P Is for Peril Book

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by: Sue Grafton

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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - Grafton Noir This is a departure for Kinsey Milhone. The mood is dark as the skies and as retro as an early Ross McDonald novel. The main plot is diffuse with unattractive, complex characters taking the center stage. A beloved elderly physician has disappeared. His eccentric but charmless ex-wife wants him found. His present wife, a former stripper, thinks he is dead. Nobody and nothing are quite as they seem. The missing doctor has a drinking problem and some quirky sexual needs. The ex-wife in her unfinished, stark and bare art deco home calls to mind Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard." The trophy-wife, aptly named Crystal, seems fragile and dependent. She has a strange ménage who consist of an utterly repellent 14-year old out-of-control daughter, her 18-month old son and his ghostly male nanny, and an ever-present friend who happens to be the daughter's school counselor. "Peril" is a decidedly ambitious book, and succeeds on many levels. The sometimes lyrical descriptions of weather, architecture and mood show growth and depth in Ms. Grafton's writing. However, she tries to do too much and the story sprawls. A secondary plot, though entertaining, is a diversion and fragments the reader's interest. She interjects a hilarious interlude with a hidden Kinsey trapped under a desk, a reluctant witness to a lovers' tryst. Again, funny and clever as this is, it does not forward the story. I had the feeling Ms. Grafton threw these in to placate her legion of Kinsey fans. Kinsey's regular pals, Henry and Rosie seem out of place in this setting. Think Ms. Grafton should bite the bullet and write a book without Kinsey, not in the alphabet series, and see how it goes The ending is subtle but clear if you mentally review what you have read. The clues are all there. I had to smile at the cleverness. Rating: - P is for Perfect, except for the last chapter This was a 5 star book, up until the last chapter. Oh how I was looking forward to the explanation behind all those sub-plots involving Dr Purcell's wives, family members and co-workers. Oh how dissappointed I was when Kinsey failed to find the bullet the first place she suspected. Oh how dissappointed I was when I was offered a weak explanation behind the killer's motive at the end. This book desparately needed an epilogue. The best part of the book was the second story line with Kinsey's new landlords, obviously patterned off the Menendez brothers. I knew everybody wasn't who they seemed to be, and I was pleased with the outcome of that part of the book. However, the main story left a huge hole in my imagination. Too many loose ends were hanging with not even an attempt of an explanation. For example, why all the hubbub from Fiona about Kinsey getting permission to talk to her daughter? Were all of Dow's business partners guilty of medicare fraud, or just one of them? How and why did Leila steal the money? These stories were building to what I thought was going to be a spectacular conclusion. I sense some frustration from Ms Grafton in the story, sense she didn't attempt the standard Millhone epilogue. I guess she cornered herself into such a tight box, there was no credible epilogue to attach the the mess. Rating: - P is for Pretty Good Nursing home administrator, Doctor Dowan Purcell went missing nine weeks ago. He left his office on a Friday evening and was never seen or heard from again. The police have followed up on the few leads they had and are now more or less in a holding pattern, about ready to put the case on a back burner. Enter private investigator, Kinsey Millhone. Dow's ex-wife hires her figuring that maybe one dedicated detective with a single minded mission will be able to break the case wide open. Kinsey's off and running, interviewing Dow's new and very young wife, his friends, business associates and employees and everyone of them is pointing fingers and has a theory as to what might have happened and why he's gone. But when by pure chance, Kinsey makes a shocking discovery, nothing's going to stop her until she gets to the truth..... Sue Grafton's back and though this isn't one of her stronger mysteries, Kinsey Millhone junkies should be happy to be on the case with their favorite heroine. The writing is great, the dialogue, superb and the descriptions and detail, unrivaled. But the book has some problems. The main plot line is weak and complicated and at times hard to follow and Ms Grafton leaves a few too many plot lines hanging and questions, unanswered at the unsatisfying end of the story. The characters, though well drawn, are mostly a nasty lot and hard to empathize with or care about. You just don't want to spend time with these people. The real highlight of the book is the subplot involving a new office and mysterious twin landlords and I kept looking forward to getting off Dow's case and back to that part of the story. All in all, not one of the best in the series, but a good entertaining read that Grafton fans won't want to miss.

P Is for Peril Book

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