June 2025 Mid-Month Wrap Up

It feels like June is just flying by. I can't believe it's already time for the mid-month wrap up! I guess that's what happens when you lose a week to being sick. On the other hand, when I went back to see what books I've finished this month, I was shocked to see 2 books that I thought surely I finished last month. It seemed so long ago. Let's get into it.

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn - I finished this right on June 1. I really enjoyed this second book in the series. The plot was fast-paced, the women had distinct personalities, and the side characters are entertaining. Misha is my favorite. She doesn't say much, but she so cool. The retired assassins are brought back together by the murder of a former intelligence staff who had once fed information about the company to a bad guy. The Museum figures that bad guy has exacted revenge for bad info and needs to be eliminated. They go do that, but then their safe house get burned down. Who the heck? They have to use all their resources to find out who is after them, why, and how to take them out. The actual murderer was truly terrifying. Like, an actual psychopath. Very good reading.

Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo - I knew I liked Danny Trejo as an actor, but I didn't know how likeable he really was. There were many surprises in this book. Like, this man is 81 years old! I had no idea. Also, he's 5'6" tall. He always looked so big on film, I thought he was a giant. Nope. He was raised in a very tough neighborhood and he learned all the toxic masculinity patterns quickly. He started using drugs early (like single digits). When he was in prison (for the 5th time) in 1967, he got in a situation where he was looking at being charged with assault on a prison guard (which he didn't do) which could get him the death sentence. He made a deal with God that if He got him out of it, he would get off drugs and go straight. Whaddaya know! Suddenly, the star witness couldn't say exactly who threw the bottle, and the victim wasn't willing to appear in court. No case. So, he followed up on his deal. When he got out of prison, he focused on Recovery for himself and others. Since then, his passion has been for recovery. He actually got into acting as a way to bring more attention to the recovery efforts he was working for. He knows a lot of famous people, and he talks about them in this book. But it doesn't feel like name dropping. When he talks about them, he talks about their personalities. He talks about how funny or supportive or kind they are. Not how much money they have, or how important they are. And when he mentions someone he doesn't like, he only mentions their name and moves on. He's not here to drag anyone, he's here to uplift and support. He hasn't necessarily been a great guy since he went straight. I think he's had 5 wives. And 2 of his kids struggle with addiction. But he never expected life to be perfect, so he struggles along with everyone else. I saw a video last week that was filmed in April 2025. Now he rescues dogs. He has 8 rescue dogs. Now that's a great guy.

So okay, those are the 2 books I've finished so far in June. Not a lot, but hopefully I'll have more at the end of the month.