Lenni Reviews Challenge Edition: “The Groomer” by Jon Athan

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Andrew McCarthy and his wife, Holly, have a typical life with their kids, Max and Grace. That is, until they notice a man named Zachary sniffing around, and Grace goes missing. Frustrated with the police, Andrew embarks on his own violent mission to find his daughter.

Well… Overall, this is Taken, but if we spent more time on the most awful parts of human trafficking, torture, murder, and snuff (trigger warnings for all of that, by the way). We don’t get the catharsis of a “win” after going through all this darkness; just bitter emptiness. A family is destroyed, and all the revenge gore in the world won’t make the demented fruits of these monsters go away. It’s just a downer, especially with what’s going on in the world now (perhaps that impacted my experience). Even if it’s not the perfect ending where everything is fine, there could have been some kind of hope at the end. The writing is fine, the descriptions of violence are visceral and real, but I can’t say I enjoyed this. 2 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Parker Girls Omnibus” by Terry Moore

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Zackary May hires the Parker Girls to find out who’s behind the embezzlement of millions of dollars from his company from an offshore account but when his wife turns up dead, he haddn’t realized she was a Parker Girl. And Parker Girls protect their own.

I have a soft spot for Strangers in Paradise so it’s practically impossible for me to be overly critical of anything in this universe (despite some elements that admittedly have NOT aged well). Exploring what the Parker Girls are up to after the events of the main series is great to experience as a fan and it’s cool to read about. The characters are just as good as in the original and I like the idea of them taking down some smug billionaire who thinks he can do whatever he wants. It’s timely but not pandering or preachy. I would like more in the ending, especially with Cherry and Becky. I would love more about them. Also, if you haven’t read the original series, you will feel lost. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Marriage Toxin” Vol. 1, by Joumyaku & Mizuki Yoda 

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Hikaru Gero is an assassin and poison master who is being forced by his family to produce an heir in order to prevent that fate for his sister; who has found true love with her girlfriend. While on a job, he encounters Mei Kinosaki, a marriage swindler and makes a deal with to get him married in exchange for saving Kinosaki. Now Kinosaki begins to train Hikaru to get a woman he can spend his life with.

This seems crazy with some quirky villains and a main pair that are funny together. What I really like about this is as hilarious as Mei and Hikaru are together, this manga does not let you forget that Hikaru is a dangerous assassin. It’s in the vein of SpyxFamily where there’s a lot of fun to be had but can still be serious when it needs to be. Not a bad start to a series. I see potential here. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Where the Body Was” by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips & Jacob Phillips

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

In the summer of 1984, a dead body is found on Pelican road, kicking off a series of events that exposes dark secrets in this seemingly idyllic suburban neighborhood. This dramatic mystery has a cheating wife, runaway drug addict, a little girl who believes she’s a superhero, and a fake cop all get pulled into orbit when a dead guy turns up on the sidewalk. It reads like a true crime documentary and the art reflects the gritty mess that are people’s private lives. It switches perspectives through each character and has some great twists and turns. If you’re looking for a crime story that has some unexpected curves, this is pretty good. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Tista” Vol. 1, by Tatsuya Endo

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

By day, Tista is a college student studying to become a teacher. But by night, she is Sister Militia, The Grim Reaper of New York, a deadly assassin.

While I liked this series so far, it’s one hell of a downer. There’s tons of action and drama but it is violent and dark. Imma go ahead and put in a trigger warning for dead kids. Tista is not mentally well and the imagery conveying that is fantastic. The art easily goes from cute slice of life to gritty and tortured. Also, at least at the end of this volume, a few tropes I was expecting to happen didn’t. I genuinely did not know where this was going to go which makes it intriguing. 3.8 out of 5.

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