T Is for Trespass

The latest in Kinsey's adventures and is among the best. Ms. Grafton cannot write them fast enough for me. I would recommend reading them from A to T rather than starting here, but at least reading A is a must to set up the backround of our intrepid sleuth. This is a great series spanning several years, characters, adventures, and personal triumphs of a unique private eye. Well worth the time spent reading them.

When Kinsey's crotchety octagenarian neighbor Gus takes a fall, the good hearted detective takes on the responsibility for seeing to his welfare. The nurse who is hired comes with glowing recommendations, but soon, a web of stolen identity, embezzlement, abuse, and murder swirls around her, and Kinsey's met her match. This plot is the best Grafton has produced in the last several years, with Kinsey juggling her personal life and her caseload, which, in addition to Gus's life threatening problems, include insurance fraud and a reclusive ex-con, best friend Henry's tangled romance, and a Mexican tarantula, just to name a few of stumbling blocks that pop up to trip her. Even when all seems resolved, trouble still lurks in the wings to disturb Kinsey's peace of mind. In addition to the engaging main characters, Grafton can be relied upon to produce a lively cast of courageous allies and menacing villains without resorting to types. T is for Trespass is more than a mystery, it's an adventure, a look into the dark recesses of some souls, and into the finer instincts of others.

What a treat for us to drop in again on Kinsey Millhone! But the life of the private investigator is not for the meek or the squeamish. Kinsey always finds herself in difficult situations (which is why we are lucky enough to only READ about her life and not LIVE it ourselves). Professionally, she's primarily dealing with the events of a car accident earlier in the year, hoping to prove that the elderly couple involved has not been entirely honest about the facts of the accident. At the same time, all is not well on Kinsey and Henry's block. Their elderly neighbor Gus has fallen and needs to have someone come in and take care of him. Enter Solana Rojas, a licensed practical nurse with plenty of geriatric experience. Or is she? As usual, several strands that Kinsey is following nearly blend together, and it's all we can do to hope that Right Will Prevail. Every time I read a Sue Grafton novel, I'm conflicted. As the thickness of the right-hand side of the volume grows ever slimmer in my hand, I want to keep reading to see how everything turns out. At the same time, I DON'T want to finish because, well, then, my time with the book will be over. So after I pass the halfway mark, I find myself putting the book down, deliberately, to go attend to an errand or to a ridiculous household task. Then curiosity will lure me back, and I'll pick up the book for another section of pages, only to put it down again when the storyline hits another crucial moment. Not many writers can create that kind of tension. I'm gratified twice with the text of "T," above and beyond its merit as another good mystery novel. First of all, Grafton has finally exposed Kinsey to the wonders of personal computers; and though our favorite Californian hasn't yet succumbed to the power of technology, she's at least aware of its possibilities and now has a connection for learning more. (Yes, it's 1988, but her work could still be streamlined if she or Henry bought a computer.) And secondly: Perhaps following these plots and learning about the kinds of predators exposed here will benefit the reading public. The situations portrayed in this book are far too real, and we all need to be more aware of the growing incidents of identity theft and of elder abuse. Kudos to Grafton for bringing them to our attention. And I congratulate Kinsey for taking a bite out of crime.

For 25 years, author Sue Grafton has gifted her readers with one of the most consistently quirky characters in fiction. Kinsey Millhone, Grafton's fiercely independent heroine, has been at the front and center of 19 alphabetically titled stories, beginning with "A is for Alibi" in 1982. With "T is for Trespass," Grafton again proves why she's topped every best sellers list here at home and has been published in 26 languages and 28 countries. For those unfamiliar with Kinsey, here's some background. She works as a private investigator in the fictional town of Santa Teresa, Calif. She's single, having been divorced twice and broken up with boyfriend Cheney Phillips, a police officer. She lives in a studio apartment owned by retired baker and sexy senior citizen Henry Pitts. Kinsey's parents were killed in a car wreck when she was five. Raised by her mother's sister, Kinsey didn't do well in school, but found a home in police work, and later as a private investigator. She wears blue jeans. She runs along the beach to stay in shape, a task necessary to counter her love for greasy fast food. She cuts her hair with cuticle scissors and she owns one black dress. Since her 1974 pale blue Volkswagen bug was crushed by a bulldozer in "S is for Silence," Kinsey is now driving a vintage 1970 Ford Mustang, "with a gaudy Grabber Blue exterior." Instead of working a case out of her office downtown, this time around, Kinsey faces a challenge closer to home. Her elderly neighbor Gus Vronksy, a prickly curmudgeon who has very few likeable traits and no nearby relatives, needs home health care after a fall. Solana Rojas, the person hired to care for Gus, turns out to be one of the most dangerous psychopaths in recent memory. Kinsey, Henry and Gus' niece from New York City must unravel Solana's carefully crafted plan - complete with stolen identity, violence and murder - before it's too late for Gus. Grafton has always released books according to her timetable, refusing to give in to pressure to publish stories that weren't fully developed. She's never sold out to Hollywood, either, bless her heart. Gratefully, nothing has changed. Grafton's storytelling skills and her ability to build suspense are in fine form here. Once began, it's difficult to put down any Grafton novel, and "T is for Trespass" is no exception.

The 20th novel in Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series is one of the best. In her last outing, "S" IS FOR SILENCE, Grafton altered her style a bit, actually entering other characters' points of view to tell parts of the story so that they shared the narrating duties with Kinsey herself. With this new novel, that device is used to chilling effect--between reports from Kinsey, we enter the mind of a woman who is possibly her most twisted adversary to date. Solana Rojas is a caregiver, a home-help nurse's aide much like the thousands you'll find all over America. But the woman assigned to care for Kinsey's elderly friend is not your usual "angel of mercy." For one thing, she is not the real Solana Rojas--she has stolen that woman's identity. And she has plans. To tell you more of the plot would be--well, criminal. The best aspect of Grafton's excellent series is her ability to keep up with current social and legal problems, despite the fact that Kinsey's stories are set somewhere in the 1980s. In this novel we have identity theft, the inherent problems of home care, and--perhaps most disturbing--the tendency of society in general to ignore and/or mistreat our most vulnerable citizens. At least this elderly victim has Kinsey Millhone as a champion. And what a champion she is! "T" IS FOR TRESPASS will captivate longtime Grafton fans, and it should make her a lot of new fans as well. Highly recommended.