Better than "A". Quite a twisty mystery unsolved. ( )

Full review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/05/24/mini-reviews-kinsey-millho...

More about Kinsey’s history in this one. I really liked how that was brought to life as well as how Kinsey responded to it. On point for her character in my opinion. I enjoyed this book but the actual case of the book was a bit on the lackluster side. Had we not found out more of Kinsey’s origins in this one I might be inclined to rate it lower. In all, it’s a good installment to the whole series though.

Overall, this is one of my favorite book series. I think Sue Grafton was incredibly clever and a great writer.

There are obviously some little things that ding the star rating, but really for the most part these books are very enjoyable. I’m always trying to guess where Kinsey is going with her line of thought in piecing the puzzle pieces together in her investigations. Sometimes I can see the direction it’s going to go and others I am pleasantly confused and pondering all the details and how they fit together. One of the things I like most about Grafton’s writing is that she can hing the whole plot on one tiny detail to an investigation. I’m sure that happens a lot in real investigations, but I find it so entertaining that Grafton wrote in such a way that these stories lend themselves to investigations rooted in reality. On the negative side of things, most of these books end a little too quickly for my taste. We can be trucking along to the climax of the story, the conflict happens, and the suddenly we’re at the end of the book within five minutes to the end of the audiobook (maybe about 10 pages in a physical copy?). Often the endings are abrupt and that’s a little off-putting for me.

I love that Grafton keeps her characters so realistic and grounded. Our protagonist isn’t some super powered private investigator or some heroin that’s had a rough past but trained to become as close to superhuman as possible in reality. No, Kinsey Millhone is just like the rest of us. I like that she’s got spunk, humor, sass, and a simplistic perspective on the world. It keeps things simple and clean, and that I feel is exactly who our Kinsey Millhone is in this series.

I started this series listening to the audiobook versions and I will probably keep “reading” them in this format. For about the first half of the series it is read by Mary Peiffer. Peiffer is not my favorite narrator but I believe my issues with her narrations are actually a sign of the times then. Audiobooks weren’t as prevalent back then and the rise of inflection and character voices were less common. This results in a very flat reading for much of Peiffer’s narrations. As the series goes along, she does begin to pitch her voice for characters as well as use inflections more. Unfortunately, she still sounds about twice the age of our main character and that’s a bit distracting. Now that I’m 11 books in though, I’ve gotten used to her as the voice of Kinsey. I’m not sure how well I will like it when it changes over to Judy Kaye in O is for Outlaw. ( )

Solid entry in the series. Investigation with Kinsey taking some silly chances at the beginning and the end, but the tension and danger levels are kept relatively low. This is more about the characters and how their lives are affected by the actions of a lousy businessman turned con man. Kinsey becomes a sounding board for most of them, including a murderer, though murder is not the driver of the story. On the side, Kinsey discovers she has cousins she never knew -- or wanted to know -- about. This is set in place but left for future books to explore.

Recommended for Grafton fans.

I love Kinsey Millhone. But she's not everyone's cup of tea. I started reading the Alphabet series a few years ago - I think at the time it was up to O is for Outlaw. The idea of a mystery series each title beginning with a new letter amused me. I don't know why. I don't think it's particularly original. At least - I've seen a few others since. At the time though it was new to me and it just struck me as perfect. I flew through the series. Kinsey is riveting. She's brash and harsh and charming. She's fierce and flawed. She gets scared. She holds her own. She pushes herself to run often and tackles cases without judgement and with an open mind. Rosie and Henry are brilliant and I love the little family she builds around her.

But Kinsey Millhone isn't Jack Reacher - her speed is more Tracy Crosswhite. [book:My Sister's Grave|22341263] Her cases aren't full of action and high speed chases - they're slowly nitpicking away until something clicks into place. She writes down all her thoughts and places her facts and ideas on 3x5 index cards - which she often shuffles and rearranges to help her solve her case. And I love it. Kinsey Millhone is great - but she's not for everyone.

For some reason I've seen reviewers compare this to Stephanie Plum - I don't know why - this is absolutely NOTHING like that. Stephanie Plum is a very different character and an extremely different type of book. That's more fluff. Kinsey Millhone is more procedural mysteries. And this series isn't current - it was first published in the 80's - there's not really technology. Messages were relayed by calling the landlines. Paper files were still the main form of storage. Not everyone will enjoy reading this. But if you like your mysteries to be more like procedurals with a determined and fierce character - Kinsey Millhone is for you.



Solid mystery. Lots of twists and turns. This is also the book in which Kinsey finds she has living family. A woman she meets while canvassing asks if she's a Kinsey from Lompoc. Kinsey is pretty anxious and unsure about being part of a family but she steels herself to at least do some research to find out. In the meantime though, her cousins get in touch with her. The whole story isn't revealed yet but the initial contact has been made. William and Rosie get engaged - or at least William proposes - not sure if Rosie says yes or not yet. Kinsey is her usual badass self. Struggling with her good angel/bad devil personality - hmm should I break in? Well...I've been so lawful up until my earlier break-in, so what's one more for the night? Lol.



3 stars. ( )

Some major changes for KM in this instalment of the series. I can’t wait to see how the new direction is played out in the next part of the story ( )