Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15)

O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15)
O is for Outlaw - Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15
Author: Sue Grafton
The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members!
Retail Price: $35.00
Buy New (Hardcover): $22.59 (save 35%) or
Become a PBS member and pay $18.69+1 PBS book credit Help icon(save 46%)
ISBN-13: 9780805059557
ISBN-10: 0805059555
Publication Date: 10/12/1999
Pages: 336
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 200

4 stars, based on 200 ratings
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

51 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

bast3 avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I love Sue Grafton!
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 81 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"O" Is for Outlaw: a revealing excursion into Kinsey's past.

These are wonderful series that should be read from the beginning. "A is for Alibi."
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 367 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Wise-cracking, staunchly independent, and chronically curious, Grafton's gritty gumshoe Kinsey Millhone is back. This time, the alphabet series star will take on the toughest case to date: her past. What begins as a random phone call from a "storage space scavenger" (someone who buys the contents of defaulted storage units) leads Kinsey to a box of old papers and personal effects that her ex-husband, Mickey Magruder, left behind. Inside, she finds a 15-year-old unsent letter from a bartender that, among other things, reveals her former hubby was having an affair. The letter also contains details about the murder of a transient--a crime for which Mickey was blamed. Although never convicted, Mickey was ruined--losing his job, wife, and friends. But 15 years later, Kinsey realizes that foul play may have been involved in the murder, a deadly temptation for her.

Die-hard fans will especially enjoy Kinsey's self-disclosure--something she's infamous for not doing--about her childhood, the fate of her parents, and the randy details of her first marriage. A very vulnerable and interesting side to Kinsey's character is also revealed when her obsessive-compulsive fact-finding bent is mixed up with matters of the heart.

A fast, fun read, O Is for Outlaw is packed with Grafton's clear, colorful imagery and signature metaphors: "Our recollection of the past is not simply distorted by our faulty perception of events remembered, but skewed by those forgotten. The memory is like orbiting twin stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed."
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 144 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The call comes on a MOnday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. The weekend before, He'd bought a stack of cardboard boxes. In one, there was a collection of childhood memorabilia with Kinsey's name all over it. For thirty bucks, he was offering Kinsey the lot. Though she's never been one for personal possessions, curiosity is a powerful force. She agrees to meet the guy, then hands over a twenty (she may be curious, but she's also cheap and she loves a bargain). What she finds among the items is an old undelivered letter to her that will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of her first marriage ... about the honor of her first husband ... and about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril.l "O" Is for Outlaw: Kinsey's fifteenth excursion into the dark side of human nature.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 13 more book reviews
Any Sue Grafton book is a compelling tale with oodles of suspense and mystery. This one is about Kensey Millhone's ex-husband dying in a hospital from an attack Kinsey must solve. If you've read any of her books, you know you can't put them down. If you haven't read her stories, you have a treat in store.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 16 more book reviews
A good one!
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 588 more book reviews
suspense at its best
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on
Fun read!
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 11 more book reviews
I love Sue Grafton's books!! The alphabet seris is great.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 25 more book reviews
Long running mystery series, still fun.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 20 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with with a wild streak.And Kinsey m
Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him.Fourteen years after she walked out on him,Mickey lies in an L.A. hopital.Kinsey sets out to find out how he got there.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 64 more book reviews
You'll get hooked on this series of mysteries! Her book titles start at A and go through the alphabet.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 115 more book reviews
You can't go wrong with a Sue Grafton book!
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 5 more book reviews
This was up to Sue Grafton's usual work, very good.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 47 more book reviews
This is another book in the Kinsey Millhone series. She's a private detective who lives in California. I really enjoy this series. You begin to think of her as someone you know & you find yourself immersed in her life.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 7 more book reviews
The character Kinsey Milhone returns in her 15th mystery. This book delves into the personal life of the character more in a mystery involving her ex-husband. This is one of the best books so far. The story does not end as you think it will. It keeps you guessing.
HowieB avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 72 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild streak. And Kinsey Millhone wa a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face-to-facewith those tragic years and Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lost the job he loved-and the marriage he loved a little less.

Mickey lies dying in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's-lives gone wrong and lives gone too well-Kinsey must search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 12 more book reviews
Always nice to hear from Kinsey Millhone...and her adventures in private investigating. This book shed light on her 'back story'. Haven't read a Sue Grafton I did not like.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 62 more book reviews
Sue Grafton's character Kinsey Milhone never fails to make me laugh.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on
Another of Grafton,s mystery works that everyone who is a lover of crime fiction enjoys.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 58 more book reviews
Great Sue Grafton read!!
sunshine63 avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on
Another great and well written book by Sue Grafton. Enjoyed very much
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 21 more book reviews
This was my first Alpha series book I've read and I wasn't disappointed. I learned that you DON'T have to read them in order - I wasn't lost at all. It had some mystery and some humor.
cyndij avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 1031 more book reviews
I really liked this one, with Kinsey off on a purely personal investigation. I didn't try to figure out whodunit, not sure if Grafton gave the reader enough clues or not, but there were a lot of different threads to this. Kinsey is often capricious, so I could get the sudden overriding need to figure out what happened to her ex after finding out she'd falsely judged him so many years ago. I didn't get why the rich dude would feel the need to invite her to a cocktail party though, unless there was something I missed. And the whole scheme to implicate her seemed a really long shot that could backfire instantly, you'd think the villain could have come up with something a little better. Still, I thought it was suspenseful and interesting, one of the better ones in the series.
bamboochik avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 54 more book reviews
You just can't stop reading from A-Z!
Pattakins avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 365 more book reviews
PI Kinsey Millhone recieves a call from a man who wants to sell her a box of papers and photos that have her name on them, from a sale in a storage depot. When Kinsey goes through the junk, which she is unable to resist buying for a few dollars, she finds that it is the remains of her belongings she had left behind when she left her husband, Mickey, 14 years previously. The pair hadn't been in contact for all of those years but when she learns that he is in a coma in a Los Angeles hospital, after being shot, her sense of decency as well as her sense of curiosity, impels her to pay a visit to the hospital. A visit from the police investigating the shooting, pushes her back into a world she'd left, all those years ago, meeting again with people with whom she and Mickey had socialised, and leaving her unable to resist the pull of starting her own investigation. It's a fast, edgy read which Kinsey Millhone fans will adore.
sealady avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 657 more book reviews
Amazon.com: "Wise-cracking, staunchly independent, and chronically curious, Grafton's gritty gumshoe Kinsey Millhone is back. This time, the alphabet series star will take on the toughest case to date: her past. What begins as a random phone call from a "storage space scavenger" (someone who buys the contents of defaulted storage units) leads Kinsey to a box of old papers and personal effects that her ex-husband, Mickey Magruder, left behind. Inside, she finds a 15-year-old unsent letter from a bartender that, among other things, reveals her former hubby was having an affair. The letter also contains details about the murder of a transient--a crime for which Mickey was blamed. Although never convicted, Mickey was ruined--losing his job, wife, and friends. But 15 years later, Kinsey realizes that foul play may have been involved in the murder, a deadly temptation for her. Die-hard fans will especially enjoy Kinsey's self-disclosure--something she's infamous for not doing--about her childhood, the fate of her parents, and the randy details of her first marriage. A very vulnerable and interesting side to Kinsey's character is also revealed when her obsessive-compulsive fact-finding bent is mixed up with matters of the heart.

A fast, fun read, O Is for Outlaw is packed with Grafton's clear, colorful imagery and signature metaphors: "Our recollection of the past is not simply distorted by our faulty perception of events remembered, but skewed by those forgotten. The memory is like orbiting twin stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed." --Rebekah Warren

From Publishers Weekly: "Grafton's fans will be thrilled with this knockout 15th Kinsey Millhone mystery, which deals with Kinsey's first marriage. In a complex story that zigzags between past and present, the California PI gets involved again with her first ex-husband, former cop Michael "Mickey" Magruder, who initially reappears in her life by chance when she comes across memorabilia he kept after their separation 14 years earlier. The mementos include an undelivered letter addressed to Kinsey, providing Mickey with an alibi for the beating death of Vietnam vet Benny Quintero, the unproven charge against Mickey that prompted Kinsey to leave him. Conscience-stricken, Kinsey looks up acquaintances from her early marriage, questioning her judgment and values at the time. Then two Los Angeles police detectives inform her that Mickey has been shot and is in a coma, and Kinsey decides to investigate. As usual in Grafton's novels, the PI encounters a string of offbeat characters who lead or mislead her in a gyre of confusion; here, many of them had motive and opportunity to shoot Mickey. In time, Kinsey stumbles on a clue, at first bewildering, that leads back to the Vietnam War and, eventually, points the way to Benny's killer and Mickey's assailant. In addition to her distinctive humor, sharp sense of place and crisp dialogue defining character, Grafton adds depth to this outing through unexpected details of Kinsey's past. Meanwhile, Kinsey's examination of her youthful self-righteousness and naivete initiates a provocative contemplation of guilt, morals and loyalty that graces one of the very best entries in a long-lived and much-loved series."Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 711 more book reviews
The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. The weekend before, he'd bought a stack of cardboard boxes. In one, there was collection of childhood memorabilia with Kinsey's name all over it. For thirty bucks, he was offering Kinsey the lot. What she finds among the items is an old undelivered letter to her that will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of her first marriage...about the honor of her first husband...and about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 49 more book reviews
This book is a detective series where 2 cops one male and one female get married and divorced and both goes into being private detectives and they bust a man for killings that was done during the vietnam era. Great book.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 37 more book reviews
Good light reading material
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 20 more book reviews
Sue Grafton fans will enjoy this one as well as the others in the series.
FamFatale avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 369 more book reviews
One of my favorite writers. I am always anxious to read the next book of the series, though I can honestly say that each stands alone.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 225 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild streak. And Kinsey Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face-to-face with those tragic years and Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lost the job he loved - and the marriage he loved a little less.
Mickey lies in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's - lives gone wrong and lives gone well - Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 232 more book reviews
Kinsey's former husband Mickey Magruder lies dying n an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge that signaled the end of his police career. She searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 28 more book reviews
Kinsey Millhone mystery novel. Part of the series, great book
SunnyBrook avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 147 more book reviews
Another great mystery from Sue Grafton!
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 8 more book reviews
Grafton is one of my favorite authors - this series is just comfortable. For some reason I identify with it and it just fits. I keep reading and reading and reading and am so sorry when it's done.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 28 more book reviews
Great book.....loved it. Sue Grafton at her best.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 329 more book reviews
O Is for Outlaw is extremely good--outstanding in fact.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 199 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop wth a wild streak. And Kinsey Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face-to-face with those tragic years and Mickey's downward spiral after he lost the job he loved and the marriage he loved a little less. Mickey lies in a hospital. Tryig to find out how he got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that surrounded him, she must also search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 145 more book reviews
Grafton has got a great series going. You should start from the beginning and have fun!
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 157 more book reviews
great book
CraftyTJ avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 381 more book reviews
Wise-cracking, staunchly independent, and chronically curious, Grafton's gritty gumshoe Kinsey Millhone is back. This time, the alphabet series star will take on the toughest case to date: her past. What begins as a random phone call from a "storage space scavenger" (someone who buys the contents of defaulted storage units) leads Kinsey to a box of old papers and personal effects that her ex-husband, Mickey Magruder, left behind. Inside, she finds a 15-year-old unsent letter from a bartender that, among other things, reveals her former hubby was having an affair. The letter also contains details about the murder of a transient--a crime for which Mickey was blamed. Although never convicted, Mickey was ruined--losing his job, wife, and friends. But 15 years later, Kinsey realizes that foul play may have been involved in the murder, a deadly temptation for her.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 103 more book reviews
My first Sue Grafton book, But it will not be my last.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 16 more book reviews
An excusion into Kinsey Millhone's past.
KansasSunflower avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 329 more book reviews
Wonderful series.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 711 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild steak. And Kinsey Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face-to-face with those tragic years nd Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lost the job he loved---and the marrige he loved a little less. Mickey lies dying in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncoves evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickeys's---lives gone wrong and lives gone well---Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own. life, including one that hides killer.
ErinMc avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 373 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild streak.And Kinsey Milhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beatin,and Kinsey walked out. Now fourteen years later she comes face to face with those tragic years and Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lsot the job he loved-and the marriage her loved a little less.
Mickey lies dying in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there. Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's -lives gone wrong and lives gone well-Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own life. Including on that hides a killer.
Chitimacha-Princess avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 586 more book reviews
Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild streak. And Kinsey Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face to face with those tragic years and Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lost the job he loved---and the marriage he loved a little less. Mickey lies dying in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's---lives gone wrong and lives gone well---Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.
reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 279 more book reviews
Excellent book worth reading
freeverse071681 avatar reviewed O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Bk 15) on + 609 more book reviews
The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. The weekend before, he'd bought a stack of cardboard boxes. In one, there was a collection of childhood memorabilia with Kinsey's name all over it. For thirty bucks, he was offering Kinsey the lot.

Though she's never been one for personal possessions, curiosity is a powerful force. She agrees to meet the guy, then hands over a twenty (she may be curious, but she's also cheap and she loves a bargain).

What she finds among the items is an old undelivered letter to her that will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of her first marriage . . . about the honor of her first husband . . . and about an old unsolved murder.

It will put her life in the gravest peril.