N is for Noose (A Kinsey Millhone Mystery) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Sometimes I think about how odd it would be to catch a glimpse of the future, a quick view of events lying in store for..." (more)
Key Phrases: panel truck, Nota Lake, Tom Newquist, Santa Teresa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Suppose we could peer through a tiny peephole in time and chance upon a flash of what was coming up in the years ahead?" The questioner is Kinsey Millhone, middle-aged, two-time divorcee detective and junk food junkie star of Sue Grafton's popular "alphabet" mysteries; the book is 'N' Is for Noose. If Kinsey had had just a smidgen of foresight, she would never have taken her current case, handed down to her from her on-again, off-again flame and comrade in arms, Robert Dietz. We encounter the two this time out after Deitz's knee surgery, as Kinsey drives his "snazzy little red Porsche" back to Carson City, where she checks out his digs for the first time. To her surprise, he lives in a palatial penthouse, which--under the unspoken bylaws of investigative etiquette--she qualmlessly snoops through. They sit around for a fortnight playing gin rummy and eating peanut butter and pickle sandwiches together, but perennially single Kinsey grows wary: "It was time to hit the road before our togetherness began to chafe."

She heads off to meet Dietz's former client, Mrs. Selma Newquist, a devastated widow whose makeup tips seem to come from Tammy Faye Baker. Her husband Tom Newquist, a detective himself, had been working on a mysterious case when he abruptly died of a heart attack. Selma suspects foul play, but bless her, she isn't the brightest star in the sky and can't figure out what Tom was working on even though he's left behind enough paper to fill a recycling truck. Kinsey digs right in and roams the sleepy, one-horse town of Nota Lake for clues, interviewing a colorful cast of in-laws and locals. Beneath the quaint, quiet, country veneer, she unearths a bubbling hotbed of internal strife and familial double-dealing. Was Tom covering up for his partner? Is Selma protecting someone? Grafton's knack for gritty details and realistic characters ("[Selma's] skin tones suggested dark coloring, but her hair was a confection of white-blond curls, like a cloud of cotton candy"), coupled with the fast-paced, believable story line, makes for another delightful, entertaining read. --Rebekah Warren, Bestsellers editor

From Publishers Weekly

The noose of the title implies a tight knot, but the twists and turns of Grafton's latest plot are pretty loose. Not that the fans of self-reliant PI Kinsey Millhone's 13 previous alphabet appearances (from 1982's A Is for Alibi through 1996's M Is for Malice) are likely to object. This story takes Kinsey away from her Southern California coastal town of Santa Teresa to the small mountain community of Nota Lake in the Sierras. There, Selma Newquist hires Kinsey to ferret out the problem that had been seriously bothering her cop husband, Tom, before his recent death from a heart attack. Kinsey's efforts are soon stonewalled as the residents of Nota Lake unite, suggesting that the widow is being troublesome while the good-guy cop should be left to rest in peace. Kinsey wonders whether the townspeople might be right until she is seriously beaten up in her Nota Lake motel room. Focusing on finding the dead man's missing notebook, she follows his trail to a seedy hotel not far from Santa Teresa that he visited a few weeks before his death. While keeping a suspicious eye on the dead man's police partner and a few other local figures, Kinsey determines that Tom Newquist had been investigating an old murder near Nota Lake, which may have had ties to a similar, recent murder. Lots of coincidences, some over-the top characters, including a hyper-raunchy older woman, and some unprepared-for elements contribute to the rather chaotic climax. But Grafton's easy-reading, intelligent prose and her heroine's sharp humor, served up dark and wry, make up for a slew of plot weaknesses. 1,000,000 first printing; Mystery Guild main selection; Literary Guild selection; 18-city author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1st edition (May 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805036504
• ISBN-13: 978-9900047803
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (176 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #783,061 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 14 in The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Whole Town Is Against Me, May 3, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: N Is for Noose (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

One of my favorite detective story lines is the one where the whole community turns against the protagonist. Despite this, the detective solves the crime. N Is for Noose follows that plot, and is well done. In fact, the book borders on the genre of the Western in many ways. Read it that way, and you'll like it better.

The book has one uncharacteristic quality for this series, Kinsey is quite slow to solve the mystery. I found that intriguing. Most problem-solving is slow and ineffective. To me, it made the story more realistic and interesting to follow. Others will call it slow plot development.

The resolution in the end is extremely unusual. It combines elements that are found in many other stories, but never in combination. It literally took my breath away. I could not read it fast enough, even though it is over quickly. Such a powerful coda after so many lento sections is an astonishing surprise, and one that worked well for me.

Although this is certainly not the best book in the series, it is a very fine one. I urge you to read it, and appreciate its strengths.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Woman Takes on the Whole Town!, February 18, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: N Is for Noose (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are like me, you will see N Is for Noose as the ultimate development of the theme, "I am woman . . . hear me roar."

One of my favorite detective story lines is the one where the whole community turns against the protagonist. Despite this, the detective solves the crime. N Is for Noose follows that plot, and is well done. In fact, the book borders on the genre of the Western in many ways. Read it that way, and you'll like it better.

The book has one uncharacteristic quality for this series, Kinsey is quite slow to solve the mystery. I found that intriguing. Most problem-solving in reality is slow and ineffective. To me, it made the story more realistic and interesting to follow. Others will call it slow plot development.

The resolution in the final 40 pages or so is extremely unusual. It combines elements that are found in many other stories, but never in combination. It literally took my breath away. I could not read it fast enough, even though it is over quickly. Such a powerful coda after so many lento sections is an astonishing surprise, and one that worked well for me. Think of this book as having three long, slow movements followed by one allegro one done fortissimo!

Although this is certainly not the best book in the series, it is a very fine one. I urge you to read it, and appreciate its strengths.

Also, think about whether you really want your novels (and especially mysteries) to be too predictable. What kind of unpredictability is good? What kind isn't?

Stand up for what you believe in, too!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Grafton Running Out of Steam??, April 29, 2005

By	Susie Morris "Book Junkie" (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: N Is for Noose (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In N IS FOR NOOSE, Kinsey Millhone takes on one of Robert Dietz' cases after he has knee surgery. (Remember her bodyguard turned lover from G IS FOR GUMSHOE?? Well, heeee's baaaack... or at least we get a glimpse of him anyway). Ok, back to the book ... Kinsey drives Dietz' Porsche back to Carson City for him and is a little shocked at his lifestyle - he actually lives in a penthouse! This part of the story falls short - I wasn't sure if this romance would continue sometime in the future, or if the spark had been doused. I guess Grafton wants to keep all the possibilities open and kept any details locked away from her readers!

From Carson City, Kinsey goes to Nota Lake and her new case, that of a Selma Newquist. Selma's husband (a police detective) dies suddenly from a heart attack, but Selma suspects something else had killed her husband and Kinsey is the one to help solve the puzzle. Selma is a fresh character -- she's not too bright, applies her make up with a trowel, and just has one of those unique personalities that intrigue you and drive you nuts at the same time!

I found this book to be very predictable (to the point of being almost boring) and found the most enjoyable parts to be those in which Selma was involved. The overall mystery was not there, and the normal spellbinding material that was typical for Grafton is missing.

As Sue Grafton continues on her alphabetic journey, I sense she's running out of enthusiasm. Maybe she should jump out of this alphabet nightmare and write something different before she continues.

Do I recommend this book? Yeah, but with reservations - it's not the worst book on the market, but it's definitely not the best either!