LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED) -- Annie tells everyone
she's 26, but she's actually in her late 30s. She lives in the suburbs with her
doting husband and two small children, all of whom she despises. Small-town life
and a middle-class income is stifling, which is why she doesn't get too upset
when a shopping mall security guard who catches her shoplifting recruits her to
start dealing marijuana on his behalf. But Annie's got bigger, darker secrets
than anyone could know. One is her ex, a vicious criminal named Paulo, and the
other is her firstborn daughter, a young woman named Beth who, along with her
friends, just stole a fortune from a dangerous mob boss and is hoping Annie's
house might be a good place to lay low. What follows is violent, tragic,
hilarious, shocking, and totally par the course for Lapham (<i>Stray Bullets:
Sunshine & Roses</i>, Vol. 2), one of comics' best and most consistent
creators. <br />VERDICT This is the latest in a series
Lapham has produced on and off since 1995, and part of his brilliance as a
storyteller is that every volume works as a great jumping-on point. So if you
haven't already jumped on, you really should. <br /><br /><br />