M is for Malice by Sue Grafton

 This was a good one!

There were juicy scenes with Dietz, who surprised Kinsey several times by returning to her unexpectedly. The murder victim, Guy Malek, was a sweet and engaging character whose reputation turned out to be grossly exaggerated. The brothers were nasty and interesting. The milieu of this story was much more refined than the usual decrepit and depressing ones of her stories heretofore. And there is the hint of Kinsey coming to terms with her long lost family. 

I read this while on the way to South Dakota for Christmas and our townhouse sale. I finished it tonight, and it was a welcome respite from the sometimes stressful family interactions and townhouse work, not to mention challenging weather! ICE COLD weather, that is, and our impending departure that might be delayed AGAIN. Ouch.... Stressful only because I hate putting Melissa out, but it has been really fun most of the time, and she has been a very attentive hostess. I'm grateful...I'm not sure how I would react to having houseguests so long! December 7 through December 26, at least! Wowsers, she's amazing!