S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) by Sue Grafton
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Book Reviews of S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)
Book Review: My first Grafton, but won't be my last!
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first Grafton novel and I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it as much as I did! this is a series but the book stands alone (though now I am curious to read some of the earlier books). Kinsey Millhone is a female private detective, from Santa Teresa, CA. She is on the case of 50 year old murder at the request of one Daisy Sullivan. Daisy's Trailer trash Mom (Violet) Disappeared on Independence day 1953. No one could ever figure out if Violet took off with a man or was murdered. When Kinsey starts nosing around some of the locals get bent out of shape, and someone is trying to scare her off the case. I won't give away any of the surprises, but there are plenty of twists and turns. An interesting sidelight is how the author switches voice in the book, from first person Kinsey, as the investigator to flashbacks of what occurred back in 1953. This could have been confusing but the author does a great job of weaving the two together, without giving too much away.
Book Review: A good read but not a good mystery
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good read masquerading as a mystery. As a whodunit it is somewhat languid and lackluster with the usual red herrings that don't add up to much and an arbitrary ending. What it is though is an absorbing study of a wanton and destructive woman in small town California in the 1950's and her horrible comeuppance. The novel switches between Kinsey's voice in the present day and the background told from many points of view in the 50's. The intertwined lives, the pettiness and passions of small town lives are rendered very well. Forget the ho hum mystery. Enjoy it for what it really is. Just as Ruth Rendell of Wexford fame switched over to Barbara Vine to write the brilliant "A Dark Adapted Eye" Sue Grafton is spreading her wings and I for one look forward to more.Book Review: Terrific.....until the ending
Summary: 4 Stars
I found myself unable to put the book down; the structure of the novel, alternating between Kinsey's investigation and flashbacks to 1953, the days leading up to Violet's disappearance, is very effective. The characters are well-defined and Sue Grafton makes them come to life through dialogue which always rings true.
However, I was disappointed by the ending. While we find out what happened to Violet, and who is responsible for her disappearance, we are left to speculate as to that person's motives. We never find out what happened in the crucial last hours and there are a number of loose ends and unanswered questions. If not for that, I would have given the book five stars, but I like my mysteries wrapped up tidily.
Book Review: Good book
Summary: 4 Stars
Sue Grafton is an awesome writer and all of the previous books dealing with Kinsey Milhone (A is for Alibi through R is for Ricochet) are great. This one is great, it just took me a little longer to get into it. Great read!Book Review: Lightweight, but good enough for mystery fans
Summary: 3 Stars
I can't remember the last time I read one of Sue Grafton's alphabetical mysteries but I was quite a devotee until around F or G. The novelty was in their smart, tough, frank female protagonist, who was not insusceptible to male attraction, but generally did not let such attraction rule her behavior (in my late teens to early 20s, this was a refreshing attitude to encounter).
Still, after more than a half dozen in a row, I started to get tired of Kinsey Milhone, and moved on to other things. But, finding myself bookless in San Diego a couple weeks ago, I happened on this novel and decided to give her another shot.
Like most respectable mysteries, S is for Silence is hard to put down, but I found myself less than impressed with the writing. Dialogue often seemed stilted, working too hard to convey too much information. I closed the book thinking that, after all, this stuff wasn't very good.
However. Days later I was still thinking about the story, pondering the twists and turns of the plot and the various characters. So while perhaps the writing could be tightened up, you can't really ask too much more of a (fairly lightweight) mystery novel than that its effect lingers significantly after the book's been closed.