"T" is for Trespass (A Kinsey Millhone Mystery, Book 20) [Hardcover]

Sue Grafton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 4, 2007

tres¥pass \'trespes\ n: a transgression of law involving one's obligations to God or to one's neighbor; a violation of moral law; an offense; a sin
-Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, Unabridged

In what may be her most unsettling novel to date, Sue Grafton's T is for Trespass is also her most direct confrontation with the forces of evil. Beginning slowly with the day-to-day life of a private eye, Grafton suddenly shifts from the voice of Kinsey Millhone to that of Solana Rojas, introducing readers to a chilling sociopath. Rojas is not her birth name. It is an identity she cunningly stole, an identity that gives her access to private caregiving jobs. The true horror of the novel builds with excruciating tension as the reader foresees the awfulness that lies ahead. The suspense lies in whether Millhone will realize what is happening in time to intervene.

Though set in the late eighties, T is for Trespass could not be more topical: identity theft; elder abuse; betrayal of trust; the breakdown in the institutions charged with caring for the weak and the dependent. It reveals a terrifying but all-too-real rip in the social fabric. Once again, Grafton opens up new territory with startling results.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The 20th Kinsey Millhone crime novel (after 2005's S Is for Silence), a gripping, if depressing, tale of identify theft and elder abuse, displays bestseller Grafton's storytelling gifts. By default, Millhone, a private investigator in the small Southern California town of Santa Teresa, assumes responsibility for the well-being of an old neighbor, Gus Vronsky, injured in a fall. After Vronsky's great-niece arranges to hire a home aide, Solana Rojas, Millhone begins to suspect that Rojas is not all that she seems. Since the reader knows from the start that an unscrupulous master manipulator has stolen the Rojas persona, the plot focuses not on whodunit but on the battle of wits Millhone wages with an unconventional and formidable adversary. Grafton's mastery of dialogue and her portrayal of the limits of good intentions make this one of the series' high points, even if two violent scenes near the end tidy up the pieces a little too neatly. Author tour. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Although Kinsey Millhone has been around for 25 years, critics agree that T Is for Trespass is one of Sue Grafton’s finest works to date. About elder abuse and identity theft, among other crimes, the novel devotes pages to both Kinsey’s and the villain’s perspectives and thus becomes more of a battle of wits between the two women than a real mystery. As Kinsey decides when and how far to get involved in Gus’s horrific plight, her other cases (a child molester is on the loose, for example) kept critics turning the pages. Reviewers also appreciated that Kinsey ages blissfully slowly—since 1982, when A Is for Alibi was published, she has only gained five years—and thus remains in the Internet-free 1980s, where interpersonal relationships triumph. The ending put off a few critics, but otherwise this 20th installment thoroughly engrosses.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: A Marian Wood Book/Putnam; 1 edition (December 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154485
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154485
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (315 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times-bestselling author Sue Grafton is published in twenty-eight countries and twenty-six languages--including Estonian, Bulgarian, and Indonesian. Books in her alphabet series, begun in 1982, are international bestsellers with readership in the millions. And like Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald, Grafton has earned new respect for the mystery form. Readers appreciate her buoyant style, her eye for detail, her deft hand with character, her acute social observances, and her abundant storytelling prowess. She has been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America (2009) and is a recipient of the Ross Macdonald Literary Award (2004).

Sue Grafton has been married to Steve Humphrey for more than thirty years, and they divide their time between Montecito, California, and Louisville, Kentucky, where she was born and raised. Grafton, who has three children and four grandchildren, loves cats, gardens, and good cuisine.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#34 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#38 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#72 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#79 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

#34 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#38 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#72 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#79 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 164 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "T" Is For Terrific December 4, 2007

By Tom S. TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

The 20th novel in Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series is one of the best. In her last outing, "S" IS FOR SILENCE, Grafton altered her style a bit, actually entering other characters' points of view to tell parts of the story so that they shared the narrating duties with Kinsey herself. With this new novel, that device is used to chilling effect--between reports from Kinsey, we enter the mind of a woman who is possibly her most twisted adversary to date.

Solana Rojas is a caregiver, a home-help nurse's aide much like the thousands you'll find all over America. But the woman assigned to care for Kinsey's elderly friend is not your usual "angel of mercy." For one thing, she is not the real Solana Rojas--she has stolen that woman's identity. And she has plans. To tell you more of the plot would be--well, criminal.

The best aspect of Grafton's excellent series is her ability to keep up with current social and legal problems, despite the fact that Kinsey's stories are set somewhere in the 1980s. In this novel we have identity theft, the inherent problems of home care, and--perhaps most disturbing--the tendency of society in general to ignore and/or mistreat our most vulnerable citizens. At least this elderly victim has Kinsey Millhone as a champion. And what a champion she is! "T" IS FOR TRESPASS will captivate longtime Grafton fans, and it should make her a lot of new fans as well. Highly recommended.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Continued excellence December 13, 2007

By K. L. Cotugno VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The real genius in Sue Grafton's work is how she is able to continue to set her stories in the 80's and yet have them still be relevant to today. In an interview several years ago, she said she was lagging so that her heroine would not grow old before her time. Kinsey Milhone is her fantasy self, leading the life Grafton imagines she would if she were a PI in the 80's. Although it doesn't seem that long ago, it is 20 years after all. And the electronic gadgets that would make Kinsey's job easier are not available to her yet. This book is her best yet. Darker, and despite the 20 year lag, topical. She is able to juggle several story lines and keep them all fresh and interesting, satisfyingly complete.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked June 16, 2008

By Linda Pagliuco TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

When Kinsey's crotchety octagenarian neighbor Gus takes a fall, the good hearted detective takes on the responsibility for seeing to his welfare. The nurse who is hired comes with glowing recommendations, but soon, a web of stolen identity, embezzlement, abuse, and murder swirls around her, and Kinsey's met her match. This plot is the best Grafton has produced in the last several years, with Kinsey juggling her personal life and her caseload, which, in addition to Gus's life threatening problems, include insurance fraud and a reclusive ex-con, best friend Henry's tangled romance, and a Mexican tarantula, just to name a few of stumbling blocks that pop up to trip her. Even when all seems resolved, trouble still lurks in the wings to disturb Kinsey's peace of mind. In addition to the engaging main characters, Grafton can be relied upon to produce a lively cast of courageous allies and menacing villains without resorting to types. T is for Trespass is more than a mystery, it's an adventure, a look into the dark recesses of some souls, and into the finer instincts of others.