'MURDER BIMBO'......A VILE POLITICIAN MEETS HIS MOST UNLIKELY ASSASSIN.....

 Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack (2026)

     Who could possibly resist that title and the whole premise? A sex worker recruited to assassinate a rising right-wing politician? Visions of a wild, crazy reading thrill ride danced in my head.......promising a tasty mashup of feminist rage and power colliding with all our turbulent current events.

     Not quite what I ever expected though......

     What we got in reality came across as 90 percent verbose, at times impenetrable literary fiction. All of it's narrated by the unidentified Murder Bimbo herself who over the course of the book's three acts, proves herself to be the world's most dedicated Unreliable Narrator. In a few sparse, occasional sections, the book crawls out of our Murder Bimbo's' morass of yakety-yak to entertain us with scenes of her recruitment and preparation by a small collection of men who may or may not be government agents, neo-Nazis or both. One thing remains certain - that the death of the loathsome politico (only referred to as Meat Neck) with his dangerous views, rampant misogyny and history of sexual assault, would make the world a better, safer place without him in it. . Especially in light of Ms. Bimbo's previous, ugly encounter with him.

     To be fair to author Rebecca Novack, there are more than a few passages when her prose truly takes flight, Our conflicted narrator, Murder Bimbo, sometimes takes us right into the very essence of her multi-faceted personality and how she sees the world at large (and vice versa) And we can hardly blame her for her tenuous grasp of the truth, existing amid the divisive, combative world she's trying to survive in. There's some undeniably brilliant, quotable writing that erupts on these pages from time to time, which explains why I felt I couldn't rate the book anything above or below 3 stars.

     An adventurous, iconoclastic read, that's for sure. But demanding patience to experience and appreciate. And nobody should let that title and description seduce them into thinking they're in for some kind of suspenseful, thrill-a-minute whoop-dee-doo. Not that kind of a book

     3 stars (***)..

'KEEPER OF LOST CHILDREN'.....THE HEARTBREAKING STORY OF POST WORLD WAR 2 ORPHANS.....

  Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson (2026)

     This one will hit you hard with its wide range of storytelling, dramatic force and ultimately tug on your heartstrings without mercy.

     Author Sadeqa Johnson casts a powerful light on the plight of mixed race children, fathered by black American soldiers amid the demolished cities and society of post World War 2 Germany. Scorned as outcasts, these white German mothers and their reviled babies fell into a tortured existence that left the children uncared for, unloved and abandoned into orphanage or even worse, the streets. .

     The scope of this epic tragedy slowly but assuredly unwinds through the narratives of three different generations of black characters. In 1951 Germany, Army wife Ethel Gathers , shaken by her visits to one of the orphanages, becomes a relentless advocate and champion for the mixed raced children. She becomes a very public and beloved figure as she cuts through mountains of red tape to arranges for black American families to adopt the children.

     In 1965 Maryland, teen farm girl Sophie secures a scholarship to a enter a exclusive highly rated private school as one of its few few black students accepted. There she not only deals with the vile bigotry and bullying of white students, she discovers that in Ethel Gathers' crusade, she may uncover the clouded mysteries of her own birth and childhood. And in 1948 Philadelphia, young Ozzie Phillips, with a hot temper sometimes aggravated by alcohol, enters the post war Army as new recruit. Shipped off to a devastated Germany Ozzie, like many other lonely soldiers, falls into an ill fated relationship with a young German girl, Jenka.

     Every one of these separate narratives is told with equal compelling fervor that kept me rapidly turning the pages to find out what happens to all three of these vividly drawn characters. And in the book's last third, when it's made clear how their lives will intersect and collide, there are more than a few sequences designed to leave readers blinking back tears..

     Outstanding in every regard, and telling a story that demands to be heard, 'Keeper of Lost Children' is the epitome of 5 star ' must read right away'. book. (*****).

'ANTIHERO'.......ORPHAN X FACES A MORAL CRISIS IN HIS LATEST QUEST FOR VENGEFUL JUSTICE....

 Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (2026

     Sensational news for all of us who follow the amazing (and infinitely brutal) adventures of freelance righter-of-wrongs Evan Smoak.......I think this one's the best yet because the emotional stakes are raised higher than ever before.

     Evan (a.k.a. 'Orphan X', a.k.a. The Nowhere Man), walked away from his lethal profession as an ultra-trained Black Ops assassin for top secret government sanctioned missions......(you know, those ones that everybody in charge disavows and never heard of.)

     Now he wanders the world as a Knight Errant, a supremely efficient Paladin awaiting the the calls of any poor soul besieged by evil and with no one else to turn to. Through the oddest of circumstances, fate has put him in the path of Anca, an innocent young woman suffering from debilitating seizures that leave her helpless and unconscious. When afflicted while riding a New York subway, she's abducted and repeatedly gang raped by four soulless, heartless men who record their many victims' agonies for thousands of users on a dark web porn network.

     Evan knows of this horrific event via an eyewitness to the abduction, a young girl 'guest' of his all-powerful Oligarch frenemy, Luke Davine. With Davine currently in the throes of his own nervous breakdown, Evan's forced to recruit his beloved but suffer-no-fools teen girl hacker Joey to control Davine's on-line empire while he brings Orphan X revenge down upon Anca's attackers.

     Here's where the book plunges Evan into an unique crisis that raises the bar for any future Orphan X missions Anca, a fiercely determined survivor guided by a strong moral compass, demands of Evan that he not wreak his usual eye-for-an-eye justice upon the men who tried to destroy her body and spirit. She wants legitimate justice and not wanton slaughter, which puts Evan into an internal struggle to bow to her wishes and still control the violent instincts that have ruled his life and actions since his tortured childhood.and warrior training.

And as Evan methodically tracks down the goons with the help of Joey's incredible computer skills, his paternal, protective instincts toward her grow ever stronger. As feisty, street smart and independent as Joey may be, Evan's heart aches as he can see her vulnerability, surrounded by a world of predators, like the ones who put Anca through sheer hell.

     I never dreamed I'd be describing an Orphan X thriller as heartbreaking and an emotional powerhouse, but there you have it.......as well as those hefty doses of bone crushing violence we've all come to expect from this series. An absolute 'don't miss'.

     5 stars (*****).

'MAYBE THIS ONCE'.....COMFY COZY ROMANCE AT A SCENIC MICHIGAN ISLAND LODGE.....

Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (2026)

     Romances don't come any more sweet and cozy than this one, the third in the author's 'Rock Bottom Love' series......(but don't worry, a reader can dive into this one as a stand alone and then go back to the first two.)

     Avid consumers of Hallmark movies will find all those familiar, well loved tropes in the plot construction, with the extra bonus of just a little more PG-13 steam than you'd ever encounter in a Hallmark.. Our lead lady, Charlotte 'Charlie' Ashford is fleeing the backwash of an embarrassing viral video posted by the cruel daughters of her mother's new suitor. And she's also taking a breather from a life lived in the shadows of her famous actress mom and her late father, an equally beloved rock star.

     As if we didn't know what comes next, Charlie finds the getaway she needs, along with friendship, kindness and romance, in a beautifully scenic vacation lodge situated on a lake island in Michigan. It's there her uncle works for the lodge's owners the Keller family, a large loving clan of siblings and in-laws who come to embrace Charlie as one of their own. That especially goes for manager Grayson who strikes serious sparks with Charlie, even as guarded and secretive about her past as she is.

     The setting is picture postcard perfect and Charlie and Grayson's growing attraction to each other comes with scenes both tender and humorous. Author Sophie Sullivan certainly knows how to make a reader feel fearful, anxious and protective should anything arise to threaten their happiness. That's the mark of a 4 star romance so what's not to love about that?

     4 stars (****).

'ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CLANGING COFFIN'.....SHERLOCK'S KID SISTER FACES AN ICONIC ADVERSARY....

 

 Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (2026)

     This can't be anything but the happiest news of all of us followers of the feisty, independent and indomitable young sibling of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, as created by author Nancy Springer. And even fans of Sherlock Holmes who've never sampled this series might want to join up with this one.........which pits young Enola and her legendary detective big brother against no less than the 'Napoleon of Crime' himself, Professor Moriarity.

     Enola's entry into the mystery begins with her literally unearthing a helpless young woman who's been buried alive., yet sealed in a coffin with a breathing apparatus and a bell with which the victimized girl can summon rescuers. What kind of twisted, malignant mind could conceive of such a thing? Let's just say it won't be long before you can stop guessing.

     As Enola nurses the traumatized girl, Trevonia, back to health, the pieces of the tortured girl's memory begin to assemble, clearing up the puzzle of her origins and at whose hands she suffered such physical torment. Everything points to that forbidding cadaverous gentlemen who occupies a nearby mansion.........and who also commands an army of vicious, murderous thugs who'll stop at nothing to recapture Trevonia.

     While Enola dodges and outwits the violent goons pursuing both Trevonia and herself, she finds her brother Sherlock rendered haggard and exhausted from his quest to collect evidence against the fiend at the very heart of all these dark doings........... a certain mysterious professor of mathematics reputed to be London's most notorious criminal Kingpin.

     This is simply a terrific fun package of Holmes-ian, lore, action, intrigue and suspense, all of it unfolding across a vivid recreation of late 19th century London. And in Enola, the members of her beloved Women's Club, and the one and only Florence Nightingale, there's some wickedly sharp humor at the expense of the entrenched British patriarchy and the class distinctions of the era.

     For all fans of this series and anyone who loves nothing better than a wonderfully atmospheric tour through the world of Holmes, this one's an automatic 'don't miss'.

     4 stars (****).

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MONDAY MADNESS WRAP-UP.......SPECIAL 'CULTURE WARS: BATTLE OF THE HALFTIME SHOWS' EDITION.....

 

     Our first question:  

     Trump and his ragtag collection of minions filled social media with raging, bile spewing reviews of the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show.....

       Which begs the question......did none of them watch the 'Turning Point All American Halftime Show?  You remember that one, don't you, MAGA?  A supposed patriotic, spirit-lifting songfest featuring mostly Country Music singers and a brief appearance by Trump-aholic rocker, Kid Rock. (One of the mere handful of performers who would've agreed to play the Trump-Kennedy center before Trump decided he'd take a wrecking ball to it out of spite.....)

BQ, unlike Trump and his gang, did watch the show. In fact, we watched it, simultaneously with Bad Bunny's NFL extravaganza.

Now for our impressions on this one-of-a-kind crazy showdown between the Royal Kingdom of Trumpovia.......and the rest of us who'd like to think we're still living in the United States of America.

Turning Point's show featured Kid Rock and three Country singers on an indoor stage surrounded by what looked like a couple hundred people. 

We're no great fan of country music and/or Kid Rock, so we feel unqualified to judge this show on its artistic merits. It is what it is....or was, we guess.

But in regard to the production.....the producers and director of this show displayed either enormous hubris or enormous stupidity by letting the show run so long, it was still dragging on while the second half of the Super Bowl already started. 

(So maybe Bad Bunny, in retaliation, should have stayed on the football field,  still dancin' away while the  Seahawks and the Patriots continued their dreary combat highlighted by their relentless defensive teams who allowed few touchdown to slip by them. Now that's entertainment!)

But enough about Kid Rock (of which very little is more than enough.....)

Let's talk Bad Bunny Halftime Show. 

Our impressions:

An exuberant spectacle, just as anyone would expect from a Super Bowl Halftime show.

Platoons of fast 'n furious dancers gyrating through an ambitious, imaginative production design, including an entire Latino landscape of sugar cane fields, neighborhoods, homes, weddings, even Puerto Rican electrician linemen trying to restore power to the island. 

True enough, none of it in English. But with all of the non stop music, dancing,  and sugar cane mazes, who cares?  Plus Lady Gaga, Cardi B, Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba.....what did MAGA want 'em all to to? Deliver the Gettysburg Address?

Keep in mind, Trump speaks English, and we've listened to him far longer than we've ever spent listening to Bad Bunny......and we don't understand any of gibberish coming out of Trump's cognitively decaying brain......but Bad Bunny can bring the house down in Spanish any time and we're there.....

So it's fitting that Bad Bunny's message and intent of diverse American unity during that 20 minute show came across far louder and clearer than the hours of English verbal diarrhea that dribble out of Trump's mouth every single day.  

Trump declared the show 'an insult to America'. Pardon us, but our definition of an insult to America was posting a picture of the Obamas as apes.....and and then lacking the basic humanity and decency to feel deeply ashamed or apologetic about it.

But enough of Trump, who's so poisoned America that the once beloved-by-all Super Bowl halftime show became part of a cultural civil war....

BQ ratings:

Turning Point's All-American Halftime Show............1 star. (*).

Bad Bunny's Halftime Show......4 stars (****). 

How about next year's Super Bowl show feature Taylor Swift marrying Travis Kelce live on stage? That should be sufficient to give Trump a fatal stroke while tweeting about it at 3 am, that is if the Big Macs and Filet O Fish sandwiches still haven't done their job by then......

WEEKEND MADNESS WRAP-UP.....SPECIAL "A LOW LEVEL STAFFER MUST'VE RELEASED THE VIDEO.....NEVER HEARD OF HIM" EDITION

 

Trump posts a nauseating, vile video on his Truth Social, depicting Barak and Michelle Obama as apes. After taking it down, his minions claim a low level staff member must have posted the video......when in fact, anyone except brain-dead MAGA zombies knows it was posted by a high level, low I.Q. White House resident....

Trump attempting extortion demands to get his name on New York City's Penn Station and D.C.'s Dulles airport.....we suggest here a few more appropriate places for his name......

Memo to 'Latinos For Trump' & 'Blacks For Trump' voters:.......any second thoughts?

To all BQ visitors outside the U.S.:  Thanks for stopping in.....and pray for us here as the lights of democracy are rapidly dimming.

To all BQ visitors in the U.S.:  please make sure you're registered to vote in the November mid-term elections and help end the madness. Great weekend to all!