Decent, but why does Kinsey Millhone kill most of the bad guys lately? ( )

http://tinyurl.com/lyznbj

Grafton is pulling out all the stops for her final handful of titles in the Alphabet Mystery Series. The middle section of the alphabet was truly the pits-- all of her stories seemed used, with no fresh perspectives. Even though none of her stories make significant commentary on culture or social conventions, other than to point out yet another in a long line of nasty ways that people can dupe you, everything after "C is for Corpse" and before "R is for Ricochet" has even less redeeming value.

Although I'm not quite old enough to be in fear of the situation she sets up in this current novel, even thinking that something like this could happen to me in my dotage makes my skin crawl. As with any mystery, there are occasions while reading that stop you in your tracks, along the line of "oh, c'mon, that was a bit too facile, wasn't it?" But this is precisely where Grafton is getting better-- while she's always been a master of description, she has not been a master of moving the plot along smoothly. I think that's a difficult balance to achieve as a writer. Too much description and things dull. Too little description and you haven't the faintest what the writer is talking about.

I particularly like her last line, and it's only 4 words long. (Have I made it sound enticing enough?) ( )

I am finally caught up with the alphabet mysteries and Kinsey Millhone - this, of course, being the most recent release. This falls right about in the middle as far as quality goes - certainly not amongst the worst of the bunch, but not really a stand-out either.

The subject is elder abuse as Kinsey gets sucked into the life of her curmudgeonly neighbor, Gus, who has a sketchy new private-duty nurse. We also are privy to some routine P.I. cases investigating an unrelated auto-accident, and serving some warrants. So, the subject matter is not too scintillating. Very little of Kinsey's personal life in this one, yet her personality does remain true to form.

But on the plus side, the novel seems tightly written and moves right along - surprisingly entertaining given the hum-drum storyline. Perhaps because I haven't read one of these in awhile - I rather enjoyed it. These mysteries are like comfort food, and you gotta love Kinsey. ( )

Among the best in the Kinsey Millhone series. New in this installment is the presentation of the villain from the beginning, and from the villain's point of view. The author deftly handles a complex plot consisting of several seemingly minor cases that gradually overlap and intersect the main story. The reader feels it all coming together as the pages turn. Particularly well done are the minor characters in the auxiliary plots. I can't now exit a parking lot without recalling the traffic accident detailed in this book--it was that absorbingly drawn. Bravo! ( )

I have read these books starting with A. I love Sue Grafton's writing and the character she has created in these stories.
This book felt different from the others she has written - of course it has been some time since I read the S book so that could be a part of it.
However, this book had a twist in that we flipped between the bad guy and Kinsey's point of view. A very interesting read for sure.
I was a bit disappointed in the ending though. It felt rushed. As if a) she ran out of time to put it all in or b) they gave her a maximum number of pages and she was almost out of room. I think it was good and interesting and I enjoyed it, but I would have loved if there was more writing, a more drawn out ending for us to really enjoy and relish and try to figure out what was coming next! ( )