S is for Silence (edition 2006)

Fans of Sue Grafton will say that she never writes the same book twice and I agree with this but in S is Silence she definitely harkens back to a couple of her previous stories. The story immediately reminded me of Q is for Quarry and N is for Noose. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. I did. But for the first time I felt she was recycling ideas.

Kinsey is hired to find out what happened to Violet Sullivan 30-some years ago. She disappeared without a trace leaving a 7 year old daughter who, as an adult, needs to know what happened to her.

All the major players are still in the area and it’s a matter of getting them all to talk. All the old feelings come bubbling to the surface as Kinsey investigates and she stirs up some secrets that some people don’t want stirred up.

The thing that is quite different about this book is the technique Sue Grafton uses to write it. It flashes back and forth between the year of the murder and the present day. I think it works well for the story. I’ve read other authors who tried this and didn’t do it nearly as well. It’s an effective technique when done well and this is. While the story may be reminiscent of some earlier books, it’s still a very enjoyable read. ( )

About all I can say it was better than Q and R but not as good as the early ones. I'm not sure why I keep reading these.
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A couple of things come to mind. First off, the ending was weak. No real explanation of why the "bad guy" did what he/she did. The ending was fairly abrupt and pretty unsatisfying.

I'm also not a fan of the jump back and forth of "Joe Smith, July 1953" to 'today' (though 'today' was never announced). Yes, it's some sort of plot device so you can learn what was going on with each of the characters at an important time in the story, but it rankled.

Lastly - and most disappointing - was the voice of Kinsey Millhone on this audio book. I'd read fictional characters discussing how Kinsey was gay (don't recall where) and thought pshaw. This audio book's voice more than suppported the fictional discussion with an unflattering stereotypical tone. And it was at times literally painful when the voice tried to "do" other characters.

Yes, disappointed. No more Kinsey on audio. ( )

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

I was extremely disappointed in the end of this book. In fact, it was so very out of keeping with the rest of Grafton's work that the next time I'm in a brick-and-mortar store, I intend to pick up a print copy and check to see if the ebook I read didn't leave out something important. There was no explanation as to how the murder was accomplished, or why. The reader was given no satisfaction at all. I started reading "T" is for Trespass, but if this book is typical of what Grafton is turning in now, it will be the last time I read anything of hers. ( )