H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton

 One of the joys of retirement life is getting to enjoy a long series at my leisure all over again. Because I originally read these back in our Laramie days, probably close to 30 years ago, these are like brand new stories to me! I believe I would have remembered this one--maybe I skipped it?

It's different because Kinsey goes underground, fairly unwillingly, and becomes part of an insurance fraud ring. It was fascinating to learn about life in a gang setting, in LA, in a crummy apartment, surrounded by hispanic gang members and a pitbull. It was pretty depressing in a lot of ways, but I really enjoyed Kinsey's introspection as she acclimated to the various characters in the story. And how she began to understand that the line between law-abiding and fraud can be tempting to cross. She waxes philosophical about the people that surround her, and they are interesting characters.

She's very tuned in to sexual energy, and in this story there's a lot of it. Bibianna, the hapless young woman that Kinsey befriends, attracts men powerfully and Kinsey describes it visually and with the feelings and smells that accompany it. The demented leader, Raymond, suffers from Tourette's syndrome, and his physical tics and jerks are brilliantly described. And his narcissism, and his complete disorientation from reality. What's depressing about the complete picture of this criminal is that in the epilogue, it becomes clear that he may escape justice despite his despicable crimes and behavior. Maybe that's an underlying theme; at the end, I was hoping Kinsey would kill him, but no. I was happily surprised that one of the gang members was actually an undercover cop; he was one of the better ones. That was a cool surprise at the end that I didn't see coming.

I also learned a lot about how auto insurance fraud is undertaken and it stinks. Even in the 80s setting, this was perpetuated without the help of the internet. All the paperwork reminded me of how much crime and law enforcement has changed since then! It was a fun romp, despite the depressing milieu and characters.