H Is for Homicide (A Kinsey Millhone Mystery) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "looking back, it's hard to remember if the low morale at California Fidelity originated with the death of one of the claims adjusters or the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jimmy Tate, Santa Teresa, California Fidelity (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Or "H" may be for "Hispanic," as the murder of an insurance claims adjuster sends PI Kinsey Milhone undercover in a Los Angeles barrio. Following up a suspicious claim in the murder victim's files, Kinsey trails beautiful young Bibianna Diaz, recently moved up the coast to Santa Teresa from L.A. Under the alias Hannah Moore, Kinsey befriends the young woman and learns she is attempting the same scam pursued by Raymond Maldonado, her ex-boyfriend in L.A. When Raymond's brother, sent to bring Bibianna back, is shot by the young woman's new lover, an old friend of Kinsey's, both Bibianna and Hannah/Kinsey are taken to jail, where Kinsey secretly agrees to join a statewide fraud investigation. Raymond's henchmen grab Bibianna, and take Kinsey too. Kinsey's harrowing experiences include instigating car accidents as part of the scam and unearthing evidence to blow the operation. A pit bull, the surprising identity of an undercover LAPD cop and the unpredictable rages of Raymond, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, contribute atmosphere to the PI.'s eighth alphabet escapade. The usually upbeat Kinsey seems a little dispirited here. She admits to missing Robert Dietz, her love interest who left for Germany at the end of "G" Is for Gumshoe , but may also be reacting to the essentially humdrum plot. Kinsey remains a star supported by a lively cast, but the insurance business doesn't test her mettle, a fact which she determines for herself, assuring readers of one thing "I" won't be for. 150,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Mystery Guild selections; Doubleday Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"THE LADY CAN WRITE . . .
Any reader who needs a smart and sassy P.I. would do well to hire Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone. . . . H' is for Homicide continues to show the author in strong storytelling form. . . . [It] finds Kinsey Millhone working on a case involving the death of a claims adjuster for a California insurance company. The story takes her into the Los Angeles barrio in pursuit of a violent criminal, into jails and hospitals, and into a grungy bar named the Meat Locker. . . . Count on Millhone not only to corner the murderer but also to make a statement against the foibles of the insurance game."
--The New York Times
"The eighth in Grafton's bestselling series is perhaps the wildest ride yet. . . . Grafton's skill with dialogue, her vivid characterizations and California scenery are priceless. . . . There are moments when the tension becomes so unbearable that you are tempted to skip paragraphs out of self-preservation."
--USA Today
"One of the best . . . A vivid, funny portrait of life in an ethnic underworld, viewed without judgment. Suspense there is, plentifully, and a final suggestion that Kinsey will be exploring different mischiefs next time. Outstanding."
--Los Angeles Times --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1st edition (May 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080501084X
• ISBN-13: 978-0805010848
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #426,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 8 in The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sue Grafton Presents American Wit and Murder From S. Calif, June 7, 2000

By	Liz "Birdmother" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: H Is for Homicide (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Paperback)

I loved H is for Homicide and believe that it is Sue Grafton at her finest. As a Sue Grafton fan, I have read all of her books and loved them all but this one really hit the spot.

Kinsey Milhone, the main character, sets out to investigate a series of suspicious automobile insurance claims and ends up hanging out in the barrio with the perpetrators. Her entree into this secluded world was an evening spent in a very nasty bar posing as an after-hours tart whose mission is to befriend a for-real gorgeous tart who is the key to the insurance fraud ring. This is not the kind of duty that most of us would sign up for with any amount of enthusiasm. But Kinsey Milhone has guts of iron and nerves of steel. Those guts of iron allow her to swallow vast quantities of greasy restaurant food and the nerves of steel facilitate the endurance of the company of sleaze-bags for record amounts of time.

None of the miscreants, be they White or Hispanic are spared her cynical witty observations. Readers will, in all likelihood, be laughing cynically at the unvarnished truth that Kinsey uncovers time and again. She lets us know when people are negligent about washing their hands after using the public restrooms. She promptly informs us when residential bathrooms are less than clean and the housework in general has been neglected, when people don't smell or look good. The things that irritate Kinsey tell us the most about her--primarily that she has high personal standards and a great sense of boundaries.

Kinsey's level of tolerance for the creeps and oddballs that are the everyday encounters of her job is nothing short of remarkable. When she ends up hanging out with the denizens of the barrio in their apartment/headquarters, I thought that for sure she would end up dead in the apartment dumpster. Yet Kinsey's unique ability to blend in with her temporary surroundings and her skills as a private investigator combine to make a cliff-hanging suspense mystery novel.

Sue Grafton is at the top of her form in H Is For Homicide. I also highly recommend L Is For Lawless to newcomers who feel inclined to jump into the series at any point. Just grab any one of her novels, curl up, and let Kinsey Milhone take over!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KINSEY AT HER BEST!!!!, February 24, 2001

By	Mac Blair "Mac Blair" (Huntingdon, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: H Is for Homicide (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Funny, until I read some of the other reviews I thought this was one of the best Millhone book I had read. I have read A through H. Kinsey is hired to look into a claim by Bibianna Diaz. Along the way she finds Diaz is connected to the murder of her friend Parnell Perkins. I thought the way Sue Grafton weaved the characters through this book was very good. Raymond is a nut and Kinsey's experience with the pit bull is great. Does Kinsey end up working undercover for the police? Is someone else working undercover also? The answers are in the book, you will be surprised. I liked it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have to read it twice, January 26, 2002

By	D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: H Is for Homicide (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This one largely takes place in the Los Angeles barrio where Kinsey is (kind of) undercover investigating insurance fraud and murder for the California Indemnity Company. It's the last one in the series to have a major CIC connection.
You have to re-read this after you've finished because a final three-word sentence stands the whole plot on its head. An even better reason for re-reading is to savor Grafton's English prose style. When she gets a whole building to describe she slightly prolongs things too much, but I love descriptions like this one, of a garage "The late afternoon sun slanted onto the cracked concrete floor in tawny yellow stripes. The air smelled of oil, old tires. and hot metal."