Customer Reviews

S Is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(88)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

It's been too long since I was really excited about a Sue Grafton novel. Way too long since I was 2/3 of the way through and just had to finish it, no matter what other use I was supposed to be making of my time. Although I was a bigger fan of "O" and "P" than most of her readers, I didn't like "Q" at all, and didn't even take the time to review "R". That says a lot. I've felt that Grafton had her heroine, private detective Kinsey Millhone, stuck in a rut she would never break free of. I didn't think she'd let Kinsey grow, similar to what other authors HAVE done (notably Marcia Muller) for their female detectives. I'd have to say the last really good book the series produced was "I is for Innocent". That's a lot of alphabet that has been burned up without a breakthrough. Although Kinsey doesn't move far away from center here, the book comes off in a way in which the older books in series did.

This book is different. Grafton employs a couple of strategies that are oft used in mysteries today, the concept of the protagonist taking on a "cold case" (which Kinsey has done before) and the use of a flashback...and the type of flashback that has a new chapter simply taking place in the past, making the cold case characters come alive as Kinsey investigates the in "the future". Grafton's future, the timeframe where she sets Kinsey, is 1987, and the disappearance she is tracking occurred in 1953.

Violet Sullivan is a bad girl. Red haired and extremely attractive, Violet disappears in her new car from Serena Station, a small California backwater town. She's been a victim of domestic abuse, but she leaves her small daughter, Daisy, behind, and takes her new Pomeranian with her. After many dysfunctional years of trying to forget, Daisy hires Kinsey, who comes to her attention through a friend. The case has Kinsey leaving her native Santa Teresa and sometime lover Cheney Phillips behind. Typical Kinsey haunts and friends are mentioned only fleetingly in this book. It's hard to know who wants Kinsey involved less....her own conscience, which says she'll probably not find anything, or folks in the little town, who seem to feel she's stirring up trouble.

Kinsey pries up a rock or two, and actually stumbles across the fate of Violet Sullivan, after learning about most (but not all) of Violet's affairs. The reader actually gets to see the way Violet meanders through the town's men, but in uncovering the person who did her harm, there are a lot of dead ends, and I confess that I didn't know the identity of who and what. That's what kept me reading. And although, true to form, when Grafton reveals, she shuts down the novel with very little afterplay, well, this book still gave life to what was a dying series. Kudos to Grafton for reviving her heroine and giving us a great, pre-holiday read!

In 1953, on the fourth of July, Violet Sullivan disappeared, along with her little dog and her reputed stash of over fifty thousand dollars. Left behind were Violet's six-year-old daughter, Daisy, and Violet's abusive husband, Foley. Many people in the small town of Serena Station believe that Foley killed Violet in one of his many violent rages. Others maintain that she left with one of her lovers. After thirty-four years, Violet's daughter is still broken up about her mother's disappearance. Daisy has been divorced four times, and she feels that her perpetual misery stems from wondering if Violet could have been so cold-hearted as to leave of her own volition. The police have never been able to solve the mystery, so Daisy hires PI Kinsey Millhone to investigate this very cold case.

Throughout most of "S is for Silence," Kinsey repeatedly interviews everyone with information about Violet Sullivan, including Foley, who is now a recovering alcoholic, Chet Cramer, an automobile dealer who sold Foley a beautiful Chevy Bel Air that disappeared along with Violet, Liza Clements, Daisy's former babysitter, Calvin Wilcox, Violet's only sibling, and Sergeant Timothy Schaefer, who was the investigating officer when Violet vanished. There are red herrings galore to confuse matters, and Kinsey begins to think that she is wasting her time going over the same ground over and over again. One day, however, Kinsey finds her Volkswagen's tires slashed, and she realizes that she has struck a nerve. Someone is obviously warning her to back off. Could Violet's killer still be at large, and will Kinsey be his next target?

Grafton tells part of her story in first person, through Kinsey's eyes, and the rest of the chapters are flashbacks to 1953. This back and forth works well, giving the reader a perspective that Kinsey lacks. Grafton skillfully fleshes out her large cast of characters. She depicts couples stuck in marriages of convenience, businessmen who are anxious to get ahead if only they could get their hands on some money, and young girls with low self esteem trying to weather the storms of adolescence. The parts of the book that take place in the fifties are an entertaining exercise in time travel. The narrative that takes place in the present, which is 1987, for the most part consists of Kinsey questioning Violet's former acquaintances. By comparing everyone's alibis, recollections and opinions, Kinsey hopes that the truth will somehow emerge. The weakest part of the story is the conclusion, which is too abrupt and insufficiently explained. For the most part, however, "S is for Silence" is an engrossing novel about a small town's unhappy residents and their dark secrets.

If the weather is cold and the wind is howling outside, why not settle down with a cup of hot chocolate and Sue Grafton's S is for Silence, another clever contribution to the Kinsey Millhone series. This pleasant little romp has Kinsey investigating the 1953 disappearance of a woman, Violet Sullivan, local legend and "town harlot" who was loved by few and despised by many. Everyone in town, it seems, has had some sort of involvement with Violet........and has their tale to tell.

The story is set in the 1980's with Kinsey hired by the womans now adult daughter to find out what happened to her mother, who left town in her new 1953 Chevy BelAir taking nothing more than her Pomeranian dog and the clothes on her back (and perhaps the $50,000 insurance settlement she continually brags about to anyone who will listen). Unlike most of the previous offerings in this series which usually detail events strictly from Kinsey's point of view, this novel features flashbacks told from the standpoint of various individuals involved with Violet during the fateful week preceding and following her disappearance. Violet is a colorful character, sometimes kind and thoughtful while at others mean spirited and manipulatve So what happened to her?? Did she simply run off or was she murdered?

Lean back, prop up your feet, sip your hot chocolate and savour this engaging little diversion. It's not Shakespeare or Tolstoy, just simple entertainment........so enjoy.

Violet Sullivan patted her hair, applied her trademark violet cologne, checked the hemline of her purple sundress, and tucked her Pomeranian pup in her straw bag. She poked her head around the bathroom door to say goodnight to her seven-year-old daughter Daisy in a bubble bath and her regular babysitter, Liza. She blew them both a kiss, climbed into her brand new Chevy Bel Air sedan, backed down the drive, filled the gas tank at a highway gas station, and vanished. It was the 4th of July, 1953 in Serena Station, California. Violet was headed for the fireworks celebration but never showed up.

Tongues wagged, police investigated, and speculation mounted in the sleepy little town. Old case files would show that Violet had emptied her safety deposit box of a rumored $50,000 insurance cash settlement and that her favorite outfits were missing from her closet. Her reputation as a loose woman around town led some to figure she had left her brutish husband to run off with a lover. Others believed her husband finally had had enough and killed her in a drunken rage during one of their well-known fights. But there was no body, no abandoned car, no wandering puppy --- not a sign of Violet anywhere. Life pretty much went on after the scandal died down. Thirty-four years later, her daughter, Daisy, blames the disappearance of her mother for her current unhappiness. She decides to find out what really happened to Violet Sullivan, come what may.

Private detective Kinsey Millhone's established reputation leads Daisy to her office. Missing persons cases are not in Kinsey's resume, but Daisy's story is so compelling that Kinsey names her price and reluctantly takes the case.

When Sue Grafton launched A IS FOR ALIBI in the spring of 1982, the book was heralded by readers and critics alike for its sassy protagonist, Kinsey Millhone, and its bravura debut of what looked like a very ambitious undertaking. If A was for alibi, could an alphabet series all the way to Z be in Grafton's future? She had worked as a Hollywood screenwriter for nearly a decade, survived a nasty divorce, and often fantasized, according to one biographer, of ways to murder her ex-husband. Banging out stories on deadline was a way of life, but it was a grind she no longer wanted to continue, so she created the irrepressible Kinsey of the ever-present little black dress and the beater Volkswagen Beetle.

Kinsey's career and life have moved forward five years during the first 18 books in the bestselling detective series. The ubiquitous Beetle has been traded for a newer model. The black dress that served as a trusty prop went up in smoke with the original car, but her wardrobe has remained as casual and ready for action as ever. The angst and introspection of Kinsey's own past in recent books is behind her.

S IS FOR SILENCE is a departure from the formula that had become the signature of the Alphabet mysteries. Grafton could, as many series writers do, rest on her laurels and pound out another enjoyable read with the same characters --- Rosie at the diner, Charlie her landlord, Cheney her boyfriend. A week in the life of Kinsey Millhone, on the hunt for a bad guy. Instead, she chose to write a novel laced with atmosphere, delivering a plot with punch and action. She takes the reader back to the sounds, the colors, and the peace and quiet of a sleepy California town in the early 1950s. The story of what happened to a flamboyant, bored young woman, her daughter, her husband, the babysitter, and the men in town who hung out at the Moon Bar and Grill is told from the point of view of each of the people who knew and loved Violet.

S IS FOR SILENCE is unlike any of Grafton's prior books, some of which readers and critics felt were becoming hackneyed. She's met the daunting challenge of the alphabet by pushing the envelope. With only seven to go, Kinsey exhibits welcome signs of life and excitement ahead. I can't wait for "T."

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

Solving a cold case is extremely challenging for a detective. Writing about solving a cold case is even tougher. You can easily get so caught up in unraveling the tattered mystery that you bore your readers silly. A particularly tricky task is to make readers care.

Sue Grafton has written one of the most satisfying cold case stories that I've ever read. She makes the missing person, Violet Sullivan, both sympathetic and off-the-wall. At the same time, Ms. Grafton shows how an unsolved disappearance leaves everyone who cared about the person wounded to the core. They are victims too. In the case of S Is for Silence, some of the victims are more sympathetic than others . . . but they are all interesting.

The book mainly succeeds because Ms. Grafton creates an interesting series of characters and plot interactions both in her flashback chapters and in her development of Kinsey's investigation.

Ms. Grafton wisely keeps the investigation short. The mystery is unraveled in five days. To have strung the investigation out would have made the book boring, in my judgment. I was very impressed to find that the flashback information wasn't a direct hint as to how Kinsey would solve the mystery. She followed her own unique path.

Those who like to focus on Kinsey and her life as a single woman won't find this book very satisfying. The cold case is the story. Kinsey's friends and family have barely cameo roles in this book.

For those who like a classic missing person's story against the backdrop of volatile relationships in a small California town, this book will, however, be the right stuff.

Hmmm...I just got done listening to this book on CD. The presentation was fine although I prefer turning pages! (I am also a knittaholic hence the CD.)

Anyway, I actually did enjoy the book to some degree. I liked the development of the characters using the flashback method. I really like Tannie, but I really missed Henry and crew. Oh yeah, I missed Kinsey too...not sure where she went to???

However, my big complaint is this:

Who is Tom? Did we learn much about Tom? How about Violet and Tom? Why is Tom the killer...definitely premeditated? How does the dog make the connection? Not to mention do we need to mention more than once that the dog's skull was bashed in?

What's the scoop on Violet's money? Who ended up with it...presumably Tom? Oh yeah, who was Tom again?

But mostly...what a horrid non-ending. I remember in 5th grade we wrote stories and made homemade binding covers for them. I vaguely remember writing some mystery story and then getting to "the end" and not knowing where to go with it, so I just ended it...unresolved. My teacher said the story was good, the cover (I used cardboard and ecru canvas) but that I needed to end the story. I couldn't just "stop writing." My teacher would have had a heyday with this book! It also reminds me of my Lit teacher in high school...I love writing papers (yes, I am sick), but there comes a point when I am done, bored, etc. She used to say, "Heidi, I could draw a line between the sentence where you still cared and the sentence where you were done and had to get it finished." Again, this teacher would have a heyday with this book.

All in all, as a fan of Kinsey and Grafton, I was truly disappointed. Had the story been fleshed out to its completion instead of drifting off into reunited lovers and divorce court, I would have been writing a review raving about the book because it has tons of unrealized potential.

Please Sue, if you read these reviews, give us something better in T...let it not stand for "treachery"!

Heidi

A relatively new fan of both Grafton and her creation Kinsey, I whipped through the available "alphabet according to Grafton" in a mere three months and have been reading the subsequent letters as they have appeared beginning with "Q". I was so enchanted with the characters and the relatively low-tech mystery solving of the '80's that I even had my 90-year-old dad reading the series before he passed on shortly after reading the letter "E". (Not due to the reading matter, I should point out!) I provide all this background to explain why I bought "S" initially, and why I persevered with, and enjoyed, the newest book. My love of the P.I. and all the supporting characters who people her life such as Henry and his quirky siblings, the Hungarian chef, and the lovers who come and go, along with the small but homey apartment and the VW Beatles that motor Kinsey into and out of her investigations, make the series memorable. Although I enjoyed the new take on the storytelling whereby the mystery unravels for us in real-time 1953 as Kinsey is interviewing the suspects, friends, and/or family members in what is Kinsey's "today", I was quite disappointed at not being able to enjoy Henry's baking, or see Kinsey enjoy her latest romantic tryst yet still manage to remain independent. And I can't help but wonder if that "little black dress" was still in the backseat of the VW, just waiting for Kinsey to reluctantly don it while sweating through a formal gathering. I remain hopeful that Sue Grafton will give us more of Kinsey and her world with "T" and beyond, along with another engaging mystery.

In 1987 Violet Sullivan asks Kinsey Milhone to investigate the disappearance of her mother in 1953. The color of a hydrangea bush gives a vital clue.
I'm not the right person to ask about its quality. I'm a hopelessly addicted Grafton junky who buys each one prepublication and re-reads the whole series from time to time.
This one breaks new ground for the series by interspersing flashbacks from the point of view of some of the characters. The flashbacks serve a purpose in keeping track of the extensive caste and the long list of suspects. These are good, but sometimes when they get long you miss Kinsey's voice and you are reading something that could have been written by any ordinary writer. I think Grafton's trade secret is to have an utterly believable first person narrator giving meticulous scene-setting and character description. The combination produces an intense realism drawing the reader in.
This one has very little of Kinsey's love life and biography. You have to start with A is for Alibi to fully appreciate that. Dietz is mentioned once and Henry gets half a page. There's some very clever contrasting of life in 1953 with life in 1987. Lots of 1950's car information.
My one gripe against Grafton is that when she describes the taste and smell of of this like cheeseburgers and deli sandwiches it inspires me to go and eat, but when she describes the joys of three mile runs at six in the morning it doesn't do the same thing for me.

I've been patiently collecting this alphabet mystery series over the last several years, some books have been better than others.

Sue Grafton's lastest book, builds up with some good suspense as to who actually killed Violet. But when the culprit was finally revealed, I was left with a huge HUH?

There weren't enough clues in the book to make you connect the killer to the crime. Because of that, the book didn't really come together nicely for me and was a waste of time as I had carefully followed all the subplots and paid attention as I usually do in a mystery book.

Sue Grafton really got into a lot of lewd descriptive sex scenes in the book, which was more I have noticed in other books in the series. I could have done without the sex scenes and would have liked a better coherent satisfying plot line instead.

Too many unanswered questions and a letdown for me. (...)

I have been unfamiliar with the work of Sue Grafton. A couple of years ago, I read a nice little novel entitled N IS FOR NOOSE -- without paying attention to the author's name. Last week while searching for a diversion, I was given a copy of S IS FOR SILENCE.

While reading it, I began to reminisce on Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels that I have been reading for the past 15 years. Scarpetta has been evolving into an emotionally incompetent character. Grafton's Kinsey Millhone is a much more interesting, realistic and competent character. When a novel's main character becomes too far removed from reality, the reader's ability to get lost in the book is diminished. When I read a novel, I want a temporarily escape from reality. S IS FOR SILENCE achieves this goal.

Grafton's creation, Kinsey Millhone, is a woman of intelligence, action, and venerability. She has limited resources (unlike the Kay Scarpetta and Lucy characters) which lays the foundation for intense reading. In addition, to a well developed character, Grafton's has some unique writing skills that push the reader to turn the pages. One particular writing strategy I found effective is the flashback. Initially, I thought that these many flashbacks were making the novel too slow-moving - too slow moving for my taste. However, I stuck with it and found this writing technique to be worthy.

I found Grafton's description of Liza's sexual experience fascinating. She wrote it in Liza's voice, but the prose gave the appearance as if they were written by a man. Cool!

I am mesmerized by Grafton's writing and will begin my new mystery journey by reading A IS FOR ALIBI.