D is for Deadbeat / E is for Evidence / F is for Fugitive

This review is for "E" is for Evidence only. I realized about two-thirds through the book that I had read it before because it must have been more than twenty years ago. Kinsey Milhone still trading services for an Insurance company in exchange for office space. Early on she gets implicated in a crime and spends the book working for herself to clear her name. Milhone is sassy and humorous in her internal thoughts and sarcastic when she speaks to some characters. We learn who the criminal is, but I think a secondary mystery is glossed over kind of fast. Still an enjoyable read.

D is for Deadbeat: Not sure who the deadbeat is. As with C is for Corpse, Kinsey's client is killed fairly soon into the story, but he's not a deadbeat as in delinquent in child payments of whatever. While there is the usual "she must have a death wish" chapter to close things out, at least this time it's not a case of deliberately running into a dark room with the murderer. There's a usual brief sexual liaison -- not with a suspect this time -- but otherwise very little about Kinsey's personal life. Rosie and Henry are merely mentioned in passing. The mystery and its resolution occupy most of the novel.

If you liked the others, as I did, you should like this one.

E is for Evidence: Kinsey has no client for change -- or rather she is her show more own client, as she suddenly gets accused of fraud in a sideline insurance case for the company she rents an office from. Not to worry though -- murder arrives soon enough. Rosie and Henry are away for the Christmas holiday, leaving Kinsey to wonder about her solitary lifestyle in the midst of all the running around. As usual, the novel closes with near death experience, but this time it's not for any stupid move on her part.

A perfectly fine entry.

F is for Fugitive: This is the least interesting of the series for me so far. The setup repeats earlier books: a client who was convicted of a murder years back now wants to clear his name. Once more, after a brief respite, Kinsey faces death in the final chapters because of a silly move on her part. In between, there's the usual fine attention to detail, but neither the client nor the suspects stand out as interesting in any particular way. Side characters that might be interesting, e.g., a former wild youth named Tap who is now a family man, are given way too little time. There's not even anything new in Kinsey's personal life, as all this takes place outside of Santa Teresa.

Harmless but skippable. show less

This large book consists of three seperate books by Sue Grafton: D staat voor Doodslag, E staat voor Explosief and F staat voor Fataal.

I finished only the first one. I was not happy reading this book. For some reason I got annoyed by the use of the first person for this book. It made Kinsey Millhone very jumpy in my opinion. Restless, like there was a constant stream of thoughts and actions I had to keep up with. The work she did appeared to me irrelevant: like she stated herself: a private detective has no power, not like a police officer.
No, I was not impressed at all.

I will not read the other two parts of this omnibus and will certainly not find another book by this author.