Thursday, April 29, 2010

Review: "U" is for Undertow

Author: Sue Grafton
Format: audio - 11 discs (14 hrs), 403 pg equivalent
Narrator: Judy Kaye
Subject: private detective working cold case
Setting: Santa Teresa California (fictional town)
Series:  Kinsey Milhone private detective (Aka Sue Grafton alphabet mysteries)
Genre: detective fiction
Source: public library audio download
Challenge:Support your local library, audio books

I hadn't read a Sue Grafton in several years and was pleasantly surprised by the well-crafted story in this one.  Kinsey Milhone, a divorced, living alone private investigator, is confronted with a cold case and a possible material witness when the police aren't quite sure it's worth pursuing - yet.  By weaving together the back stories of the major players in the crime with the current search for what really happened, Grafton gives us a more complex mystery than some of the earlier ones in the series.

All the regulars are still present-landlord Henry, bistro proprietress Rosie, and detective Chaney Phillips; Kinsey still lives over Henry's garage, still runs most mornings, still eats quarter-pounders with cheese, and still grouses about life in general but wouldn't change a lick of it.

Essentially (NO SPOILERS), this is the story of a young man who 'remembers' seeing what he believes to have been the burial of a kidnapped but never found young girl--of course he saw this on his 6th birthday and he's now 18!  No wonder the police aren't sure they want to believe him.  Kinsey helps him sort through the memories, and goes on---of course---to unearth and solve the case. Nuf said.  A great read.


2 comments:

  1. I am glad to read this was a good one! I too have not read any of her books in a few years but it sounds like I should give this one a go.
    I have always loved Henry!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sue Grafton is near the top of my favorites list, partly because I'm so fond of her friends and neighbors. And I like that she isn't perfect and has to run off those quarter-pounders. I don't know what I'll do when she gets to "Z".

    ReplyDelete

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