R Is For Ricochet (Mass Market Paperback)

Bestseller Grafton offers more of the same-old same-old in her less-than-inspired 18th Kinsey Millhone novel (after 2002's Q Is for Quarry). In this sexy adventure, the spunky hard-boiled detective has to escort the newly paroled Reba Lafferty, privileged ne'er-do-well, to her stately home, keeping her on the straight and narrow. Reba challenges the PI with her barely concealed hankerings for the now off-limits booze, gambling and charming Alan Beckwith, married real estate developer and former employer for whom Reba took a two-year barbwire vacation courtesy of the California Institution for Women. Lust is in the air as studly, stylish cop Cheney Phillips enters in his red Mercedes, fanning the flames with Kinsey, when Beckwith's activities catch the eye of the feds. Kinsey lends a supportive ear to her beloved 87-year-old landlord, smitten by a 70-year-old neighbor. Kinsey and Reba team up to get the goods on Beckwith, but reckless Reba has vengeful ideas of her own and more than once lands their collective fat in the fire. If the chemistry between Cheney and Kinsey seems forced at times, Grafton as usual creates believable and enduring characters and a strong sense of place in her town of Santa Teresa circa 1987. And that should be more than enough for most fans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --Ce texte provient de la Hardcover édition.

Adult/High School–Kinsey has been hired by a wealthy father to befriend his daughter upon her release from prison after serving a sentence for embezzling funds from her boyfriend/employer. It sounds easy, but the detective learns quickly that Reba's boss is still involved in a complex money-laundering scheme and is wanted by many federal law-enforcement agencies who want Reba to help them get evidence against him. Eventually she does, but there are problems leading to the exciting climax when the sleuth herself is kidnapped. Kinsey is young enough to appeal to teens; her lighthearted personality and witty asides amuse and entertain. Fans of this series will be pleased that she has a new boyfriend, but may be frustrated because her elderly landlord's family interferes.–Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --Ce texte provient de la Hardcover édition.

In the latest Kinsey Millhone mystery, Kinsey is hired by an aged, wealthy man to retrieve his daughter from prison, where she has served time for embezzlement. Kinsey quickly figures out that the girl isn't an embezzler but instead has done time for her money-laundering boss. All heck breaks loose. Judy Kaye has a warm, rich voice that seems just right for Grafton's P.I. Her delivery mirrors the smart-aleck tenor of much of Kinsey's dialogue. Strangely though, when Kaye is interpreting a male character (and there are many), she raises her voice to a higher register, so that many of the men sound like adolescents with changing voices, or worse, like chipmunks. It may be Kaye's subtle social comment, though. For once the listener adapts, this odd gender reversal seems natural. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

"R" could be for "rocking chair" in the latest Kinsey Millhone, which doesn't so much imitate the action of a bullet bouncing off bone as offer a leisurely treatise on thwarted love. This is not an especially fast-moving Grafton. That won't bother the series' many fans, however, as there is plenty devoted to exploring the character of Millhone herself, still living in a converted garage, still driving her VW, still (improbably) without any female friends, but here with a nicely charged return to an impossible affair. There is far too much ink spent on describing such matters as Kinsey making popcorn or jogging or chatting endlessly with her landlord. Even these unnecessary asides are somewhat compensated for by Kinsey's acerbic wit and wry self-reflections. The action itself revolves around Kinsey's assignment to escort and watch over a bad-girl heiress, just released from jail. The heiress is soon back in trouble, back in the arms of the guy she went to prison for, and back under investigation. The local cops want Kinsey to spy on the jailbird with whom she's developing a friendship; the feds get in on the act, too. Maybe the most interesting bits of this sleepy novel are the heiress' descriptions of prison life; they are far too detailed to be believable as normal conversation but intriguing nonetheless. An uneven, lackadaisical Grafton, but plenty of Millhone for the sleuth's devotees. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --Ce texte provient de la Hardcover édition.

Reba Lafferty was a daughter of privilege, the only child of an adoring father. Nord Lafferty was already in his fifties when Reba was born, and he could deny her nothing. Over the years, he quietly settled her many scrapes with the law, but he wasn't there for her when she was convicted of embezzlement and sent to the California Institution for Women. Now, at thirty-two, she is about to be paroled, having served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence. Nord Lafferty wants to be sure she stays straight, stays at home and away from the drugs, the booze, the gamblers."It seems a straightforward assignment for Kinsey: babysit Reba until she settles in, make sure she follows all the rules of her parole. Maybe all of a week's work. Nothing untoward - the woman seems remorseful and friendly. And the money is good." But life is never that simple, and Reba is out of prison less than twenty-four hours when one of her old crowd comes circling round.

New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton is published in 28 countries and 26 languages—including Estonian, Bulgarian, and Indonesian. Books in her alphabet series, begun in 1982, are international bestsellers with readership in the millions. And like Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Robert Parker, and John D. MacDonald—the best of her breed—Sue Grafton has earned new respect for the mystery form. Her readers appreciate her buoyant style, her eye for detail, her deft hand with character, her acute social observances, and her abundant storytelling talents.

Sue divides her time between Montecito, California and Louisville, Kentucky, where she was born and raised. She has three children and two grandchildren. Grafton has been married to Steve Humphrey for more than twenty years. She loves cats, gardens, and good cuisine.