`M' FOR `M'UCH TO LIKE IN THIS INSTALLMENT.Byline: Kathey Clarey Scripps-McClatchy Western Service Title: ``M Is for Malice'' Author: Sue Grafton Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24, 1940 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA) is a contemporary American author of detective novels. Biography Early years Sue Grafton is the daughter of novelist CW Grafton and Vivian Harnsberger, both of whom were the children of Data: 300 pages, Henry Holt; $25 Our rating: Three Stars Sue Grafton has reached the midway point of her best-selling alphabet mystery series, so it's appropriate that her sleuth Kinsey Millhone Kinsey Millhone (born 5 May, 1950) is a fictional female private investigator created by Sue Grafton, and is the protagonist of Grafton's "alphabet mysteries" series of novels. In addition, Millhone appears in a number of short stories written by Grafton. is going through a mini midlife crisis midlife crisis n. A period of psychological doubt and anxiety that some people experience in middle age. midlife crisis . That doesn't mean Kinsey's no longer a tough cookie Tough Cookie is a UK based independent record label and a producer of audio and video content for the internet. Tough Cookie was set up by Andy Wood and Neill Sullivan in 2004. . She's just a bit more vulnerable than usual, especially with her former lover Robert Dietz, and the man she's hired to find, the once rebellious Guy Malek. Kinsey was one of the first of the cynical, independent women private investigators who came along in the 1980s, the female equivalent of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe Noun 1. Philip Marlowe - tough cynical detective (one of the early detective heroes in American fiction) created by Raymond Chandler Marlowe U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade. She had few friends or romantic entanglements. The job was her life. It's nice to see her realize she isn't alone in the world, that all of us are influenced by the people who come into our lives. What prompts all of this introspection introspection /in·tro·spec·tion/ (in?trah-spek´shun) contemplation or observation of one's own thoughts and feelings; self-analysis.introspec´tive in·tro·spec·tion n. is the appearance of her cousin, Tasha Howard, an attorney who hires her to find Guy Malek, the missing son of the wealthy Malek family. Guy disappeared 18 years ago, and his three brothers hope he's dead. They don't want to share their father's millions with him. Kinsey locates Guy in the tiny town of Marcella, about an hour from her home base of Santa Teresa Santa Teresa may refer to:
To no one's surprise, Guy's skull is crushed while he's sleeping in his old bedroom. His brother, Jack, is arrested, but Kinsey doubts his guilt. The three Malek brothers are all dysfunctional, grown men who still live in their father's house and act like boys - not exactly poster children for mental health. Why wouldn't one of them kill Guy out of greed? Because, as all mystery fans know, that motive is far too obvious. There has to be some other link, something in the family's past. When Kinsey, along with Dietz, uncovers the real motive, she faces a killer who is more to be pitied than feared. Although much of the novel is predictable, Grafton keeps the action moving at a nice pace. And while most of the characters are well drawn, the three greedy Malek brothers tend to look and act alike. I found it difficult to see them as individuals. Whatever it's shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
Mystery fans also might want to pick up Kay Hooper's ``After Caroline'' (Bantam Bantam Former city and sultanate, Java. It was located at the western end of Java between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the early 16th century it became a powerful Muslim sultanate, which extended its control over parts of Sumatra and Borneo. , 344 pages; $21.95), an intriguing and romantic tale of a young woman almost killed in a horrific car accident in Atlanta. Haunted by odd dreams, she discovers a woman who could be her double was killed in a car crash 3,000 miles away. When she goes to the small Oregon town to investigate the death of Caroline McKenna, she uncovers long hidden secrets that put her life in danger. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: In ``M Is for Malice,'' author Sue Grafton makes her sleuth character a bit more vulnerable than usual. |
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