Customer Reviews

Grafton S: C Is for Corpse Hc

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another Great Book by Sue Grafton. In 'C is for Corpse' our hero Kinsey Millhone is hired by Bobby, a young man who fell victim to a terrible car accident almost a year ago and has left the once handsome young man freak-looking. Bobby believes the accident was an attempt to kill him, because of a secret he knows. Unfortunately, Bobby suffers from amnesia because of the accident ad cannot remember what the secret was. Our friend Kinsey quickly takes a liking to him, but unfortunatley Bobby meets an untimely end. Now it is up to Kinsey to find out who is behind his death and what the horrible secret is...

Once again, Sue Grafton portrays Kinsey as the odd yet likeable person that she is. I have always been able to identify very well with Kinsey Millhone and have taken a real liking to her. I can't wait to read the rest of her books!!

Kinsey Millhone, single female, Private Investigator and all-round ordinary person is still recovering from the beating she received solving her last crime (told to us in B is for Burglar). This is later on in 1982 and as part of her recovery programme she is working out at the gym. That's where she sees Bobby Callahan. He is also recovering from a serious accident, and he looks bad. A few months before he lost control of his car and drove off a canyon road killing his friend and almost killing himself. He lost most of his memory in the accident, and as it returns in flashes, he realises that someone was trying to kill him - and could try again.

Kinsey takes the case wondering where to start - but before she gets too far Bobby is killed what seems to be an accidental crash, but Kinsey has her doubts. Given that he hired her to find his killers and left her with a retainer she feels she must, for his honour and memory, continue the case. Someone else in these reviews commented on Kinsey's loyalty, and that is right. She has a lot of likeable characteristics and this is one of them.

Bobby's friends and family must be interviewed and eliminated from her investigation and these include mother, Glen; his stepfather, Derek ; his step-sister (a drug addict and anoretic), Kitty; - a beautiful ex-girlfriend ;- Doctor Fraker whom Bobby worked for ; Fraker's beautiful wife Nola whose first husband died in mysterious circumstances and a host of his mother's friends. Kinsey must find out who the mystery woman Bobby was meeting before his first accident and how his job at the morgue fitted in to all of this.

At the same time Kinsey is having personal problems. Her personable landlord, Henry, has taken up with a widow by the name of Lila who has aroused everyone's suspicions except Henry's. Kinsey doesn't trust her and wants to find out what going on much closer to home as well....and then there are her feelings for Jonah Robb, gorgeous Policeman whom we first met in B is for Burglar.

I do love Kinsey she is definitely addictive in all the good sense of the word. She is an engaging narrator for these books, detailed, good sense of humour and likeable. If she carries any chips on her shoulder she doesn't brood darkly about them, and I like that.. The mystery is satisfying to solve too - picking away at layers of clues and lies to find out what is going on beneath this all. The conclusion is somewhat Gothic but the story was so good I didn't mind that at all. Sue Grafton is definitely on my Keeper shelf - while C is for Corpse is not one of my favourites of her series - I just like Kinsey so much - she is readable, and human, and I enjoy that.

In case you are wondering - you definitely don't have to read the series in order to make sense of the series. They are stand alone books in their own right.

My mom handed me this book when i was leaving on a plane for london. I needed something to do so i decided to read it just so i had something to do on the nine hour flight. What surprised me was that this book was actually engaging and interesting! The main character, Kinsey Millhone is frequently put into interesting and sometimes life threatening situations. Combine that with an interesting plot and a surprise ending and you got yourself quite a good thriller/mystery. Sue Grafton goes to great length to express the detail of Kinsey Millhone's every movement, which i enjoyed. Every move she made, be it getting out of a car or dodging a bullet, was written in great detail that kept me on the edge of my seat. Sue Grafton is also quite skilled at creating a very diverse set of characters for each novel. Its good to have diversity in mystery novels because each character is thuroghly analyzed. I dont know if i would plan on reading all of Sue Grafton's novels, because i could see myself getting quite bored very quickly of the style. But if you have a few hours to kill i definitely suggest this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, but my favorite is still A is for Alibi

I recently started reading these great books by Sue Grafton and really enjoy them. I was told to read them in order so of course I have only read three so far. I have found "C" is for Corpse the best so far. You begin to believe that Kinsey Millone is an actual person that exist, and can't wait to see what she will be up to next. She's smart, witty, fun, and you can't help but like her. I am saving "D" for deadbeat for my vacation so I will have a guaranteed great read.

I usually don't like to use the word "cozy" in describing a mystery because it makes me think I won't like it but I'd have to say that Grafton's alphabet series can only be described as such. There isn't much violence yet most of the stories do involve a murder. She has the knack for writing plausible yarns that keep the reader guessing until the very end. "C" Is For Corpse is no exception and was a very enjoyable read in my opinion

These are all quick reads and, while they can stand alone, it's more fun starting with "A" and following Kinsey's caseload from month to month. Grafton has written these books in such a way that when you finish one and start the next, only a matter of weeks have passed in Kinsey's life. I find the best time to read them is when you're craving something light and not too taxing on the brain yet written well enough to maintain your interest level. I have "D" Is For Deadbeat lined up next but I'll have to read a few "heavier" books first so that I can fully appreciate the relaxation I experience when reading the next letter in this alphabet series.

I recently started reading the Kinsey Milhone series and this one so far is the best. On the first page, we learn that her client, Bobby, is dead and that she's never worked for a dead man before. The story moves quickly, and it was hard to put down.

I hope her style of delivery has changed for the better.

It was a decent read -- a cohesive story, with plot, characters all meshing to a good conclusion, but dangnabit -- it was bad enough for Kinsey to spout all those metaphors, remanding me of a 1940's mystery radio program spoof, but even WORSE - to EXPLAIN some of those metaphors in the very next sentence.

Uh uh..... don't need that.

After reading many books throughout the years, I have finally found one that is very outstanding to read. In reading many books, they seam very boring, but C is For Corpse is a very interesting read. It is part of a series that starts with A is for Alibi, and is currently at R is for Ricochet. It is a murder mystery that goes way beyond the normal mystery that viewers see on T.V. This book gives an in-depth look at all the people involved. From the sister who is either smoking, doing drugs, or drinking, to the actual victim who was committing adultery before his death this book has a wide range of people.

The part of the book that really makes it above and beyond the normal read is that it has real life people. Kinsey Millhone, who is the detective, is an average middle aged woman who is concerned about her weight, and has a polite side to her. She finishes the case even when Bobby is dead, when easily she could of stopped caring, and stole the money. She lives in a very rich town, yet she lives in a trailer park, which further adds tot the fact that this book is full of diversity. The only negative part is that there is too much detail, but if a reader doesn't mind an excessive amount of detail, then this is a good choice.

With taking this all into consideration, I would recommend this book, and give it a score of 4 stars out of five. It is worth the time, and I once again strongly encourage people to read C is For Corpse.

Going into the third Kinsey Millhone mystery I was almost certain that it couldn't possibly be as enjoyable as the first two. I guess I didn't really think that Grafton could keep it up, but I misjudged her. 'C' is for Corpse was equally gripping and fun to read as its predecessors. One of my favorite aspects of the series is the people that Kinsey meets along the way. Grafton's supporting cast is always lively and interesting - no matter how short their part. I would highly recommend this book, or any in the series for that matter, to anyone who likes mysteries - and even those who don't (I was never really a mystery fan until I discovered Grafton's books, so I'm sure anyone could enjoy them as well).