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!

L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton

 This was a romp that was not as much fun as it was stressful and kind of depressing. Kinsey often deals with "underlife," but these folks were particularly low. Kinsey tries to help a neighbor, recommended by lovable Henry whom she can't turn down, and finds herself virtually kidnapped and taken on a wild goose chase to unravel a mystery and find a stolen treasure. The treasure was stolen by a group of unscrupulous men 40 years earlier, and murder ensued, and prison terms served. However, the quest for the treasure proved to be worthwhile. The main villain is truly evil and battering, and we have to have more of him than we like. What is somewhat borderline charming is the way another of the gang, Ray, and his daughter Laura, and his mother Helen become a family for Kinsey. 

I enjoyed having this lightweight paperback along for the trip to Rapid City from Las Vegas since it turned out to be such a comical loading and unloading of passengers as Allegiant tried to get us on a plane that worked. Because I had this entertaining, although somewhat depressing milieu, I was able to withstand the four-hour plus delay with aplomb. I did not get grumpy, nor did I get aprehensive, as Len did. We survived the ordeal and landed safely. This was a good book to have along since it totally "took me away" from the scene and helped me enjoy another world, even though it wasn't a particularly pleasant one. And a nice bonus at the end was Kinsey needing help from her cousin, whom she had rejected up to that point. It was gratifying to see that she needed help, asked for it, and got it. Which also means her cousin Tasha will most likely appear in the next installment. I also liked that Kinsey got a little sentimental at the wedding of William and Rosie. I'm glad it was a sweet occasion and that Kinsey got out of her horrible situation in time to be there. There was definitely the possibility that this adventure would waylay her plans...

I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton

 This story finds Kinsey trying to solve a murder of a woman who was shot through a peephole in a door. We at first think its her husband, and then we're convinced it's not. And then the plot twists again. This story has some good characters, especially as Henry (Kinsey's landlord) entertains his brother William and his myriad idiosyncrasies and then his romance. It's a fun one with more light moments than usual. 

I read this on flights to and from Rapid City and while I was there, so my focus was maybe a little off and maybe I was sleep-deprived. Still, it held up as an entertaining diversion through that week of fun upheaval. Actually, this is an attempt to explain why I don't recall more of the plot or the story.

I am noticing that Kinsey is a student of the weather. There is lots of time devoted to cloud cover and the weather in Santa Theresa. Interesting...

P.S. I just found this summary in my journal! I wrote this in Rapid City during my visit there, because I couldn't get my computer to connect to the Stevenson's internet... Here it is:

K is for Killer by Sue Grafton

 I'm plowing through these alphabet mysteries with great enjoyment! This was a fascinating one in that Kinsey steps into a night-time schedule. In the course of her investigation of the murder of a porn star and prostitute, she interviews most people involved at night. She becomes a nocturnal person as well, and is definitely changed by the experience. She works on this case alone, with minimal help from her friend Cheney Phillips, a detective she's becomeing acquainted with.

While I enjoyed this story, and there were many interesting characters, there were lots of loose ends that were never wrapped up. It seems to be a pattern with Grafton that when she ends, she ends quickly. We don't get to see any of the players' reactions to the solving of the case. And in this one, it would have been good to know how Lorna's family members reacted to the finding of her murderer. And did Cheney have increased respect for Kinsey's skills after she solved this one? And how were the unknown lawyer and the water department guy connected? I don't think i'm dumb, it was just never cleared up. It's kind of disappointing to not have answers...but maybe that's more like real life? Or maybe I missed a few clues along the way? Not sure. Still, worth the fun of reading, and of course I'm moving ahead to L!

I'm pretty sure I read this one in the 80s when I first discovered this series, but I had no recollection at all of the settings, the plot, or these characters. All brand new to me this time around. Actually, I just noticed this publication date is 1994, I don't recall much of what I read in the 90s either! Oh well... This record may help in the future???

The 13th Day of Christmas by Jason F. Wright

 I wish I could remember how this book came to me. I cannot. I do know that I wouldn't have paid for it, since I have low expectations for Christmas stories. I have read tons that are just disappointing. Still, hope springs eternal. 

The story is unrealistic on a lot of levels, the characters are uneven and too sweet in some cases. Not much to engage the reader here, but I did plow on after the little girl got cancer. I wanted to see if Charlee would make it. She did. The fighting and stress between her parents was never resolved. Her troubled brother warmed up to Marva too, which was somewhat surprising. 

One thing that did give me pause, though, was the devotion of Charlee's friend Marva. She's an older woman in the neighborhood who is lonely and befriends Charlee. It made me think about the gaggle of little girls here in Red Canyon who need a Marva. Maggie isn't answering the call very generously at all. This story really made me wonder if I could be more unselfish and more generous in my relationship with these little girls without much supervision or anything meaningful to do. Yikes. Wake up, Maggie!

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. 

The Diary of an American Au Pair by Marjorie Leet Ford

 I was drawn to this book on one of our trips to the Hope Chest, the Catholic's thrift store near us. I always like to check the used books, and this one, of course, caught my eye! Being a former au pair, and all. The first few pages did not excite me, but I decided I should give it a little more time. Since I needed to have something good to help me recover from my second meniscus tear surgery, this seemed like a good candidate. I'm so glad I did! It turned out to be very unpredictable, very interesting, very cultural--about a culture--British--that I love, and of course, it had fascinating characters. It's not a great book or a great story, but very entertaining and perceptive.

I really liked Melissa's (the au pair) reading about her relationship with the three children in the story. The parents were interesting too, but her relationship with the children showed her in the best light. Her commitment to helping the deaf daughter learn language was educational and reminded me of my linguistics training. The parents were drawn pretty true, I think. The love/hate with the mother can easily happen when you live in such close proximity. I loved the visits to the grandparents in Scotland. Another part I enjoyed was just learning about the way the "old moneyed" British live and vacation and raise their children. 

One theme that interested me was Melissa's determination to eat her way to fatness for her American boyfriend in San Francisco. As that relationship declined, and her relationship with Londoner Simon ascended, it was fascinating to read how her thoughts about food and her body changed. And her body thoughts were often those I could relate to, especially at the end when she went through deprivation before settling on health. I think she described well the power that I feel when I'm being true to my health. 

One very fun sidelight is a parlor game Melissa and the children play. You just answer five questions:

1. You're out walking. You come upon a house. Describe the house.

2. Inside, there's a table. There are three objects on the table. What are the objects?

3. Outside, you see a bear. What do you do with the bear?

4. You find a cup. Describe the cup.

5. What do you do with the cup?

After answering these questions, these are the interpretations:

1. The house is yourself.

2. The three objects on the table are the things you do best.

3. The bear is a problem, and what you do with the bear is what you do with a problem.

4. The cup is your love.

5. What you do with the cup is what you do with your love. 

The way the children and the parents answer and interpret their answers is fun to read, and has some surprising as well as some predictable insights. I did this with Leonard and we had a really fruitful discussion about both of our answers. When I did it myself, what was most fascinating to me was how long, and I'm talking perhaps 20 minutes or more, it took me to decide on a house that I wanted to come upon! I mean, I went through the whole gamut of possibilities! I couldn't commit to one for the longest time. Does this mean I don't know myself? Or that I don't want to commit? Or that we've been looking at so many houses over the past few years that the possibilities are just overwhelming? And I took the walk literally, too, like, do I want to be walking in the woods and come upon a cottage? But what about the sunlight I love? Or is it a house on a hill in a meadow? Or is it a modern, urban condominium? My mind just flooded! Fascinating. Probably I would have a different answer depending on my mood.

My objects were a book, walking shoes, and swim goggles!

Leonard, on the other hand, immediately thought of a narrow Victorian. He didn't even hesitate! He saw a doily on the table, kind of an Irene setting. Aren't we so different?