S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

 In this installment in the series, Kinsey again is asked to go back to the past to figure out an unsolved mystery. What was different was that the present was interspersed with chapters from the past. So we learned about the characters from different points of view in different points in time. It was a nice effect.

Like several of these books, though, there were quite a few characters to keep track of. The missing woman, Violet, was the center of the story, and it was her daughter, Daisy, who hired Kinsey to find her. Turns out there were many people deeply involved in her life and story, and keeping track of them proved challenging for me. Not bad, but I did have to keep my wits about me!

There was very little of Henry or Cheney in this story because she was on site trying to solve this missing person mystery on site in a lot of little towns not too far from Santa Theresa, but far enough that she had some interesting overnight accommodations. As usual, the characters were interesting, and again, Kinsey became friendly with several of the players. She is definitely warming up in her relationships! 

This has been a nice escape as we are stuck at home more than usual as our demolition and remodel of our downstairs is going on. It's frustrating to have it go on so long, but this series has been fun. I might have overdone it yesterday, but it was nice to hunker down in a couple of blankets and read to the end. I do have to pace myself, though, because it can be depressing if the story is seedy or violent. This one was slightly seedy, but not too violent... The parts that I enjoyed were the looks into 1953 when Violet disappeared, and I could relate to the babysitter's emerging love life. It was neat to see the potential of that relationship being rekindled later in life. That was a nice plot twist. Grafton had a lot of cultural references from the fifties too, like movies and TV shows that were before my time. Still, it added some color...

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton

 This might be my favorite Kinsey Milhone story in the whole series. In this episode, Kinsey is hired to pick up a young woman, Reba, being released from prison, and they become friends in crazy escapades. Reba is a worthy opponent to Kinsey's reasonable advice, and so Kinsey is led into many dangerous situations. I enjoyed the rapport that these two developed, and it was cool to see Kinsey warm to having a friend.

In this book Kinsey also warms to a very attractive detective, Cheney, whom we've met before. But in this story, his romantic moves and conversation are exhibited in a captivating way. I was kind of anxious to get to the end, because he seems like such a good guy, that I didn't want the relationship to go south. I wanted brusque and prickly Kinsey to get to keep her equal partner and not blow it. 

I liked the ending when Reba was able to outsmart her evil, using boyfriend and bring him down. It was satisfying to see him get his just desserts, which isn't always the case in Grafton novels nor in real life! 

Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton

I enjoyed this story because it was a significant departure in Kinsey's usual modus operandi; she teamed up with two  older detectives who kept the dialogue and action interesting and often funny. The search for the killer of a missing Jane Doe from years  earlier was the premise, and apparently this story was inspired by a real-life case. The other part that was interesting to me was when Kinsey learned more about her blocked out childhood and even had a visit with her aunt. I can sense her very gradually warming to the idea of having a family, and I just wish this subplot had been fleshed out a little more.

The other part of this one that made it interesting to me was the way Kinsey discovered the fabric in a quilt that matched the dead girl's pants. The fabric, the people in the small town, and the earlier time and lifestyle were all things to which I could relate. It wasn't as dark and sinister as some of Grafton's settings, and I liked that.

Kinsey's spunk is still evident and I enjoy the unraveling of the plot twists; this was cool because it was a plot that merged with a concurrent present plot. It definitely held my interest as I worked through it and kept MOST of the characters straight. Either I'm getting smarter or this plot was easier to follow than some of those I get lost in!