I is for Innocent (Sue Grafton)

Rating:
Summary: Sue Grafton doesn't let you down.
Review: "I" is also for impressive, interesting and intriguing. Sue Grafton's ninth book in the Kinsey Millhone series is all these and more.In this installment, Kinsey is asked to take over the investigation of the five-year-old Isabelle Barney murder. David Barney, Isabelle's second husband, was tried and acquitted of her murder. Now he's being sued for wrongful death, and it is Kinsey's job to find evidence that implicates David in the murder. That turns out to be easier said than done. Kinsey finds out that there are a lot more people who would have liked Isabelle dead than just David. Her employer, her ex-husband, her ex-husband's wife, her best friend and even her sister all held grudges against Isabelle. Kinsey clearly has her hands full with this one. Everyone is a suspect. Slowly but surely, she puts all the clues together and finds the killer. This novel is almost identical in style to the other Kinsey Millhone books and that is what makes it so good. Grafton is smart enough to find a formula that works and stay with it. It's a basic mystery story with enough twists, turns and characters to keep it interesting. The characters in this novel are part perfection and part hindrance. Grafton paints them vividly -- my favorite is Curtis McIntyre, the ex-con who tries more than one to pick Kinsey up. They are more than supporting players. But, while the characters are wonderfully created, the abundance of them may confuse some readers. I had a little trouble remembering who was married to whom and who was doing what when Isabelle was killed. I was so interested, though, that I flipped back through the pages to find out what I needed to know. Some people may not think it's worth the trouble, however, and give up. My favorite thing about this novel is that it is almost impossible to figure out who actually did the killing before reading the last page. I guess an experienced sleuth could figure it out, but for those of us who are amateurs it's a great puzzle. Don't let the fact that you haven't read the eight novels published before this one stop you from enjoying it. In this book, as in each of the ones before it, Kinsey gives a "25-words-or-less" narrative of her past that catches you up and teases you to go back and read the other ones. This novel is one of those you either deliberately read slowly because you don't want to get to the end, or you read as quickly as possible so youc an go back and read the others. Either way you do it, Sue Grafton won't let you down.

Rating:
Summary: Kinsey Always Finds the Right Answers!
Review: In this Kinsey Millhone mystery, Kinsey solves yet another puzzle. This time she has to tie up the loose ends of a murder investigation. Is David Barney REALLY guilty? Or did someone else really kill Isabella? Kinsey takes every shred of evidence that there possibly is to solve this strange puzzle. David seems innocent enough, and there seems to be other suspects involved. But as Grafton ties up the story, the answer will surprise you!
A great book, and one of Grafton's very best!

Rating:
Summary: Best of Show!
Review: There are no bad books in Sue Grafton's alphabet series, only varying degrees of good. That said, the series, to date, reached its peak somewhere around "F" or "G" and held its top form at least through "L." This one is my pick for best of the lot-which is saying a good deal. The book features a temporarily subdued Kinsey (still smarting under a career setback encountered in a prior book), the usual cast of rich snobs, an unusually intriguing puzzle whose vital clues I spotted but nevertheless failed to piece together, some unusually likeable supporting characters, and a lot of Santa Barbara (oops Theresa) atmosphere.

Next time I point friends at the series, this is where I'll tell them to start. Highly recommended.