09/08/2002 Entry: ""
Posted by Maynard @ 12:06 AM MST
'A' is for Acceptable
Sue Grafton started writing the Kinsey Millhone mysteries 20 years ago. I started reading them one week ago. "'A' is for Alibi" is a murder mystery, pursued by a tempestuous private investigator who reminds me of my sister. It's one of those short mystery paperbacks that's an enjoyable read, simply because it's well written.
'A' is certainly not something worth $8 or more at the local bookstore. I got my copy for $3 in trade at a local used bookstore, which is where it's going back to tomorrow. It's well written, but not something that I think I will return to in ten years. Sherlock Holmes is like that, but not Kinsey.
In the story, a murder is now 8 years old, and the convicted murderer pleads her innocence to Kinsey, begging her to investigate. The deceased was a cheating husband, and everyone thinks the cheated was the one who did it. But she didn't, of course, and we soon find out that there is a related murder that happened shortly after the first. No one thinks they're related, but it adds to the plot. As the story develops (slowly, I might add), things fall into place, until finally everything is ready and the mystery is solved. It is rather like a jigsaw puzzle being organized by color according to the drawing on the box; this goes there, that goes here, but don't connect them until everything is in its place. It's almost like the Holmes stories, but longer.
The chapters are short and the writing easy to follow (as long as you keep track of the different characters), but the story just didn't inspire me. The heroine, Kinsey, is methodical and precise, but too engrosed in her work to be very interesting. The only character development that occurs is all related to the case, which makes for a one-dimensional story.
The book is well written from the first person, and has just enough elaboration on non-story related memories from Kinsey's past to make it enjoyable. The descriptions are vivid, and lack not for good reading. The book is worth a try, but get it at your discount/used bookstore.
