U is for Undertow

U is for Undertow is the title of the 21st book featuring Santa Teresa female Private Investigator, Kinsey Millhone authored by Sue Grafton. U is for Undertow is also my 21st post for the A to Z Blogging Challenge. This post is not about this single book in this series. It is about the entire Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. While there is a continuity, you can pick up any single book in the series as a standalone. I have read all the books in the series, but not in order. I never felt lost. Latest book in the series is V is for Vengeance. I don't know what title Sue Grafton is going to come for the letters X Y and Z. I don't know what I am going to do for these alphabets in this challenge. Let's see.

Have you read Sue Grafton's Alphabet series? Have you decided the post for X Y and Z alphabets for your A to Z Blogging challenge?

P.S I am jumping up and down in joy! This is 21st post for this challenge, meaning I am almost at the finishing line. Hopefully, so are you!

V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

V is for Vengeance is the 22nd book featuring Kinsey Millhone, 38 year-old, twice-divorced, childless and yes female, Santa Teresa Private Investigator. I made the mistake of thinking Kinsey was male in A is for Alibi. I didn't realise that Kinsey was female for more than half of the book as I misread the word bachelorette in the first page as bachelor. In this book Kinsey introducing herself promptly points out that she is female in case you didn't know.

Kinsey goes for lingerie shopping in this installment and finds a respectable looking woman shoplifting. Not one to turn a blind eye and one who has a strong opinion on the evils of shoplifting on economy, Kinsey reports the woman to store security, setting into motion a chain of actions. The woman, Audrey Vance is found dead. Did she commit suicide or was she killed? Audrey's fiancé asks Kinsey to investigate. Isn't fortunate that Kinsey gets to investigate this case and gets paid too?

Sue Grafton takes us into the world of organized retail theft. Like in U is for Undertow, Grafton uses the usual Kinsey first person narrative and the new third person narrative giving glimpses into other key players namely Dante, gangster(?) and Nora in the story.

Kinsey describes herself in all her books, but how do others look at Kinsey. We get Dante's perspective of Kinsey. Like a girl. That is a new one.

There are her usual characters Henry Pitts, Rosie, William Pitts but they make a brief show. Though this is the 22nd book, you can read it as a standalone like all the books in the alphabet series. I haven't read the books in order. Just picked books that were available in the library or bookshop. I think I have read all, but I may have missed one. I enjoyed everyone of them except A is for Alibi. Now I know what Grand Theft is. So when is 'W is for' coming out? Make it faster Ms.Grafton. I am dying to read it.
I borrowed this book from my local library.

Friday Memes

Friday Book Beginnings is a weekly Meme hosted at A Few More Pages..

This is from V is for Vengeance by Sue
Grafton

Las Vegas
August 1986

Phillip Lanahan drove to Vegas in his 1985 Prosche 911 Carreras Cabriolet, a snappy little red car his parents had given him two months before, when he graduated from Princeton.


Friday 56 hosted @ Freda's Voice is a weekly Meme where we share an interesting snippet from page 56 of any book. This is also V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton.

Mentally, I squinted, trying to judge the truth value of his claim. I knew he believed it, but was there foundation in fact?

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

I had been dying to read this book ever since I knew it was published. Just got hold of it end of December 2011 and it is my first read for 2012.

Kinsey Millhone, twice-divorced 37 year old, childless Private Investigator is one of my favourite detectives, next only to Poirot and Marple. Michael Sutton approaches Kinsey on advice of police. He thinks twenty one years ago as a six year old he saw two people burying a bundle. He believes the bundle is four year old Marie Clarie who was kidnapped around that time. He is not clear about the whereabouts. He is not very helpful. He wants Kinsey to do all the work but he is willing to pay Kinsey's charges for a day. Will Kinsey find out the truth about Marie Claire? Is Sutton reliable? What will Kinsey unearth in her investigation? Oh yes! The investigation takes place in 1988, so Kinsey had no access to cell phones, computers, Internet and had to run to library for any information.

There are two narratives in the book. One the usual first person Kinsey Millhone narrative and other the third person narrative giving background into the crime, that moves to and fro between 60's and 80's. There is less humour in this Kinsey Millhone story than usual. It reminded me of Ruth Rendell's style especially one of her books. This book is not a whodunit but a whydunit. Grafton once again delivers. Now I am dying to read V is for Vengeance.

For the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge I would categorise this book as Inverted Detective Story. It can also belong to other categories.

Day 03-Your favourite series

My favourite series is Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. A for Alibi, B for burglar and so on. These series are in first person narrated by Kinsey Millhone, in her own words, she is 30-something, twice divorced, childless, Private Investigator living in a bachelorette apartment in the fictional town of Santa Theresa. The books are set it 1980s and last five books are yet to be published. I am dying to read U for Undertow published last year, I think. These books are interesting and fun to read.

N for Noose

Kinsey Millhone, the PI from Santa Teresa who is twice divorced and at present single who still lives in 80’s and types her reports in typewriter rather than use computer and does not know what a cell phone looks like, on her way back to Santa Teresa after looking after her not so well boyfriend, Dietz. On her way Dietz puts her on a case. Tom Newquist’s widow Selma Newquist wants to know what was eating into her husband’s mind during the last few months of his life. Tom Newquist who works with the Law enforcement died of heart attack in his truck on the sided of the road. While there is no foul play about his death, there is the question what was bothering Tom Newquist? Kinsey starts asking questions and most of them feel it is better to leave as it is. Tom’s book of notes on his investigation is missing. Kinsey is brutally attacked and she moves to Santa Teresa to unravel the case from there. What was worrying Tom? Should Selma have left things as it is and not bothered to investigate? All the people in that place seem to be working for law enforcement. Sue Grafton leads us one way all along making us guess it is one person throwing clues to us and finally throws a surprise. Moral of the story “Don’t start digging you may unearth skeletons”.

M for Malice by Sue Grafton

Kinsey Millhone is contacted by her cousin Tahsa to find a missing person. Guy Malek, the prodigal son had been missing from scene for the past 20 years and Dad's death and his Will make his reluctant and hostile brothers to search for him. Kinsey finds him very quickly. So now we know that is not going to be the essence of the story there is going to be more. Yes there is more. Guy is killed. So who killed him is it one of his hostile brothers (there are three really obnoxious characters) or somebody with a grudge from past. I did guess the reason and also the killer. But how far would you go to have your revenge on somebody?