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

A cold case! What fun it is to see Kinsey take on this type of case. It adds lots of depth and detail to the overall picture of our spunky PI and her business in solving the toughest cases. I enjoyed this one, but was rather overwhelmed by the number of individuals with motives for killing Jean Timberlake. The killer is eventually flushed out and I’m happy to say that I didn’t see it coming.

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. ( )

I love this series, the author always goes into great detail of the locations and the characters that you can clearly see them in your mind as you read. In this book i clearly had no clue as to who was guilty, i taught i had it figured out to be one of two suspects but was wrong, Looking forward to moving on to the next letter. ( )

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.

Lol Kinsey being scared of needles. I enjoyed this one. I felt sorry for Bailey. His family sucks.

3.5 stars. ( )

Welcome back to the 1980s! Originally published in 1989, this book is set when private investigators had a lot of footwork to do. The ubiquitous Web wasn't available, cell phones weren't a thing, and proper society was a bit more straitlaced.

Kinsey Millhone is outside her usual setting, traveling to another town to solve an older mystery. The hotel she stays in, owned by her client, is a bit creepy. The client's family disturbed me as much as Kinsey. But the author plays fair with her readers, letting them solve the mystery, too, with nothing hidden from them.

The series is becoming a cozy mystery combined with the PI mystery subgenres. I like both, so the series is going to be right up my alley. If you like both, then this book should be right up yours, too. While the books can be read in any order, as with any good cozy mystery, you'll get the most out of reading them in order, so start with "A" and catch up to this one. I enjoyed this book enough that I bought the next book. ( )

I could really place myself in the small community that K.M. finds herself in, in this story. SG really does write good descriptions of the townsfolk and geography of the area, which takes you right there. The investigation itself is suspenseful and has enough twists to leave you wondering till the end. ( )