P Is for Peril: A Kinsey Milhone Mystery (Sue Grafton) [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio CD)

by Sue Grafton (Author), Judy Kaye (Reader)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
When Dowan Purcell, a respected physician who operates a nursing home, disappears, his ex-wife hires Santa Teresa PI Kinsey Millhone to look into it. Fiona Purcell is still seething over Dow's affair and subsequent marriage to Crystal, a former stripper, yet they're still friends, and she seems worried. But when his body is discovered, she's among the suspects. Both of Dow's wives, at least one of his business partners, and perhaps even Crystal's teenage daughter had motives to kill.

While in her most recent adventures (N Is for Noose, O Is for Outlaw) Kinsey has acquired new digs, an extended family, and a few more gray hairs, in this one (which takes place some time in the mid-'80s), she's 36, still living in the remodeled garage that was blown up in an earlier novel. Easier than a facelift, and while Sue Grafton is a solid enough writer to pull it off, dedicated Kinsey fans will miss the more complex and multidimensional character who aged so ruefully and interestingly in the '90s. This isn't Grafton's strongest case; it's hard to care about any of Purcell's women or his associates. More exciting is the secondary plot, which involves a handsome landlord who offers Kinsey the new office space she's been seeking and turns out to be a lot more trouble than she bargained for. Despite its somewhat plodding pace and the echo of a more evolved heroine that rings through its pages, Grafton's many fans will probably shoot P Is for Peril right to the top of the bestseller list. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
PI Kinsey Millhone's trademark dry sense of humor is largely absent in the first half of the 15th book in this justifiably popular series, though it resurfaces as the suspense finally begins to build in the second half. In the bleak November of 1986, Kinsey looks into the disappearance of Dr. Dowan Purcell, who's been missing for nine weeks. Dr. Purcell is an elderly physician who runs a nursing home that's being investigated for Medicare fraud. His ex-wife, Fiona, hires Kinsey when it seems as though the police have given up on the search. Fiona thinks that he could be simply hiding out somewhere, especially since he's pulled a disappearance stunt twice before. However, Purcell's current wife, Crystal, believes that he may be dead. Kinsey is dubious about finding any new leads after so much time has elapsed. She's also worried about having to move out of the office space she now occupies in the suite owned by her lawyer, and between her interviews with suspects she tries to rent a new office from a pair of brothers whose mysterious background begins to make her suspicious. Grafton's Santa Teresa seems more like Ross Macdonald's town of the same name than ever before, with dysfunctional families everywhere jostling for the private eye's attention. The novel has a hard-edged, wintry ambience, echoed in Fiona Purcell's obsession with angular art deco furniture and architecture. Unfortunately, Grafton's evocation of the noir crime novels and styles of the 1940s, although atmospheric, doesn't make up for a lack of suspense and lackluster characters. (June 4)Forecast: With a 600,000-copy first printing and a national author tour, this Literary Guild Main Selection is sure to shoot well up the bestseller lists.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (June 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375416846
• ISBN-13: 978-0375416842
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (255 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #253,515 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 16 in The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Did Kinsey get lost somewhere?, August 2, 2001

By	Mary Ann Hofmann (Stow, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: P Is for Peril: A Kinsey Milhone Mystery (Sue Grafton) (Audio Cassette)

I am an avid Kinsey Millhone fan, and was anxious to get my hands on this lastest installment to the series. However, I found this one very disappointing. The plot was an overly used one with characters that weren't developed or explained thoroughly enough. Throughout the book, I kept waiting to find out why things that had been emphasized were key to the story, but it just never happened.

I thought the subplot with the two brothers had much more potential. Developing that storyline would have been far more interesting.

The old Kinsey just didn't quite come through here. She didn't have that edge that makes her so interesting. I've always enjoyed the way she thinks and operates. This seemed to be just a shadow of her former self.

I was willing to forgive all of this just because I do adore the series, but I was left cold with the ending. Grafton has always been a master at pulling it together in a way that even if she hadn't thoroughly spelled out the way things were, there wasn't any confusion as to what happened. That was not the case here. I read the last 25 pages twice to see if I missed something, but I have more questions than is comfortable for a mystery novel. There was just too much left unsaid and unexplained which I found extremely frustrating.

By far, my least favorite.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grafton Noir, July 21, 2001

By	sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: P Is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is a departure for Kinsey Milhone. The mood is dark as the skies and as retro as an early Ross McDonald novel. The main plot is diffuse with unattractive, complex characters taking the center stage. A beloved elderly physician has disappeared. His eccentric but charmless ex-wife wants him found. His present wife, a former stripper, thinks he is dead. Nobody and nothing are quite as they seem. The missing doctor has a drinking problem and some quirky sexual needs. The ex-wife in her unfinished, stark and bare art deco home calls to mind Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard." The trophy-wife, aptly named Crystal, seems fragile and dependent. She has a strange ménage who consist of an utterly repellent 14-year old out-of-control daughter, her 18-month old son and his ghostly male nanny, and an ever-present friend who happens to be the daughter's school counselor.

"Peril" is a decidedly ambitious book, and succeeds on many levels. The sometimes lyrical descriptions of weather, architecture and mood show growth and depth in Ms. Grafton's writing. However, she tries to do too much and the story sprawls. A secondary plot, though entertaining, is a diversion and fragments the reader's interest. She interjects a hilarious interlude with a hidden Kinsey trapped under a desk, a reluctant witness to a lovers' tryst. Again, funny and clever as this is, it does not forward the story. I had the feeling Ms. Grafton threw these in to placate her legion of Kinsey fans. Kinsey's regular pals, Henry and Rosie seem out of place in this setting. Think Ms. Grafton should bite the bullet and write a book without Kinsey, not in the alphabet series, and see how it goes

The ending is subtle but clear if you mentally review what you have read. The clues are all there. I had to smile at the cleverness.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I'm Learning my ABC's, February 5, 2002

By	Dennis M. Banahan (Collins, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: P Is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I am embarrassed to say, " 'P' is for Peril" is the first of the alphabet series I have read by Ms. Grafton. I enjoyed it so much, the day after I finished reading it, I went right out and picked up a copy of "K" is for Killer; and I must say, I enjoyed it equally as well. I hope that by early spring, I know as much about the Kinsey Millhone investigations as Sue Grafton.
Ms. Grafton has successfully blended all the ingredients together for a first rate novel. The story is fast paced and has a suspenseful plot. Ms. Grafton's character development is outstanding too. Kinsey Millhone does not do triple reverse sommersaults and karate six men twice her size to death. She does not work for free and she is not anal retentive about stretching the truth when it suits her purpose. She is a quick wit and a skilled investigator; an extremely believable character.
I'm not an easy sell either. I'm a retired lieutenant with the Chicago Police Department. I spent ten of those years in homicide, ten more in narcotics. I know what rings true in police investigations and I know what Private Investigators can and cannot do. Consequently, I was unable to watch "Columbo" and a host of other like shows; nor can I read novels that stink to the high heavens. Ms. Grafton's books are a breath of fresh air and a great find for me.