R is for Ricochet

My favorite Private Investigator, Kinsey Milhone, is hired to transport a wealthy man’s daughter home after her release from prison and help in making sure she settles back into the “real” world. Counting on a fairly easy job, Kinsey did not expect to end up in the middle of a money laundering investigation, which is exactly what happens.

In the latest installment of Sue Grafton’s alphabet mystery series, Ms. Grafton provides readers with a slightly different angle than usual, from that of the passenger seat, which seems to be where her main character Kinsey sits for most of the book, being led along by the various characters as the crime and mystery unravel. Love was also a theme throughout the book: love betrayed, love lost, show more and love found. Readers are allowed a glimpse of the love life of dear Henry, Kinsey’s landlord, who is by far one of my favorite characters in the series. Will Kinsey taste love in her own life? And then there is Reba, the parolee, who demonstrated that she is not quite so dumb once the blinders created by love come off.

R is for Ricochet got off to a slow start, and I began wondering if perhaps I have been reading too many murder mysteries lately. However, about a third of the way through, the book finally grabbed my interest and held it until the very last word. This mystery was not so much about the whodunit, but was more about where Kinsey would find herself next and what she would be led to do by those around her. I could not help but feel a tad disconnected from events, not knowing everything that was going on. I imagine that was what Kinsey felt too and in that way, Sue Grafton succeeded. Sue Grafton is one of my favorite mystery writers. She never fails to create an intriguing and well-written book. Her characters could very well be real people. The mysteries are believable. In a society where so many authors go for over the top crimes and aim for the shock value, Ms. Grafton provides readers with a more down to earth and realistic mystery, a refreshing and needed change at times. show less

Like H is for Homicide, this has some detection, but no murder to solve. It's a character study as Kinsey is hired to pick up Reba, a dying rich man's daughter being released from prison, and babysit her for a few days. It's not convincing why she agrees to do this.

Unlike H is for Homicide, the action takes place near home so there's also two other subplots: one involving the love life of her landlord Henry, and the other involving her love live and the return of Cheney Phillips. I was particularly annoyed by how "quivering all over" this made her feel.

What makes this work is the gradual revealing of Reba's character. She's interestingly complex, both very smart and skilled, but very much a pawn of her whims.

I can't think of any show more connection between the title and the story.

Not a good entry point because much of the book counts on playing against expectations, but recommended for those who've been following the alphabet. show less

Kinsey is engaged to pick up a young woman who is being released from prison, and return her home to her ailing father. After the lengthy car ride with her charge, she becomes "involved" with the situation far beyond the obligations of her employment, as is her wont. In this case, I got very impatient with Kinsey for not putting on the brakes, any number of times, before putting herself in legal, moral and physical jeopardy. Her reasons just weren't good enough for me. But the ending was twisty and satisfying, Kinsey's love life is in a good place, while her "elderly" hot octogenarian landlord Henry's is complicated by his interfering siblings. An absorbing read, despite the quibbles.

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 show more 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.



The good? I liked Reba. I enjoyed her manipulations and scheming. I always love Henry and Rosie and William (and the special appearance by Lewis!). And Kinsey is the bestest of the lot. The mystery was fairly predictable but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The bad? The romance. I liked Cheney in the previous books but something about their romance just rubbed me the wrong way in this one. To be fair though I always hate Kinsey's romances. Sue Grafton can write a mystery. But romance is just not her jam.



3.5 stars, rounded to 4. show less

I found this book to be one of Sue Grafton's best. It was an enjoyable read. The private eye in this series Kinsey Millhone has got herself in a intense investigation once again which, more or less was starting out as a babysitting job. The main character Reba however, was released from prison in no need of a babysitter. It was a complex clever deed of a lover's betrayal that invited her for a prison vacation. It was love gone wrong, love denied and love avenged novel. After reading the book I thought back to all the situations that Kinsey and Reba found themselves in that brought humor to the story. it was a great read...don't pass this one up.....Banjo

So this hands down ended up being one of my favorite in the Kinsey Millhone series. Probably because Grafton for once didn't have Kinsey being the entire focus. We get an interesting new character (Reba) and things progressing on Kinsey's romantic front with Santa Teresa detective Cheney Phillips. I thought the entire plot was interesting and the ending satisfying.

"R is for Ricochet" follows Kinsey as she is asked to "babysit" a recently released convict, Reba Lafferty. Reba was found embezzling funds from her last job and went to prison for almost 2 years. When Kinsey meets up with Reba, she thinks it's not going to be a hard job. She likes Reba and her prickly personality. However, things turn when Kinsey is approached to help with a show more federal racketeering case that involves Reba. When Kinsey tries to "butt" in and then gets asked to step out of the fray, things get explosive.

Kinsey was great in this one. She makes a friend of sorts with Reba and per usual is not as stupid as others around her would hope. She realizes right away something is up with Reba and starts to put dots together. When she gets asked by Cheney about helping out the two of them finally get back to discussing what almost developed between them a few books back. Grafton doesn't really do sex scenes, but we get some nice lead up and fade to black situations. I am going to say it here and now. I always preferred Cheney over Dietz.

So Reba was delightful. I always wished that she would appear in future books because unlike Kinsey, Reba understood computers, technology, etc and though the series takes place in the late 80s, we know that Kinsey is going to need to get with the modern times. But I also liked Reba for being unapologetic about what she was going to do in order to get some payback.

We also get some of the usual suspects in this one: Henry, Rosie, William, and others.

The writing in this moves faster than a lot of the prior books. Kinsey is on the move constantly in this one.

The ending as I said was pretty cool and I liked how it ended up. show less

I've read every Sue Grafton written, and on the basis of this latest effort, I think Sue should knock Kinsey off and try a new detective. Milhone is completely ineffectual in this volume, simply letting circumstances play out. There is no detective work to speak of, and the plot is so thin that Grafton pads the book shamelessly with numbing descriptions of such things as federal money laundering statutes and irrelevant side plots like Henry's love life. Characters wander in, bore us for a while, and then are never heard from again. This has the sickening feel of a book written solely to meet a contractual obligation. The well has run dry. Don't waste your time with this book. Grafton's earlier volumes were far superior.