Former cop with the Santa Teresa, California, Police Department who had to quit after two years because she couldn't take the bureaucracy. Ex-wife twice, both marriages brief. Licensed private investigator with an aversion to cooking. Honest, honorable, always ready to go the distance to see that justice is done--no matter the danger. This is Kinsey Millhone, one of the most beloved and unforgettable sleuths of modern detective fiction. Sue Grafton has crafted an exceptional series of award-winning mysteries that make readers glad there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet. This edition marks the first time these three Millhone stories appear in one volume. Great! A Must Read!
G is for Gumshoe
I enjoyed this one. I'm not sure if it's because I've put these books aside for a few months or because the author is growing into Kinsey's character, but I'm beginning to see Kinsey as more of a person now. Sure, she's still a harda$$, but she's no longer so one-dimensional and is now showing us her softer, more vulnerable side too.
It's Cinqo-de-Mayo, and Kinsey's 33rd birthday. Her converted garage apartment has just been finished, after months of living with her landlord, her friends throw her a surprise party down at Rosie's place, and to top it all off, she's just been told that someone's been hired to kill her! Now she's got a hunk of a bodyguard guarding her body. ;) Of course, she's also trying to solve a puzzling case for a client while being pursued by this hitman who, believe it or not, sees nothing wrong with bringing his young son on hits with him! I found this one hard to put down.
H is for Homicide
I really enjoyed this one too. I think it's because Kinsey is showing us even more of her personal side.
In order to solve a case of insurance fraud, Kinsey befriends Bibianna Diaz, under the guise of "just another gal in the neighborhood". After following her to a local night club, a showdown ensues between two other people also on Bibianna's tail, who attempt to abduct her and bring her back to LA to her former fiance, Raymond Maldonado. Kinsey, now known to Bibianna as Hannah Moore, and Jimmy Tate, Bibianna's new husband, an old friend of Kinsey's, and former cop gone bad, are there when all this goes down, and Tate ends up shooting out the driver as they try to get away, who turns out to be Raymond's brother Chago.
To help cement their friendship and hopefully get closer to the information she needs, Kinsey maintains her fake identity when the police show up, and sides with Bibianna while they end up spending the night in jail together. While there, Kinsey is approached by Lt. Dolan from the Santa Teresa P.D., who asks her to go undercover for them to help them get to Raymond Maldonado. As it turns out, Bibianna's attempt to defraud is small potatoes in comparison to the huge fraud ring that Raymond is running.
The story progresses as Raymond is there to meet Bibianna when her and Kinsey are released from jail. But Bibianna is scared shitless of Raymond and insists that Kinsey not leave her. So now Kinsey is "in", and the story that ensues is full of grinding action and hard to put down.
I is for Innocent
I found this story a bit of a disappointment after the previous two, because Kinsey was back to her previous detached and impersonal demeanor.
Kinsey has been assigned a case previously started by longtime friend and mentor, Morley Shrine, who dropped dead on Sunday after dinner. She's asked to collect the required evidence, and serve subpoenas, for a wrongful death civil trial attempting to prove the guilt of David Barney, a man previously aquitted of the 6 year old murder of his ex-wife. But was Morley's death really the result of his sloppy lifestyle and bad heart? Or was he getting a little too close to the truth?
