Book Review - S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Category Book Reviews
One of the longest running character novel series has got to be the Kinsey Millhone writings by Sue Grafton. Her latest, S is for Silence, might also be S is for Sedate. An OK read, but a little on the slow side...
Millhone is called onto a case involving the disappearance of a woman more than 30 years ago. The woman, Violet Sullivan, was a bombshell beauty, beaten by her husband, and was sleeping around the town. And given the town was small, there weren't too many secrets. Daisy Sullivan, the daughter, wants to know what happened to her mother when she left on the 4th of July and was never seen again. The town is still split on whether she was killed or whether she finally had enough of her husband's beatings and ran off to start another life. Kinsey is pretty sure there's not much chance of success after so many years, but consents to ask around and commit to five days work. It seems like all the stories have been told with nothing new to add, but opening old wounds isn't going over well, as Kinsey appears to become a target for someone who is feeling threatened. And when she does come up with an answer, the stakes to make it all go away go up as well...
This installment of the alphabet series is quite a bit slower than prior ones. It's not as bad as Q is for Quarry, but it ventures closer to that one than I'd like. The story is told in a series of flashbacks that put today's players in the context of life 30 years ago, and there's not much drama in the way of potential danger to Millhone. The obligatory "life at risk" aspect is introduced in a fairly low-key fashion, and doesn't kick into gear until the last few pages. Most of the story involves the characters and their motivations. It's an OK story, just not much action. There's also virtually no involvement of the side characters in Millhone's life, such as any love interests or her landlord. If you're looking for those players, they're not here.
If you're a fan of the series, you'll like the book. Perhaps not as much as prior installments, but it's OK. I just never found myself compelled to keep reading to find out what happened next...
One of the longest running character novel series has got to be the Kinsey Millhone writings by Sue Grafton. Her latest, S is for Silence, might also be S is for Sedate. An OK read, but a little on the slow side...
Millhone is called onto a case involving the disappearance of a woman more than 30 years ago. The woman, Violet Sullivan, was a bombshell beauty, beaten by her husband, and was sleeping around the town. And given the town was small, there weren't too many secrets. Daisy Sullivan, the daughter, wants to know what happened to her mother when she left on the 4th of July and was never seen again. The town is still split on whether she was killed or whether she finally had enough of her husband's beatings and ran off to start another life. Kinsey is pretty sure there's not much chance of success after so many years, but consents to ask around and commit to five days work. It seems like all the stories have been told with nothing new to add, but opening old wounds isn't going over well, as Kinsey appears to become a target for someone who is feeling threatened. And when she does come up with an answer, the stakes to make it all go away go up as well...
This installment of the alphabet series is quite a bit slower than prior ones. It's not as bad as Q is for Quarry, but it ventures closer to that one than I'd like. The story is told in a series of flashbacks that put today's players in the context of life 30 years ago, and there's not much drama in the way of potential danger to Millhone. The obligatory "life at risk" aspect is introduced in a fairly low-key fashion, and doesn't kick into gear until the last few pages. Most of the story involves the characters and their motivations. It's an OK story, just not much action. There's also virtually no involvement of the side characters in Millhone's life, such as any love interests or her landlord. If you're looking for those players, they're not here.
If you're a fan of the series, you'll like the book. Perhaps not as much as prior installments, but it's OK. I just never found myself compelled to keep reading to find out what happened next...
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