L is for Lawless (Sue Grafton)

Rating:
Summary: One of Grafton's Best! Kinsey Solves Another Puzzle Yet
Review: I enjoyed this book very much and thought that it was one of Grafton's best.

As a favor to her friend and landlord Henry, Kinsey agrees to solve a case involving Henry's buddy Johnny Lee who was deceased.
The agreement was that Kinsey would solve it pro bono, being that it would be the most simple case to solve. Wrong! Instead, the case is much deeper than Kinsey ever thought possible, and curiosity getting the better of her, Kinsey goes all the way with it. Especially when she sees the house getting broken into, and two people escaping with a duffle bag, headed for the airport. Was it a duffle bag of stolen money? It had to be. Kinsey follows the crazy couple to the airport, and flys with them way across the US to see what they're up to.

In the process, Kinsey gets herself into trouble and danger is ahead all the way. If she gets out of this one alive, it'll be a miracle!

Rating:
Summary: My favourite.
Review: I've read them all, and this is my favourite.

The plot is great, and the book moves along at a really fast pace. For the first half of the book i just couldn't stop turning those pages. Kinsey is great as usual. The plotting is tight, the use of humour just right, and the recurring subsidiary characters (Henry, Rosie, etc) are all back in full force. They're really a wonderful cavalcade of characters.

The only thing which lets this book down only slightly is the fact that the fast pace lets up around the halfway mark, and isn't reached again. It's not quite as exciting as the first half, and returns to the normal Sue Grafton pace. (Not in itself a bad thing) it's just that after such an exciting first half, the second half seems a bit too slow.

Nonetheless, great book. Exciting, intriguing, perfect plot. Best in the series. Wonderful fun.

Rating:
Summary: Working vacation
Review: Kinsey is going to be in the wedding of her elderly landlord, Henry Pitts, so she decides to take a few days off from her job as a private investigator to help with wedding plans. Instead, Henry asks her to look into the case of one of his old friends, recently deceased, whose son tries to get help from the military to bury him. The family is told that there is no record of the man serving in the military, so they want Kinsey to find out the truth. She figures that this will be a simple matter, but of course, it's not. Her investigation leads her across the country following a woman with a mysterious duffle bag, which she feels may contain important evidence. Nothing is as it seems and Kinsey is soon embroiled with a couple of ex-cons, a young girl, and an eighty-five-year-old woman who is studying self-defense. This is a wild Kinsey Milhonne escapade with the usual interesting cast of characters.

Rating:
Summary: This is the best ever.
Review: Of the Sue Grafton's series, this one didn't have the same impact as her earlier books. I was disappointed! The plot developed slowly, and at times reminded me of a bad 'made for T.V. movie'and the characters (other than the familiar aquaintances) lacked "character". After I began reading "L", over a year ago, I put the book down and didn't have the desire to read it until recently. I enjoyed her first books and hope that "M" is a better read.

Rating:
Summary: A bit boring
Review: Oh I don't know. The "L" just didn't do it for me. When the characters are talking she often fails to add any environment to it. I grew bored thinking the characters were smily in a room, talking. Gone is the sarcasm and comic undertones that the PI has had in the past.

Also, this Ray guy, well he says he has no money,and yet he hopped a two points in the story he does have some.

Rating:
Summary: Too linear and derivative
Review: This book centers around a private "dick" who is a female named Kinsey Millholm. She is beckoned into service by a 90-year-old neighbor whoes request she cannot resist.

From there, the story rumbles along dealing with a group of clearly low I. Q. Kentucky residents in search of lost or misplaced loot of 40 years old. It truly is a very funny tale of how "country" people respond to trying to find out what happen to what they considered a lot of money, in the sum of about $8000. People come and go (some die) in this quest. In the end, they luck-up and find a little more valuables and decide that they will split whatever is available. This is truly a very, very, light read.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe a 2.5
Review: This is my first Sue Grafton book. She is a good writer, very detailed-oriented. On the one hand, i found the minutia a bit tedious. On the other hand, i liked having everything spelled out. Mysteries are sometimes so convoluted i get lost after a couple of turns.
That said, the book was alright, perfect light reading. I do have some problems as to the resolution of the whole story: why Kinsey held on to the end, why Gilbert came back unarmed, and so forth. Still, an OK read.