[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”B00P60Y71C” locale=”us” height=”500″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518zWZDD3TL.jpg” width=”433″] [simpleazon-link asin=”B00P60Y71C” locale=”us”]The Sue Grafton Collection: The Kinsey Millhone Novels (Books A-O) (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries)[/simpleazon-link] In 2000, I was working part-time in the local library as a shelver. It was there that I was introduced to the Alphabet Mysteries by Sue Grafton. Her attention to detail and her ability to tell a compelling, suspenseful story have never faltered. She is one of a very few authors that I have stuck with over the years that has remained consistently engrossing. Kinsey Millhone is a petite but tough private investigator with amusing observations and dogged determination. I began collecting all the Kinsey Millhone books and was particularly excited to get my hands on a signed copy of X from Books-A-Million. [simpleazon-image align=”right” asin=”0399163840″ locale=”us” height=”500″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JWAUck5cL.jpg” width=”330″]
While I had kept up with collecting the Kinsey Millhone mysteries over the years, I had fallen behind on my reading. The last one I read was S is for Silence about 8 or 9 years ago. So, when X came out this month, I decided it was time to catch up. [simpleazon-link asin=”0425224848″ locale=”us”]T is for Trespass: A Kinsey Millhone Novel[/simpleazon-link] did not disappoint.
My review: 4.5 of 5 stars
Despite being away from the series for several years, I was immediately swept into the world of Kinsey Millhone. Everything was familiar right down to the bougainvillea. Being back in 1987 was a trip. No cell-phones or computers. The tools of the P.I. were old school and required street smarts and a lot of shoe leather. In T is for Trespass, Grafton tackles a subject not often pursued in novels, the vulnerability and abuse of the aged. She did it with her usual attention to detail and a righteous anger that grabbed me by the shirt collar and refused to let go. In some cases during the story, I forgot to breathe. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, Millhone’s wry observations and snarky comments provide comic relief. I had in fact forgotten just how funny she could be even in her choice of imagery and metaphor. Millhone is one clever and feisty P.I. But she also has a likability and every woman quality to which readers can relate. The most gripping part of T is for Trespass aside from the rising urgency of the situation, is the pitting of one female sociopath against a determined a cunning P.I. Attention to detail was impressive. The narrative was gripping and infuriating. It was thick with suspense, scary with tension and in some instances, downright terrifying. Grafton did her homework on this novel, and it was, in my opinion, her best yet. Despite some strong language, I highly recommend this series to mystery and suspense fans. You don’t have to read the books in order as each is a stand-alone novel. However, I recommend reading them in order if possible to get a better sense of Kinsey Millhone and to witness her growth.
Quotes:
“Revulsion is useless when ou have a job to do” (p. 47)
“The best thing about lying are the flourishes, I thought. I myself am a world class practitioner” (p.135).
“Deadbeats tend to be centrally located” (p. 184).
“If you can’t go through a barrier, find a way around” (p. 307).
“I had more at stake than she did, but she had nothing to lose” (p. 378).
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