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90 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kinsey Millhone is back with a vengeance!, November 14, 2011
This review is from: V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) (Hardcover)
Following U IS FOR UNDERTOW, Kinsey Millhone is back with a vengeance! She gets a 38th birthday "punch in the face and busted nose," in May 1988. A cake would have been nice. Kinsey is a pragmatist, "a big fan of forgiveness as long as I'm given the opportunity to get even first." Reluctantly shopping at an upscale retailer, Kinsey spies Audrey Vance stealing expensive silk PJs. The civic-minded P.I. discovers that the woman is in cahoots with another and reports them both. Vance is arrested, while the other scofflaw nearly runs Kinsey down in the parking garage with a Mercedes. Vance is later found dead, an apparent suicide, but homicide is soon suspected. In a parallel plot, Lorenzo Dante, Jr., known simply as Dante, is a loan shark with alleged Mafia ties. Dante has quite an inferno of illicit businesses burning --- and a red-hot romance with a powerful attorney's wife. One of those enterprises is a highly organized ring of shoplifters, whose kingpin was Audrey Vance. Vance's unsuspecting fiancé hires Kinsey to investigate what he thinks are bogus shoplifting charges, and the improbable suicide. Thrown into the mix are a corrupt cop, and a gambling addict who sells his soul to Dante. Predictably, characters face death during the investigation, and Kinsey is pulled into the vortex. Ghosts from novels past haunt Kinsey, even likeable petty criminal Pinky Ford is instrumental in the dénouement. Vixen reporter Diana Alvarez from "Undertow" is a thorn in Kinsey's side but eventually proves beneficial. Heartthrob and former flame Cheney Phillips keeps readers guessing if the fire will rekindle. Unfortunately, friend and landlord Henry is away, visiting one of his ancient siblings with a broken hip. The structurally complex plot is simplified with the help of Kinsey's index cards that are "like the pieces of a puzzle that would fall into place once I understood what I was looking at." That, and her intuition. "The purpose of intuition is to warn us when the wolf arrives at the door dressed as Little Red Riding Hood." Any Sue Grafton novel reads like a welcomed but long-overdue letter from the iconic private eye, bringing readers up to speed with her latest escapade. The queen of Alphabet Soup-titled mysteries (who earned the title of Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America) has made a quantum leap by taking on social issues in the last few of her 22 too-realistic-to-be-fiction works. With perpetrators identified early on, this is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, validating Grafton's title of Grand Master bestowed by her peers. While Kinsey--an average Jo--has learned to leap hurdles in her career, Sue Grafton has become an Olympic-class pole vaulter in hers. Impeccable plot, prose as rich as Wall Street, and everyone's favorite investigator make this a sure-fire bestseller. V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Mystery)
--- Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy
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46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gets better and better!, November 14, 2011
This review is from: V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) (Hardcover)
Sue Grafton's V is for Vengeance is a thrill a minute. We start out with a prologue about a young man named Phillip Lanahan in August 1986. We quickly find out that Philip likes poker and loses money. Going to a loan shark named Dante he's given a week to repay his loan. Unfortunately for him things end badly. The story shifts gears to Kinsey and May 5 1988 (for those in the know Kinsey's birthday). Than we switch to several weeks before her birthday and a few weeks after the events in U is for Undertow. Kinsey while shopping witnesses a shoplifter and at the end is almost getting run over. Somehow Kinsey by witnessing a minor incident becomes embroiled in something bigger than she imagines. Throughout the novel the point of view shifts between Kinsey, Dante, and Nora (a rich housewife tiring of her husband). Grafton has gone back and forth with third and first person in her most recent novels. However its my humble opinion that this is the first one out of the bunch that was expertly done. I was able to see so many layers in all three of the main characters in this story. We don't at first see how these three people will fit together but when you start to see the connections you are gobsmacked by Grafton's well crafted plot. Already waiting on bated breath for W..... Overall grade: A+
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting outing for Kinsey Millhone!, November 14, 2011
This review is from: V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) (Hardcover)
V is for Vengeance starts off with the story of a young man who meets a bad end at the hands of a loan shark and his brother. The book then moves to the present day of the book (1988) and starts off with Kinsey Milhone witnessing a shoplifting incident with two women. One gets caught and the other literally drives over Kinsey in the parking lot making her escape. Two days later, the woman who was arrested ends up dead in the same spot as the young man in the beginning of the book. Kinsey is hired by the man who was engaged to the dead woman to find out what really happened because he does not believe she committed suicide. Kinsey is soon involved in uncovering a ring of professional thieves, a police conspiracy, blackmail, and a man with interesting family connections known as "Dante". All the while she has an obnoxious reporter dogging her investigation and causing trouble.
Also weaving through the book is the story of an unhappy wife named Nora, who realizes her husband is cheating and takes steps to protect herself. In the course of covering her bases financially, she meets Dante and begins an unlikely relationship with him. There is an interesting twist in the book that involves both of these people and ties into the modern day activities.
One of the things I enjoy about this series is the fact that it is set in the 80's. Kinsey has to rely on research, hard work, and legwork to get her job done. She has no internet or cell phone to do work for her. I love it when she needs to get to a pay phone to call someone when she is out working on a case or making a carbon copy of something. I find myself thinking "If she only had a ........."
Kinsey is a solitary person who has very few real relationships in her life. She can only rely on herself this book reinforces that fact. Her ex-boyfriend Cheney is working with a cop who hates Kinsey so she feels cut off from one of her resources. Her neighbor and best friend Henry is gone to visit an ailing relative so Kinsey doesn't have him to run things by. She works and lives alone with the occasional acquaintance that comes into her life. Her solitary nature is a running theme through all 22 books in the series and I felt she was particularly alone in this book. It is a common theme for a male detective to be a "loner" but not so common for female sleuths. It is possible the lack of people distracting her contributes to her strong intuition about cases and her excellent observation skills.
This book has plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested. The continuity of the story from earlier books makes it enjoyable for long time readers but it can be enjoyed by a new reader as well. I wonder what we will all do when Ms. Grafton reaches the end of the alphabet!
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