Sat 17 Jul 2021
A PI Mystery Review by Barry Gardner: SUE GRAFTON – “L” Is for Lawless.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[9] Comments
SUE GRAFTON – “L” Is for Lawless. Kinsey Milhone #12. Henry Holt, hardcover, 1995. Fawcett Crest, paperback, 1996.
The Grafton/Milhone express keeps chugging along. I really liked the “K” book. Matter of fact, I’ve liked most of her books. She’s one of the few bestsellers who I think generally lives up to her reputation and sales. Most of the time I rate her and Muller about even, way ahead of Paretsky.
Kinsey is getting ready to attend a wedding. Her landlord’s brother and her Hungarian friend Rosie are getting hitched, but a little before the happy event her landlord asks her to help out the relatives of an old acquaintance of his, said acquaintance being recently deceased. It seems the man was supposed to have been a veteran, but when his relatives try to get benefits from the government, no record of him exists.
Kinsey is asked to see what she can do, and the seemingly innocent and simple request turns into something very complex indeed, and dangerous. The dead little old man was more than he seemed, and had some very nasty friends.
Grafton still writes well, but the plot in this one left me so cold that I basically skip-read the last third or so. I didn’t believe any of it, and I didn’t get interested in it. I didn’t give a damn about any of the characters aside from Kinsey, either, and she acted like an idiot for most of the book I’m sure most of her fans will love it, but the best I can say is it wasn’t egregiously bad. It sure wasn’t good, though.
I seem to be a lot more demanding of rational behavior from my fictional heroes than most people are; or maybe I just have different ideas as to what’s rational. Sometimes I wish I didn’t, because it spoils a lot of books for me that I might otherwise like.
July 17th, 2021 at 8:25 pm
Over a period of time most long running series characters run into the one plot where if they behaved half way rationally or intelligently the book would be a short story at best. This one falls into that category sad to say.
I notice with Kinsey and V. I. both that as the series go on their clients are more likely to be family or friends of family rather than strangers wandering in off the street. That has something to do with their sex and an attempt to show they are still maternal figures however smart and tough, but it becomes dominant in the Paretsky books to the point you wonder if Vic has any paying clients these days.
July 17th, 2021 at 9:25 pm
So true about the Warshawski books. I’m not nearly as fond of her family and friends as Paretsky is.
July 17th, 2021 at 8:48 pm
Grafton’s background extends back farther than most readers might assume. Her 1969 novel ‘The Lolly-Madonna War’ became a very peculiar/odd Jeff Bridges 1973 movie, co-starring Robert Ryan (one of his last roles), Rod Steiger, Season Hubley, Scott Wilson, Randy Quaid, Gary Busey, and the great Ed Lauter.
July 17th, 2021 at 9:30 pm
Grafton was a screenwriter herself for many years, including a co-writing screenplay credit for her Lolly/Madonna novel. I’ve never been to catch up with it to see it for myself. Maybe I ought to put some extra effort into doing so.
July 18th, 2021 at 12:36 am
Grafton herself, was also a good-looking hunk o’ woman. I recall seeing her in a TV promo once. She matched how I imagined her fictional heroine. Feisty redhead, like Joanna Cassidy.
July 18th, 2021 at 11:19 am
I stopped after reading “H”, only because I’d gotten tired of the series and character, and other books called out to me.
July 18th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
I have to agree with Barry. This is where it went wrong for me. Her obsession with her 90 year old landlord and then his family creeped me out. I think “M” was the last one I read.
July 18th, 2021 at 5:10 pm
Thankfully Sue Grafton’s estate hasn’t authorized anyone to write Z IS FOR Z–, but I imagine the temptation has to be very very high.
July 31st, 2021 at 8:40 pm
[…] standbys lets you down [referring to Sue Grafton’s “L” Is for Lawless, reviewed here], why not try a new character and a first novel? Bean was born and raised in Wyoming, […]