Customer Reviews

K is for Killer (Sue Grafton)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Ahh, Sue Grafton. My guilty pleasure of choice, because with her (usually) firm grip on characterization and plotting she crafts the best mystery series out there with her alphabet mysteries -- and one could scarcely call them a 'guilty' pleasure at all. Having just read three heavy, depressing novels in a row I found that I needed an escape. So what did I do? I picked up the next installment of P.I. Kinsey Millhone's adventures and found solace in her hometown of Santa Teresa, California in the 1980s. "K is for Killer" is a step up from the clunking "J is for Judgment", but unfortunately suffers from some problems of its own. While I am imminently satisfied with "K", I am a little nervous. "H" was a flat-out stinker, "J" was pretty flawed, and now "K" shows visible signs of strain in Grafton's usually tight grip on pacing and plotting -- with only the sterling "I is for Innocent" remaining on par with the earlier books in the series. You see, while Grafton's style usually has the plot delving right into the mystery at hand (she is not an author who likes to waste time -- which is one of the things I love about her), in "K" it feels forced and unrealistic. Kinsey is approached by a client, Janice Kepler, who wants her to investigate her daughter Lorna's mysterious death ten months earlier, late on a Sunday evening. By Monday morning Kinsey has not only plowed through the background information that Janice supplied her with, but spoken to not one but TWO of the people involved in the case. Kinsey's investigation moves at such a rapid clip that it becomes completely implausible. And in all of her questioning, only one potential suspect in the entire book seems reluctant to talk to her. One suspect is even willing to squeeze her in at a moment's notice even though he has an important annual meeting in a mere fifteen minutes. Now come on -- guilty or innocent, wouldn't he rather prep for the meeting than re-hash the details of a case he's been talking to the police about for ten months?

A lot of criticism has been lobbed at this book in recent reviews that Kinsey gets too unrealistically involved in the life of a young prostitute character, and I think this is only half true. She doesn't seem to get any more involved with this character than she does with other characters in other books, but her crazed devotion to the case is startlingly out of place, and makes it appear that way. And here lies the defining flaw of "K is for Killer": its plot is remarkably contrived for a Grafton novel. Kinsey even develops a curious -- and unexplained -- case of insomnia that allows her to keep working on the case at all hours and keep the plot moving (and how lucky for her that most of the suspects also work nights, so they are always available no matter how ridiculous the hour). Another all-too-convenient set-up has her randomly showing up at a suspect's house in the middle of the night for no apparent reason other than to stumble upon someone beating them half to death with a pipe. It might have been shocking if it hadn't been so predictable -- and there's a word I NEVER thought that I would associate with Grafton. The ending is also, frankly, ridiculous, and not because of who the killer turns out to be but because of how the final confrontation plays out and where it takes place. Ludicrous -- ANOTHER word I never thought I would associate with Grafton.

So, with all of that griping why am I giving "K" four stars instead of three? Perhaps a degree of it is loyalty to Grafton, but not much. Truth is that as flawed as "K" is it's still an enjoyable ride, and it was just what the doctor ordered. I wanted a guilty pleasure and I got one, and the only troubling factor here is that "H", "J", and "K" have amplified the 'guilty' half of that equation a little too much. I look forward to continuing through the series with "L is for Lawless", but I hope that Grafton manages to bring the pleasurable aspect of her books back to the forefront.
Grade: B-

I have read one or two books in the Kinsey Millone series previously and have found them to be enjoyable, easy reads that, generally, provide interesting plots, etc. This book was, however, a disappointment.

Kinsey is hired by a grieving mother to investigate the death of her daughter some months previously. In the eyes of the police, the case has turned cold, yet Kinsey begins to discover that the dead girl led a rather complex life which may well have resulted in her death. Without revealing too much about the plot, the premise is interesting enough and Kinsey's investigations lead to a lengthy list of suspects. However, the ending of the book is a complete anti-climax - the killer is discovered almost by fluke and there is no consideration of motive, method or anything else which a crime fiction reader expects to see.

Grafton spends page after page developing a rather interesting plot only to let it fall apart completely at the end. Sadly, given the ending, the reader is left thinking "So what?" and disappointed at the effort expended in reading all of the preliminaries with no result.

Readers of this series may find the book enjoyable enough. I have to confess that I do not read these in order and therefore, cannot comment on the development of Kinsey Millone as a character. Newcomers to the series may just want to leave this one on the shelf. Overall, a disappointment.

I love Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone - and I enjoyed this book right up to the end - but the end left lots of unanswered questions and loose ends. The killer of the first murder victim was identified (and the fate of the killer was indicated), but what was the motive? There were two distinct different possibilities. Also, the reader might reasonably think that this killer was also responsible for the second murder (although that was never revealed), but what about the third attack and resulting death? There was no explanation, or motive given - and no indication that the same killer was responsible. Grafton is a great writer - if she had just written 4 or 5 more pages to resolve the unanswered questions, it could have been a good book instead of a very disapointing one.

This is my first Grafton book in her series - It was an entertaining and easy read (although a few too many characters to keep straight) but it ended with me wondering if I had missed something! After following the entire story I wanted to know more. I thought there were a lot of loose ends......

In the town of Santa Teresa, California, homicides are not a rare occurrence. However, this one involves a young woman, Lorna Kepler, who has been dead for 10 months. Janice, Lorna's mother, called on the services of a private investigator, Kinsey Millhone. Kinsey is hired to look into Lorna's death. Lorna was found two weeks after she died, in her isolated cabin. Janice believes it was murder. There were no signs of any violence or indication that there was a murder, so the police concluded the Lorna died of natural causes. (...) This book ends with the exposure of Lorna's killer, but it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Sue Grafton is a wonderful writer, but this book could have been better if she had resolved the unanswered questions.

Kinsey Millhone is hired to investigate the death of Lorna Kepler, a young woman who worked by day as a secretary in the local water works, but by night doubled as a high class call girl and occasional porn performer.

This is an unusually dark outing for Kinsey - set mostly at night with Kinsey moving among seedy types associated with prostitution, organized crime, and pornography. With a strain of noir, sex mixed with corrupt water politics, there are reminders here of 'Chinatown'.

Fans of Grafton will generally get what they come for here: as always, the characters are strong and the writing excellent. Lorna is dead before the story begins, but is still rather memorable, described through the people who knew her and Kinsey's investigation. Her family is also interesting: not just stereotyped victims but complex characters struggling with the events, including siblings who were jealous of Lorna's beauty and ambition and aren't entirely devastated by her death. (The side characters that Grafton has built up around Kinsey are largely left out of this story.) The mystery, however, isn't handled very well: as expected, we ultimately learn who killed Lorna, but never really understand why.

Overall, this is better than 'J', the weakest yet of Grafton's mysteries, but not up to her best.

The story begins with Lorna's mother seeking professional help in the investigation of her daughter's death. Throughout the novel, Lorna is depicted as a beautiful loner who couldn't resist flirting with danger. Maybe a possible cause of her death. As the plot progresses more and more questions are raised in regards to her death. While the cops suspected homicide, they could find neither motive nor suspect. Worse yet, was the circumstances in which the body was found: so badly decomposed that it couldn't be certain she hadn't died of natural causes.

Overall, this novel offers a dark and complex story in respect to the matters that it involves. I must say that the book misleads the reader into believing answers will be provided at the end. Grafton, not only leaves unanswered questions that surfaced as the novel progressed, but she leaves new questions floating around in the last couple of pages. So if anyone is interested in reading and providing their own conclusions then this may be the perfect book for you!

A slightly subpar, but solid entry in the alphabet series. Kinsey digs into the past of an unsolved murder victim, to discover ties to organized crime, prostitution, and local government corruption. Along the way, Kinsey gets help from a new police character, a single man known as Cheney. Several suspects emerge, including some of the victim's family members, who don't seem to appreciate Kinsey's nosing around. When we finally find the killer at the end, I was expecting the standard Sue Grafton crafted dramatic shoot-out, but this one ended differently. If the ending at been less of a yawner, I would have bumped the book up to 4 stars.

. . .much as I did when I first read "The Chamber" by John Grisham (my least favorite in his series of books, as this one is in the Grafton books). If you're reading this one as your intro to the series, you should know that it it not at all like the other books. There's very little humor in this outing--Kinsey is depressed here, dealing with issues of an extended family split and relatives who want to know her after all these years, and the case she's taken on is sadder and seamier than her previous ones--which definitely doesn't help her disposition here. Most of the characters in this book, like the ones in "H", were so slimy and snaky that my skin crawled and I wanted to take a shower when I finally finished the book. "L" was better, but let's hope Kinsey gets her groove back soon. She's too likeable a character to stay this depressed forever. . .

It was enjoyable up to the point where out of the blue, Kinsey figured out who the killer was. I still don't understand what the killer's motivation was, or how Kinsey came to the conclusion. Like another reader, I thought maybe I had missed a chapter, but no.