P Is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)
by Sue Grafton

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Book Reviews of P Is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

Book Review: One of the best entries in the series
Summary: 5 Stars

As to the reviewers who thought the ending wasn't clear, or that they didn't know who the murderer was or why the murder occurred: uh, the ending is very clear, as is the who and why. P>As it turns out, there are three intertwined plots here. Each of the plots is clever in its own right. One of the plots will teach you how certain forms of Medicare fraud work (apparently Sue Grafton was taking notes from the misadventures of HCA/Humana), which is where the nursing home comes in. The three plots work well together, giving Kinsey a number of red herrings (and some not-so-red herrings) to chase down that are worhty of her talents and her intellect. If many of the characters aren't young, vibrant and exciting -- that's a big part of what makes them seem like real people in a real time and place.

Because of her relative poverty and casual ways, Kinsey is easy to identify with. I can appreciate her choices in a way that I was never able to appreciate Spade's or Marlowe's. Would you be willing to follow a hunch even if you might be humiliated if you were wrong? Would you keep following that hunch despite being so humiliated once? Most of us wouldn't. As a result, we wouldn't have solved this case. I LOVED this aspect of the ending.

Perhaps that's why I rate this volume of the series so highly. Or perhaps it's just because I'm so relieved that Sue Grafton can still write both intelligently and entertainingly; I was starting to worry after "N Is for Noose." It's nice to know that Kinsey is still in good hands.

Summary of P Is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

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

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