S is for Silence: A Kinsey Millhone Novel (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

I have read the reviews sent in prior to mine, and I wanted to just add this comment. I love ALL of Sue Grafton's books. Yes, some are sweeter than others, but ALL are good. I love the way she lets us into her private life, such as making her sandwiches at home, her bedroom in the loft, the way she draws a word picture of her home so you can be there with her. Also, I love "spending time" with her and her landlord, etc. These are the very things that make this series way better than most others I've read. I love reading mystery novels where the characters show up in book after book, and you get to know them more and more. This is excellent and assures the author that there are readers out there who will buy the new book to spend time with these characters, and be a part of their lives once again. Another thing I like is that Grafton doesn't pour pornographic-type stuff into her books, and that she keeps the violence out, depictions of blood and gore. There is SO MUCH of that stuff out there lately, and it's refreshing to be able to read her books, knowing they will be kept clean and decent, and yet be happy, funny, and exciting to read. I will be sad with the alphabet series is complete. I hope Grafton will find a way to keep writing the same kind of books she is now.

Every time I start a Sue Grafton novel, I wonder why I still enjoy reading about a detective stuck in the 1980s. And then, Grafton works her magic with Kinsey Millhone and I remember.... Kinsey's latest case is a cold case from 1953 when Violet Sullivan disappeared one night without a trace. Her car was a distinctive Chevrolet Bel Air that also disappeared that night. Daisy Sullivan was only 7 when her mother disappeared and it has affected her whole outlook on life as she has simultaneously felt rejected and worried, fearful that her mother left her and fearful that her father killed her mother. After all, Violet's husband and Daisy's father, Foley Sullivan, was a notorious drunk who repeatedly left bruises on Violet. Kinsey has doubts about taking the case as 1953 was a long time ago but Daisy's emotions sway her. Kinsey begins the arduous task of tracking down and interviewing people from Violet's past and establishing a timeline of events. And of course she keeps track of everything on her trusty notecards! Along the way to discovering what happened to Violet, Kinsey uncovers a lot of old, buried secrets. This was vintage Sue Grafton and was a very comfortable read. I did miss the little details, such as Kinsey's haircut and the black dress, but I was glad to see less of the angst that has permeated some of the more recent novels involving Kinsey's family. An excellent read!

Solving a cold case is extremely challenging for a detective. Writing about solving a cold case is even tougher. You can easily get so caught up in unraveling the tattered mystery that you bore your readers silly. A particularly tricky task is to make readers care. Sue Grafton has written one of the most satisfying cold case stories that I've ever read. She makes the missing person, Violet Sullivan, both sympathetic and off-the-wall. At the same time, Ms. Grafton shows how an unsolved disappearance leaves everyone who cared about the person wounded to the core. They are victims too. In the case of S Is for Silence, some of the victims are more sympathetic than others . . . but they are all interesting. The book mainly succeeds because Ms. Grafton creates an interesting series of characters and plot interactions both in her flashback chapters and in her development of Kinsey's investigation. Ms. Grafton wisely keeps the investigation short. The mystery is unraveled in five days. To have strung the investigation out would have made the book boring, in my judgment. I was very impressed to find that the flashback information wasn't a direct hint as to how Kinsey would solve the mystery. She followed her own unique path. Those who like to focus on Kinsey and her life as a single woman won't find this book very satisfying. The cold case is the story. Kinsey's friends and family have barely cameo roles in this book. For those who like a classic missing person's story against the backdrop of volatile relationships in a small California town, this book will, however, be the right stuff.

In 1987 Violet Sullivan asks Kinsey Milhone to investigate the disappearance of her mother in 1953. The color of a hydrangea bush gives a vital clue. I'm not the right person to ask about its quality. I'm a hopelessly addicted Grafton junky who buys each one prepublication and re-reads the whole series from time to time. This one breaks new ground for the series by interspersing flashbacks from the point of view of some of the characters. The flashbacks serve a purpose in keeping track of the extensive caste and the long list of suspects. These are good, but sometimes when they get long you miss Kinsey's voice and you are reading something that could have been written by any ordinary writer. I think Grafton's trade secret is to have an utterly believable first person narrator giving meticulous scene-setting and character description. The combination produces an intense realism drawing the reader in. This one has very little of Kinsey's love life and biography. You have to start with A is for Alibi to fully appreciate that. Dietz is mentioned once and Henry gets half a page. There's some very clever contrasting of life in 1953 with life in 1987. Lots of 1950's car information. My one gripe against Grafton is that when she describes the taste and smell of of this like cheeseburgers and deli sandwiches it inspires me to go and eat, but when she describes the joys of three mile runs at six in the morning it doesn't do the same thing for me.