C Is for Corpse (edition 1994)

I just love these Kinsey Milhone mysteries. Grafton started writing them in 1982 which is the same year I got married. Listening to the story with all the old references to 'back in the day' have been great fun. The way she described an aerobics class was a riot. I started doing aerobics in the winter of 1983. She was accurate and humorous in her account! Then there are all the things that are missing from our day to day existence such as cell phones, GPS, HD tv, etc. It's fun to remember just how we all got along without these devices and managed just fine! Plus the mysteries are GOOD! ( )

One of the things I love about the Kinsey Milhone series is that they are anything but formulaic. Every story is new and fresh.

The case Kinsey has taken on is brought to her by a young man who was nearly killed in a automobile accident. Everyone believes it was just an accident except the boy himself. He's sure he was being targeted by a murderer. And sure enough, a few days later he is dead. Kinsey is determined to find the killer she was hired to find, even if the client his dead. His family, which she become very involved with, is a cast of sad and needy characters.

The side story of Kinsey dealing with a new member of their neighborhood is a nice way of making Kinsey something more than just a private detective. She's a person in a neighborhood and a community with friends and connections. There is nice continuity with her lunch with a former love interest. The main mystery is interesting and different, the side stories have lots of complex characters and settings. This is one I'll read again. ( )

Plot A was believable and moving. Kinsey's dedication to find and give herself and Glen closure, to give sense to Bobby's murder is compelling and very readable. It aged with grace and can be read for what it is a mystery set in the mid to late eighties.

Plot B was predictable and is the part I remembered of the novel. I read Kinsey's Alphabet mysteries in the mid 1990's. I did figure out who the culprit was eventually. Still the twists and turns of plot A, the secondary characters, especially Glen, Bobby and the return of Jonah for a cameo made this a worth while reread ( )

Listened to audio read by Peiffer. ( )

Love Kinsey. Can't remember enough to distinguish one book from another in the alphabet series. Some are better than others. All are enjoyable. ( )