L Is for Lawless

This is the most light-hearted of the series. In fact there isn't a murder until - but I mustn't tell. Kinsey's long-lost cousin Tasha makes contact at the beginning and Kinsey chokes her off and says she has no need of family. but then at the end - well I mustn't tell that either. The mystery begins with a search for burial fund entitlement for a WW2 veterans whose records have disappeared. Kinsey gets involved with a family of criminals and finds herself half-wishing to be part of them. It's interesting to note how Grafton solves the problem of the voice of the first person character. Sometimes Kinnsey Milhone uses a very conversational tone with colloquial phrases and words like "nifty" and "wow." At other times she seamlessly steps back into narrative mode with wonderful descriptions such as: "The grass was still alive but all the deciduous trees had dropped their leaves. The barren branches created a gray haze as far as the eye could see," which is pretty fancy prose for a Santa Barbara High School dropout.

Kinsey is lucky to come out alive in this one. I have read them all through "L". I thought this was one of the best ones. However, others seem to disagree. So be it. Kinsey is her usual bright, nosey self, asking questions and sticking her nose in other peoples business. I thought her impersonation of the hotel maid was great. I was nervous the whole time, afraid she would get caught, did she???? The other characters were good, to me. The granny with the shotgun was a good character. I could see in my mind the people as they traveled and as they tried to find the money. I would recommend reading "L".

It is late and other reviewers have given superior synopses of the plot. All there is left to say is: Read This Book. You will not regret following Kinsey Millhone on the ultimate wild goose chase for her dear friend and landlord, Henry. For a tough girl detective, Kinsey sure has a big heart of gold. She ends up with another set of marginal characters (probably inspired by the first set of yahoos in H Is For Homicide) and is forced to endure their company and cause for days and untold miles with superhuman tolerance and sympathy.Sue Grafton keeps surprising us her with the depth of her talent as a writer with every letter of the alphabet. This is coming from an inveterate reader of the finest in British Murder Mysteries. So please, try to trust a complete stranger, and race right off for this installment of great American Mystery Writing by a master of the trade.

I've read all of Ms. Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books in order up to L Is For Lawless. I have not read her most recent few but so far this one was my favorite. I think she has done a splendid job at developing the main character a bit more with the release of each book. I stayed up 2-3 hours past my bedtime last night to finish L Is For Lawless. I love "roller coaster" plots and this book certainly fits that description. It kept me very entertained. Bravo!!!

This book's a lot like "H is for Homocide" in that Kinsey finds herself unexpectedly on the road again, away from her apartment and creature comforts. The book takes her from sunny California to Texas to Louisville, Kentucky. As a Kentucky native who worked in Louisville and southern Indiana for nearly twelve years, I found the descriptions of Interstate 65 from Nashville through west central Kentucky and particularly the Portland neighborhood in Louisville made me homesick to be back down south! As usual, Kinsey's wry humor and knack for lying her way into crazy predicaments adds to the fun. Her long-lost extended family wasn't talked about much in this book--probably because they couldn't figure out where she was once she hit the road--but she gets a taste of what it would be like to be part of a family group, and we may very well see her heading to Lompoc for a visit with "Grand" and the clan in a future book. Fun reading