(2005) Kinsey is hired to find out what happened to Daisy's mother who disappeared 34 years ago with a new Chevy Bel-Air and her dog.

Didn't enjoy this as much as the other books in this series, I found the flashbacks intrusive, they interrupted the flow of the story. Ending seemed rushed too. ( )

The mystery/story was good but there seemed to be so much more ‘filler’ in this one. I skimmed a very large part of the book… ( )

In S is for Silence, Kinsey Millhone investigates the disappearance of a woman that occurred 35 years ago. On Independence Day of 1953, Violet Sullivan leaves her seven-year-old daughter with the babysitter to meet her husband to watch fireworks. Violet is never seen again. Over the years, there has been speculation that she ran off with someone or that she was murdered by her husband who was abusive and drank excessively. Violet’s daughter, Daisy, finally wants closure to know what happened to her mother. She hires Kinsey to investigate the cold case for five days. Kinsey interviews everyone still alive and digs through available records on her hunt for answers.

I enjoyed this installment of the Kinsey Millhone, Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. It is different from the other books with using a cold case for Kinsey to investigate. This allowed for Grafton to write parts of the story in present tense while alternating to the past so the reader got to know Violet and the people she interacted with. There are a lot of characters in this story...

I have photos, links to my other book reviews for Sue Grafton, and an author event she did with John Grisham, that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog ( )

I love Kinsey Millhone. But she's not everyone's cup of tea. I started reading the Alphabet series a few years ago - I think at the time it was up to O is for Outlaw. The idea of a mystery series each title beginning with a new letter amused me. I don't know why. I don't think it's particularly original. At least - I've seen a few others since. At the time though it was new to me and it just struck me as perfect. I flew through the series. Kinsey is riveting. She's brash and harsh and charming. She's fierce and flawed. She gets scared. She holds her own. She pushes herself to run often and tackles cases without judgement and with an open mind. Rosie and Henry are brilliant and I love the little family she builds around her.

But Kinsey Millhone isn't Jack Reacher - her speed is more Tracy Crosswhite. [book:My Sister's Grave|22341263] Her cases aren't full of action and high speed chases - they're slowly nitpicking away until something clicks into place. She writes down all her thoughts and places her facts and ideas on 3x5 index cards - which she often shuffles and rearranges to help her solve her case. And I love it. Kinsey Millhone is great - but she's not for everyone.

For some reason I've seen reviewers compare this to Stephanie Plum - I don't know why - this is absolutely NOTHING like that. Stephanie Plum is a very different character and an extremely different type of book. That's more fluff. Kinsey Millhone is more procedural mysteries. And this series isn't current - it was first published in the 80's - there's not really technology. Messages were relayed by calling the landlines. Paper files were still the main form of storage. Not everyone will enjoy reading this. But if you like your mysteries to be more like procedurals with a determined and fierce character - Kinsey Millhone is for you.



For the most part I enjoyed this. And then there was the ending. I didn't get it. It made no real sense. Was he sleeping with her? Why did he kill her? There was no real motive. Sure he got her the dog but all the other guys she was sleeping with had way more motive than Tom Padgett. Why did she steal the jewels from her mum? Were they found in the car? And the extra money she borrowed? Where was she headed? Was she leaving? By herself? There was just lots of loose ends. Too many loose ends to rate better than 3.5 stars.



3.5 stars. ( )