Review: Gray Matter -Twofer One
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 15, 2013
There's gold in "The Two Widows" series, where mother and daughter, both attractive to men, hang out their shingle in Seattle, to conduct private investigations. Millie, the younger, is 50; her mother Margaret is then 70-75. Still, Mom is the one who does a lot of canoodling with a boyfriend. Millie's big thrill is dressing in disguise. In "The Misdirected Message" she infiltrates a white supremacist group by pretending to be dumpy "Verna."After getting off to a slow start, what I liked best about "The Misdirected Message" is the way the author, Ruth Ross, developed the relationship between the two women. Millie, recovering from a bum ride with a cad, has grown accustomed to having her widowed mom around again, but the mom is being courted by a gentleman named Frank. Mom represents her own generation - she has hardly ever been independent. Now she must find a way to satisfy her own desires without leaving her daughter in the dust. Luckily, Frank can set them up in business. This is the new family, or at least one kind of new domestic arrangement, although it's surprising to find a knight in shining armor in this day and age.There's nothing grisly here; Millie wants to believe people are basically good, so it's no surprise that she is a do-gooder. In "The Misdirected Message," she goes to the aid of an immigrant family that is under attack. Another thing about older heroines: they can be very wise. Millie says, "There is nothing more invisible than a middle-aged woman." That's clever, but clearly a downer. She also says, "There's nothing quite as fragile as high school dreams...." -- and that's gender-free.Gertie Johnson Murder Mysteries Boxed Set (Books 1-4)