Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta

 Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta-176 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Without the wealth, without the cave, he’s still the Absolute Dark Knight! Meet Batman as you’ve never seen him before, reimagined with a modern origin story at the hands of superstar creative team Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta!

An astonishing new version of DC’s iconic characters is here! In the Absolute Universe, familiar heroes have been reinvented from the ground up with origin stories that completely reshape both their abilities and their circumstances but maintain the core characteristics that fans have known and loved for decades!

Bruce Wayne comes from nothing. He’s not the scion of a wealthy empire in Gotham City, he’s the son of a public school teacher who he experienced the unimaginable horror of random gun violence as a child, changing the trajectory of his life forever. With no limitless resources, no billions to fund him, no mansion, and no butler to care for him, Bruce has shaped himself into an entirely different breed of Batman, one that is equal parts brain and brawn, who exists exclusively in the grittiest and most underserved parts of Gotham with no high society mask to fall back on.

Collects ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1-6. 

Thoughts: I really like this new take on Batman's origin. He's not rich and he doesn't come from a prominent family. He's still Bruce Wayne and he went through a traumatic event as a child. This is even grittier than The Dark Knight Trilogy of movies. It's raw and real. I am looking forward to reading Vol. 2 Abomination.

The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon

The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon

The Hardy Boys #1, 214 pages

⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
It all starts with the boys, Frank and Joe, on their motorcycles delivering important papers to a lawyer in Willowville for their father, Fenton Hardy. He's the well-known private investigator who lives with his family in Bayport. A reckless driver almost forces them over the embankment. It is not long before they find that their friend Chet's yellow jalopy has been stolen, possibly by the same red-haired driver! Stolen loot may be the issue. Later a dying criminal confesses that the loot has been stashed "in the tower" and the Hardy Boys make an astonishing discovery.

Intervention by Terri Blackstock

 

Intervention  by Terri Blackstock  324 pages

Barbara Covington has one more chance to save her daughter from a devastating addiction: staging an intervention. But when eighteen-year-old Emily disappears on the way to drug treatment--and her interventionist is found dead at the airport where she was last seen--Barbara enters her darkest nightmare of all.

This was a very good book that kept me on the edge of my seat.  A real page turner.  A great mystery with an Inspirational touch.

The House of My Mother : A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

 The House of My Mother : A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke - 297 pages

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.”

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.” No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.

JIGSAW-(Alex Delaware #41) by JONATHAN KELLERMAN

 JIGSAW-(Alex Delaware #41) by JONATHAN KELLERMAN (Pg 244)

Goodreads Review: This one looked like a slam a young woman found dead at her kitchen table, DNA on cigarette butts linking quickly to an ex-boyfriend with a criminal record. Or so homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis thought. Then everything changed and a quick close turned into a mind-bending whodunit. That’s when Milo called in psychologist Alex Delaware, his best friend and a long-term consultant on “those cases.” The ones that are different.

Then there’s another an old woman found brutally murdered, her body stashed in a deep freeze and mutilated. And when Milo learns who she is, he’s stunned. This victim is someone he once knew. Complicating matters further, her home is an extreme hoarder’s den, virtually impassable due to years of stored trash and apparently meaningless objects. Except for the envelopes of cash stashed among the garbage. As Alex and Milo dig deeper into the seemingly unrelated crimes, they discover shocking links between the victims and realize they have a labyrinthine—and deadly—puzzle to solve.

1st to Die by James Patterson

 

1st to Die by James Patterson - 488 pages

Four women-four friends-share a determination to stop a killer who has been stalking newlyweds in San Francisco. Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.

But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving one another a hand.

The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered-before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong.

I thought I should read a Patterson to see what all the hype is about.  I was really surprised that I really, truly enjoyed this one. I like it enough that I will probably continue on with the series, at least for a while, there are too darn many of them.

Bloodguard

Bloodguard - 706 pages (Large Print Edition)

Cecy Robson

Summary (From Goodreads)

One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise…

Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.

Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena—vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive—would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.

He was wrong—and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.

All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.

Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard—and his freedom.

But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap.

Nor will his ultimate revenge…

Review

I felt the dual-pov structure served this story well, particularly in allowing for a comparison and contrast between Maeve and Leith's personalities.  Though the pacing did feel a little off-kilter in some places, and the motivations and actions of some characters didn't feel especially well-thought-through, it still managed a decent pace overall with sound worldbuilding.  Personally, I'm hoping for a sequel!