Customer Reviews

J Is for Judgment

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"J is for Judgment," Sue Grafton's 10th Kinsey Millhone mystery, left me with a bit of what I call the cotton candy syndrome. I started with "A is for Alibi" less than a year ago, and the relative proximity in time between my reading each of the others through "J" has given me a panoramic perspective over them. I have enjoyed Grafton's series more than any other, largely because of the edgy heroine, but I found this installment to be one of the weaker links in an otherwise outstanding series.

I found the first quarter of the book to be highly promising. Kinsey is hired to identify a man spotted in Mexico who may be Wendell Jaffe, recently proclaimed dead years after an apparent boating accident where the body was never found. This section of the book contains one of the funniest moments I've encountered in the series, showing Kinsey as she's never been before.

As Kinsey returns to Santa Teresa for the last three quarters of the book, she encounters the people in Jaffe's life--most of whom are excrutiatingly boring. The primary mystery question posed at the beginning is solved fairy early on, leaving not much left to answer and Jaffe's sniveling family to play out their soap opera.

There is a side story that I found much more interesting than the main plot in the second half. We find out something crucial about Kinsey's mysterious family background. Readers of other books in the series are reminded each book that Kinsey's folks died when she was very young leaving her to be raised by a maiden aunt. In "J is for Judgment," Grafton gives us a deeper look into the tragedy of Kinsey's early years.

For that, if nothing else, I recommend this book to anyone who is a Sue Grafton fan (or more specifically, of Kinsey). However, starting with "J" would be a mistake and would misrepresent that which Grafton is capable of writing--smooth plotting with side characters that make all the difference. "J" was a worthwhile read in the moment, but like cotton candy, I soon felt empty and unfulfilled afterwards.

I can't understand how I can like one of this series so well and then dislike so much. I really liked "I" but I did not even want to finish "J". I did because I thought it had to get better, guess what, it did not. In "J" Kinsey is hired to try to find a man that has been dead for five years. He had been spotted and the Insurance Company wants him found so they can try to recover the half-million dollars in life insurance they have paid out. The man is of course alive and Kinsey finds him and then he is gone again. Along the way she finds out she does have some cousins she was unaware of. I really do like Kinsey Millhone and her human traits. She is not superwoman, which I like. Have "K" bought so guess I will read it. Hope it is better.

For the longest time, I refused to read these "alphabet" mysteries. I thought they would be sappy stories and you'd solve the mystery by page 4. Sorta like a Nancy Drew book. A couple weeks ago, I decided to buy the first book in the series and just see what everyone was talking about. Well, I just finished "J" and I have "K" waiting for me. Kinsey is my kind of girl - a wise cracking, independent, intelligent lady. Funny, too. And I still couldn't figure out who done it until I got towards the end of the book. Susan Grafton is a great mystery writer and I laugh out loud at a lot of the wise cracks.I don't know what I'll do when she gets to "Z"!!! Perhaps, she can start on the numbers...... Buy anyone of these books - you won't regret it!!

This is the first Sue Grafton book I have run into, and will not be the last. The plot is a little over-complicated, and the ending a little on the philosophical side for an action/mystery read of this sort. But the central character, Kinsey Millhone, is the most realistically drawn, convincing and sympathetic female private dick I have EVER run into! V.I.Warshawski, go jump in a lake! I'll never resort to your mealy-mouthed politically correct milk-toast kind of non-humanist feminism again! Since I understand this is not by any means one of Grafton's best, I will have to investigate the other books of the series. Thank you, Sue Grafton, for a female protagonist that doesn't embarrass readers of the same gender.

Kinsey Millhone is a 1980s private investigator in the fictional California town of Santa Teresa. She is twice divorced, wary of sexual relationships and a tough little lady. J for Judgment is a routine and sometimes sluggish tale in the continuing saga of Miss Millhone as drawn by Sue Grafton.
The Plot: Kinsey, who has recently been fired by an insurance company, is asked to investigate the sighting of a supposed dead man named Wendell Jaffe. Jaffe was involved in a Ponzi scheme which left plenty of people mad at him. He left behind a widow named Dana and two adult children Michael and Brian. Michael is newly wed with a child. He is a construction worker. Brian is a hardened criminal who was recently involved in a prison escape which left victims dead.
Kinsey travels to a sleazy Mexican resort where she spies on the very much alive Jaffe and his mistress Renata Huff.
Involved is the disappearance of three million dollars which Jaffe and his partner Carl Eckhart fleeced from investors in their bogus business.
The novel starts off well but becomes somewhat boring as Kinsey investigates the case. A good way to while away an afternoon or evening. OK but not great reading.

I love this alphabet series about Kinsey Millhone the detective. Sue Grafton makes each book different. These are easy reading and filled with twists and turns that are unpredictable. I like to take this book with me when I go places so I can keep reading it because it's hard to put down. I recommend these books for light reading for anybody.

As soon as I read her earliest books, Sue Grafton became one of my favorite writers of light, straight, credible detective fiction. She can be a terrific storyteller. After being badly disappointed by the skimpy, disorganized "G" and "H" stories, but buoyed by the "I" book, I was looking forward to "J," which promised a very interesting tale. Unfortunately, I was disappointed again (though not as badly as I had been by "G" and "H" or as I would be with "L"). It is difficult to get a handle on exactly why. The book is quite a mish-mash.

Grafton opens the "J" book with a complex and fascinating premise, even if it was not exactly original (for example, see John D. MacDonald's "The Empty Copper Sea") -- a slick, near-bust land developer/real estate wheeler-dealer disappears under mysterious circumstances, is presumed dead, yet is spotted elsewhere years later. The early part of the book is interesting, with some good attention to detail. But the book never really takes seriously and runs with its opening plot idea.

Instead, the book strings it out for a while, deteriorates into a series of subplots (about the kids, about the wife, about the cop, about the partner ...) that lead nowhere, and then diddles away any life the story has left with a let-down ending involving a marginal character with a confused motive. This is not helped at all by a last-minute attempt to suggest that the person was a master criminal after all, despite what appears to be impetuous, emotional, out-of-control, lunatic behavior. It leaves the reader wondering why it was worth slogging through all of the pointless personal subplots and complicated original premise.

The book's excellent opening premise seems to be used merely as a gimmick to kick-start an aimless, pointless story. All of the characters' motivations are obscure and confusing: the son, the husband coming back, the partner, someone turning murderous overnight. The murder happens far too late in the book. The story bumps along to a conclusion using one contrived "confession" scene after another (cop investor tells about money still in existence; leads back to partner, etc.).

The opening premise promised a finely crafted complex crime by a single mastermind. Yet, in execution, the promise evaporated because no one person in the story has his/her act together. No one is acting deliberately. Whatever happened -- the storytelling is so obtuse at times it is not entirely clear -- is a mass of completely haphazard and unconnected events (husband returning home because of son; son getting into trouble; cop homing in on extant money). No clear villain emerges who was responsible for one overarching, clever crime, just a bunch of disconnected people spinning their wheels. The attempt on literally the last page of the book to suggest that what had happened had a larger meaning is flip, inadequate, and unconvincing, as is a melodramatic end scene in which a character "swims out to sea."

Generally, Grafton is a witty, upbeat writer, and Millhone is a fun character, and there is evidence of this in the book. The book provides some personal details of Millhone's family history that are mildly interesting. But in this book they feel distracting and painted-on. They fail to gel with the rest of the story and are not presented, much less resolved, in a meaningful way. Not since "H" has Millhone looked as haphazard, disorganized, procedure-oriented, coincidence-driven, and unprofessional. There is simply not enough of a coherent story to support her. The tone of the book is remarkably upbeat, but increasingly comes across as empty flippancy and scenery-chewing utilized just to get through a sagging, aimless plot.

Again, a likable, comfortable lead character and tone and a good premise and beginning made me want to like the book. But it simply fell apart to the point where I cannot in all honesty give it any more than three stars.

Wendell Jaffe swindled a lot of people out of money and then conveniently disappeared from his boat. The verdict was suicide, but the insurance company that had sold him a half-million dollar insurance policy is not convinced. When 5 years passed, the company was forced to pay the premium to Jaffe's wife. Two months later, a man looking very much like Jaffe is spotted in Mexico. The insurance company hires private investigator Kinsey Millhone to investigate and she does spot a man who appears to be Jaffe, along with his girlfriend Renata. They escape Kinsey's surveillance and she returns to California. Jaffe's son Brian is in big trouble with the police and Kinsey concludes that Jaffe will return to help his son. As she continues her investigation she becomes acquainted with Jaffe's supposed widow and his two troubled sons. She also comes in contact with some of her long-lost family, and agonizes over whether she wants to establish a relationship with them, and open up old wounds. Sue Grafton can be relied on to provide a good read, and this book, although not the best in the series, is no exception.

At first this book seemed to be very interesting, with Kinsey hunting down Wendall Jaffee in Mexico, and stumbling upon him. But after the first part of the book, too many characters were introduced that had promise of being interesting but weren't explored up to their potential. It was almost distracting to build up these characters, only to let their stories lag or not close up at all at the end. For example, what becomes of the remaining Jaffees, especially Brian? And what does Kinsey decide about meeting her long lost family? I also was disturbed by how carefree Wendall was when he met Kinsey, not the slightest bit scared or afraid of what she would do. Also Harris Brown, just offers her up info without being afraid she will go to the police. I think it was unrealistic how much information these people just gave up to Kinsey. It was a decent read though.

This is a must read for any Grafton fan. I would not recommend it as a first read of hers considering a lot of Kinsey's personal history appears for the first time in this book. It is another quick read. In this one, Kinsey is hired to find a missing person, one that allegedly committed suicide years ago, in order to make sure that the wife is eligible for a huge life insurance policy. Very entertaining like Grafton's books are.