at the beginning because its the end of the week, but of course, all of the pieces you need to fit the puzzle together happen much earlier.  It takes some getting used to read it this way, but I found it refreshing. Each character is complex and not easy to pin down. This was a really fast-paced read that holds the reader in its grip and never lets you go.  I very much recommend this book. 

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/All-Missing-Girls-Megan-Miranda-ebook/dp/B0176M3UJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528305102&sr=8-1&keywords=all+the+missing+girls

The Last Iteration by Mel Arthur

I received this book as an advanced copy from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way.  This very unique book opens with Hanian Tris a general in the Sayal military finally coming across another human being after being in a labyrinth where everything is white for weeks. Unfortunately for him, it's Ciege Celhaim one of the leaders of the rebel Cezdets.  She immediately attacks him when she sees him in his uniform and recognizes his face.  Once he gets her to stop fighting him and talk to him they discuss where they are and what is really going on.  Tris believes that he is dead and this is the afterlife while Ciege thinks this is some kind of hallucination brought about as a way to interrogate her further.  That's when they realize that while they've been there for weeks they haven't eaten or drank anything, though they do sleep.  The longer the two are together they argue and get to know one another and after they fight the ape-like creatures called mirkas, he saves her life and they make love.  Also, the sky turns dark with stars at night and with a sun during the day. 

But they are not alone. Geno Karrin, a doctor, and Rina, a young woman who is afraid of everything, are paired up.  Rina likes the doctor but he's still hung up on his dead wife. He also doesn't want someone to have to depend on him. She is a Zodiacist, a follower of the Zodiac religion while he is a man of logic and reason. When they run into the mirkas Geno gets badly damaged killing them.  Luckily there is a gateway that appears and when you walk through it you are healed of all wounds and you get a new set of clothes and shoes.

Elise Valez is a scout for the Cezdet rebels and she is with the mysterious Ulein who disappears at the oddest moments and stays gone for days at a time. She encounters a grey man whom she runs away from because he scares her. She also runs away from the mirka until she finally faces them as it is her only option and tosses them over a cliff.  Elise is in tune with the labyrinth and can sense the people and creatures in it. She also knows her way around it. When the next set of mirkas show up and there's six of them she runs for Tris and Ciege for help.  This, of course, means that their romance will have to stop. She can't have a romance with the enemy in front of one of her officers.  Then they go and set out to help Rina and Geno.

When they find out that the grey man is controlling everything and that he wants them to go to the center of the labyrinth they decided to stop and do nothing, with dire consequences.  I was totally fascinated and hooked by this book from the get-go. The world is very creative and unique and the characters have depth. You really care about them and become invested in their lives and really hope they don't die.  The plot held many surprises such as who Ulein really is and why and how they are really there and are they alone in the labyrinth.  Arthur has done a magnificent job of writing a novel very much worth reading.  This is the first book in the Spartan Labryth series and I can't wait to read the next one. I highly recommend this book. 

Quote

She was small, but she was crazy, and crazy was always dangerous.
-Mel Arthur (The Last Iteration p 11)

 You can’t fall apart if there’s no one to put you back together.

-Mel Arthur (The Last Iteration p 35)

Maybe it was just the old double standard at work. A big dog didn’t have to be mean; it was enough that it was mean. Only little dogs had to be scrappy to scare people.

-Mel Arthur (The Last Iteration p 36)

Pain was there to overcome.

-Mel Arthur (The Last Iteration p 60)

“It would be a delight if you could go more than a couple of days without getting grievously wounded.”

She smiled. “Then how would I get your shirt off?”

-Mel Arthur (The Last Iteration p 157)

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Last-Iteration-Spartan-Labyrinth-Book-ebook/dp/B076K9F6NQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528116781&sr=8-1&keywords=the+last+iteration&dpID=5107LWruWBL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

All New X-Men Vol. 3: Out Of Their Depth by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Penciler), Wade Grawbadger (Inker), David Lafuente (Artist), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Rain Beredo (Colorist), James Campbell (Colorst), adn VC's Cory Petit (Letterer)

In the previous comic, Jean Grey was still trying to get a hold on her powers and Cyclops meets up with Mystique who tells him half-truths and twists his mind in order to sow dissension within the X-Men and succeeds when Cyclops believes Mystique to be a good person and wonders why he isn't in charge.  Mystique, Lady Mastermind, and Sabertooth are robbing high target places while Lady Mastermind creates images of the past X-Men doing it.  Warren Worthington III, aka Angel, meets up with his adult counterpart and comes away shell-shocked at what he sees.  He decides to join up with Magneto and his gang because he sees his future self as so bleak.  The Jean Grey school of X-Men are there to talk him out of it.

No one wants to see the past X-Men split up or see one of them go to the Magneto group.  But things go awry when Jean uses her mind to control Warren's in order to get him to stay.  The triplets who are connected to Emma Frost attack Jean mentally in order to show her what it's like to have someone mess around in their head.  It ends with Warren leaving with Magneto and Jean getting a lecture from Kitty Pryde about the use of her powers.

Captain America and the Uncanny Avengers arrive to warn them that the past X-Men are wanted in connection with these crimes and the deaths of a few people.  He wants them to handle it and the X-Men to stand down, but Wolverine isn't having none of that and he picks up their scent and traces it to where they are but doesn't want the past X-Men going in, which is about as likely to not happen as Wolverine not looking into this in the first place.

There's also a story about Jean Grey and Beast and Cyclops and Iceman and their adventures when they go into town.  Overall this was a great comic. It expanded on the previous one and you find out what Mystique's end game is, which will surprise you.  Jean Grey is such a fabulously complicated character in this series. She has little control over her powers and when she gets emotional she just reacts and her powers come into play, usually causing harm.   It should be really interesting to see which direction the comic will go in in the next book. I can't wait to find out. 

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/All-New-X-Men-Vol-Their-Depth-ebook/dp/B00EEH322I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527860069&sr=8-1&keywords=all+new+x+men+vol+3+hardcover

The Punisher The Complete Collection: Vol. 1 by Garth Ennis (Writer), Darick Robertson (Penciler), Lewis La Rosa (Penciler), Tom Palmer (Ink), Paul Mounts (Colorist), Dean White (Colorst), VC's Rus Wooton (Letterer), VCs Randy Gentile (Letterer), VCs Dave Sharpe (Letterer), and VCs Cory Petit (Letterer)

This is a great place to start for those like me who haven't read any of the Punisher comics.  It begins with the series "Born" that takes place in Vietnam during the war when Frank Castle was on his third tour of duty and was stationed at the Firebase Valley Forge near the Cambodian border.  Captain Castle has noticed that the NVA have been stockpiling weapons and are getting ready for an offensive which means they will come after them, but his commanding officer does not seem too concerned with this and wants to do nothing about it. He's more worried about the General that is coming to inspect the base and he wants Castle to give the tour.

When the General says that the war is coming to a close and the base is going to be closed leaving the Cambodian border open to the NVA, Castle snaps and can't take this and arranges for an "accident" to happen to the General and thus begins his path to the darkness within him. At one point the darkness asks him if he wants it and when he says "yes", the darkness does not let him know that it will arrange things in his life so that the darkness will have a permanent home.

In "In the Beginning" which takes place not long after he gets home his wife and two kids are gunned down in the park by the mafia. When the comic picks up he has already killed everyone associated with it except the head of the family. He's at a party being held for the patriarch who is turning 100 and he walks in and kills him then mows down a bunch of the family members.  He runs into an old acquaintance named Micro who kidnaps him in order to talk to him. Micro wants him to work for a member of the CIA under the table killing bad guys all over the world.  Of course, they both have a problem to sort out: the mafia is still trying to kill Castle, which leaves the CIA in a war with them.  The ultimate question is will Castle agree to do work for the CIA?

In "Kitchen Irish" it takes place in Hell's Kitchen New York City. Castle happened to be in a diner when it exploded killing innocent civilians.  Now he's on the hunt to find out who is responsible.  He runs into Andy Lorimer whom he knew from his Vietnam days who works with MI6 now and has the information he's looking for. Finn Cooley who is with the Continuity IRA was the one who blew up the restaurant. But why? And what does it have to do with the players Tommy Toner, head of the Westies, whose restaurant it was, Maginty, a black Irishman who has kidnapped Tommy and is returning him in pieces to his family, and Polly and Eamus who run the River Rats, a group of thieves who steal from people on boats?

This is a really kick-ass book that grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets go.  The Punisher is a complicated person that you have trouble calling a superhero.  He probably wouldn't want to be called one, that's for sure.  The art is amazing and the part about Vietnam is so realistic, which it should be as the artist based it on actual photos from someone's father's personal album from Vietnam during the war.  The book is an incredible read. I can't recommend it enough.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Punisher-Max-Complete-Collection-2004-2009-ebook/dp/B01A9WBW8W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527683590&sr=8-2&keywords=the+punisher+the+complete+collection

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

First, let me say I have long loved the movie adaptation of this book staring the magnificent Maggie Smith who won an Oscar for her performance. I had high hopes for this book. Maybe my expectations were placed too high for it. Set in Edinburgh in the 1930s at the Marcia Blaine School For Girls, this book follows one of its teachers, Miss Jean Brodie and her influence on a set of girls she taught when they were eleven and their minds were malleable and who had parents that wouldn't complain to the headmistress.  It mainly follows Sandy Stranger one of the girls who was closest to Miss Brodie.

Miss Brodie had radical ideas such as she supported Mussolini in Italy and the fascists in Spain during their civil war and later even Hitler.  She didn't believe in teaching things from the books such as math and science and their version of history.  She talked about her travels to different countries and the importance of art and dance. She would have them over to tea and take them on excursions to the movies or the opera or the ballet.

She believed she was in her prime and the world was open to her as well as all sorts of experiences. While in love with the art teacher who was married and therefore untenable, she began a love affair with the choirmaster who was also madly in love with her.  The headmistress would try to get her on a sex scandal to try to fire her. She would interrogate the girls and try to find some firable offense to get rid of her and her wild teaching ways.  One of her girls will betray her at some point and she will be forced to retire and die alone.

I'm not giving anything away here. You find that out early on in the book, including who the betrayer is. This is not a terribly long book, only 137 pages, but it feels much longer as you are plodding through so much boring junk. The book is also written in such a choppy style. The character Sandy isn't all that interesting and sure Miss Brodie is a bad teacher and you soon realize a bad person but she doesn't make it exciting enough to compel the story forward.  You will rarely hear me say this, but skip the book and watch the movie.   

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Novel-ebook/dp/B007ELLDFO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527512266&sr=1-1&keywords=the+prime+of+miss+jean+brodie+by+muriel+spark

America: The Life and Times of America Chavez by Gabby Rivera (Writer), Joe Quinoes (Penciler, Inker, Colorist), Ming Doyle (Penciler, Inker), Stacey Lee (Penciler, Inker), Joe Rivera (Inker), Paolo Rivera (Inker), Walden Wong (Inker) Jose Villarrubia (Colorist), Jordoan Gibson (Colorst), Tamra Bonvillain (Colorst), Brittany Peer (Colorist), Ramon Villalobos (Artist) and VC's Travis Lanham (Letterer)

America Chavez is a member of the Ultimates along with Captain Marvel and Spectrum, but she decides to take a break from that to go to superhero college at Soto Mayor University. America's power is being able to fly, super strength, and being able to travel through dementions. Her mothers created her and then sealed the parallel off to keep it secret and safe and sent her out into the world knowing that she would be looked after.

Seeing as how their paths are going in different directions her girlfriend Lisa tells her it's probably best if they break it off.  So she begins college with a fresh start and a broken heart. The first people she meets are the Leelumultipass Phi Theta Betas who want her to pledge them, but she isn't so sure.  After blowing her first class she runs into someone she knows, Prodigy, a former mutant who is wicked smart and has found a way to travel through time but his machine needs her powers to operate and this is a way she can help with her class.

When she uses the machine she is hurled through time and is taught some lessons from the likes of Peggy Carter and Storm that will help her use her powers to defeat an enemy.  Meanwhile, someone is sending cyborgs to the school which will become clearer when she goes on a road trip with Hawkeye, aka Kate Bishop.  America really is a stubborn woman and a bit of a hot head who can go off half-cocked. That's what makes her exciting and real.  I really liked this comic. It was intriguing and fun. I highly recommend it.

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/America-Vol-Times-Chavez-2017-2018-ebook/dp/B075MTCJFM/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525104534&sr=1-3&keywords=Gabby+Rivera&dpID=5125H1qQe2L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
 

Winnebago Graveyard by Steve Niles (Writer), Alison Sampson (Artist and Design), Stephane Paitreau (Colorist), Eiko Takayama (Colorist), Aditya Bidikar (Letterer), Sarah Horrocks (Essayest), Casey Gilly (Essayest), Claire Napier (Essayest), and Anna Tambour (Essayest)

This is a horror comic with lots of blood and guts, but very little horror. Sure there are Satanists, at least I guess they are Satanists, as they wear robes and draw a pentagram and make a sacrifice at the beginning of the book. They kill a man they have captured and eviscerate him and then bring him back to life as their brother. He kills the woman he was with.

Cut to a later time and a boy and his mother and stepfather who are traveling in a Winnebago and they see a carnival and stop to have a look. Unbelievably, they decide to leave their cell phones inside the Winnebago. They ride the rides and play the games. They are like the only ones there though. They decided to check into a house bed and breakfast that is more like the Hotel California.  Through the window, they see the hooded figures and become curious and go outside to look.

This will, of course, put them into trouble. They will stumble across an empty Winnebago lot that shows how many people these guys have been busy with.  Why only Winnebagos, I don't know.  They see them performing a ritual and realize they need to escape, but it's too late as they won't all make it out alive.  I didn't particularly care for this comic. It was predictable and offered up nothing new or exciting. I cannot recommend it. 

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Winnebago-Graveyard-Steve-Niles-ebook/dp/B0753MKBR5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527078009&sr=8-1&keywords=winnebago+graveyard