I am enjoying the world of Kinsey Milhone as I read these in order. The one thing that as been bumming me out, however, is how conveniently the villain confesses to the crime in the last 4 pages or so, usually right to Kinsey. The epilogue is always too brief but I'm getting used to it now.

Not bad. The new narrator for the audio is ok, but I don’t dig the voices.

Enjoyed this one as well, although I was disappointed with the epilogue; it would have been nice to have explored that angle a bit more. Oh well.

This was a very good read in the Kinsey Millhone series.

For full review click here

This is a reread / relisten - either the 2nd or 3rd time? I suspect it was #2 - because I vaguely remembered "liking it" but didn't have much recall on any of it. Except for Dixie. Once she was introduced I vaguely recalled her character. Anyway, this one is a slow build but I feel like it's a very focused later series entry - which is saying something since I felt like Grafton faffed about too much in the later books with multiple plot threads. This one is pretty straight forward, although Grafton puts in a couple of different threads to keep the reader guessing on who shot her estranged ex-husband and why. Also, this is a "the past is never truly dead and buried" mysteries and I tend to LOVE those. Very good. Easily a favorite for me in this series.

While this was a little long (or seemed it as an audiobook), I enjoyed it. This is only the second Grafton book I've read, but I liked the large cast of characters and I really wished there would have been more of the old ladies who lived in the apartment highlighting of Kinsey's ex. I like mysteries, but I don't always care about the characters in them, so this was nice.

Gut Instinct Rating: 4.5
Characters:
Believability:
Uniqueness:
Writing Style:
Excitement Factor:
Story Line:
Title Relevance:
Artwork Relevance:
Audiobook Narration:
Overall: 4.5

better written than more recent Kinsey books

Sue Grafton's alphabet series is suspenseful, attention holding and sometimes surprising but not always memorable. I was in the last chapter before I realized I had read it once before. One thing I have always liked about her books is the setting. I guess I like reading mysteries set in places I know. Teresa CA is based on Santa Barbara. While I don't know Santa Barbara as well as I know some places I have been there enough to see places I have been in the stories. I am a little sad that the books are coming to the end of the alphabet. I just read X so there is only room for a few more, though Grafton could continue the series with some other titles. Kinsey Milhone the protagonist is still in her late 30s in this series so there is plenty of time left in her life, unless the author ends the series by getting her killed. I hope not.