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Q is for Querlous
The 'real-life' crime which is at the root of Q is for Quarry is a story of such poignancy that anyone who has maintained a shred of compassion over the years can identify with. Despite some uneven patches in the Sue Grafton's story--it still re-sounds with a haunting atmosphere almost 40 years after the actual murder. I can well remember those murky times in the late...
Publié il y a 22 mois par Catherine N. Cole
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› Voir plus de commentaires 5 étoiles, 4 étoiles |
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not great, but typically entertaining
I've read all of these except the new one, "R", at this point. Obviously, I like them. I think "Q Is For Quarry" is a perfectly respectable specimen of the series, if not one of the best. As is happening more and more often, Kinsey spends most of the book far from Santa Teresa, this time in a small town near the Arizona border. This location is...
Publié le Juil 19 2004
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› Voir plus de commentaires 3 étoiles, 2 étoiles, 1 étoiles |
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Better the second time around, Sep 6 2009
I've recently re-read books M through Q, and have to say Q is for Quarry is a favourite. The second time around I noticed all the Q words Grafton sprinkled through the pages, from Edna's quilt to the town of Quorum. I laughed out loud at the description of Rosie's organ cuisine, and the way Kinsey handled it. I think Grafton must be a fan of alliteration, because I've noticed that she has fun with at least one extreme example in this book, and in at least one previous book. Kinsey is quirky, though; she doesn't like to miss her five 3-mile jogs each week, but then eats fast food as though it doesn't count. That just makes her human, in my book.
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Q is for Querlous, Fév 3 2008
The 'real-life' crime which is at the root of Q is for Quarry is a story of such poignancy that anyone who has maintained a shred of compassion over the years can identify with. Despite some uneven patches in the Sue Grafton's story--it still re-sounds with a haunting atmosphere almost 40 years after the actual murder. I can well remember those murky times in the late '60's/early 70's when there were so many 'lost souls' appearing and dis-appearing. Surely one of the main points of this exercise is to tell us that every life has an importance to someone no matter how obscure and fleeting. I worked for the RCMP as a civilian employee after graduating from Simon Fraser University. During that time Clifford Olsen was on the loose--he raped and murdered 11 children leaving them to die alone and isolated in the mountains. Every day I would see these police officers come back after an exhausting day of searching. It gave me a lasting impression of their courage and humanity in the face of the worst acts that a depraved human being is capable of. The Globe & Mail once published 100 cold cases for their 100th anniversary. There were the faces of people--men, women, children, from all ethnic groups, all different back-grounds over many decades. Their deaths had remained un-resolved--but I could never forget their faces. Each one of them no matter who they were demanded justice. Although you may think that many of our modern mystery writers are venturing into territory that seems a little far-fetched all you have to do is to watch 48 Hours Mystery or log into any of our 'real-life' web sites which will show you all of the unsolved cold case files. Fiction writers allow us to experiment with situations and ideas we may never had any personal experience with. But, in 'real time' we should always try and keep our minds open. Every one who takes a human life has a mother, father, sibling, spouse, co-worker, neighbour. While you may be entertained by a fictional cold case story--in reality you just may find your awareness heightened enough to keep your eyes and mind open in 'real time'. For myself, the image of some monster murdering some poor girl back in the '60's and leaving her body in a quarry will never leave me and I can only hope that one day that reconstructed face will find some justice from someone!
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Grafton keeps us on the edge of our seats...and slowly falling!, Juil 12 2006
PI Kinsey Millhone is at it again, this time trying to solve the eighteen-year-old murder of a previous `cold case'--an unidentified female victim.
Teamed ironically with two elderly cops, the ones who had originally found the woman's body, Kinsey sets out to discover both the identity of the victim and her killer who dumped the body in an old quarry.
Sue Grafton's 17th suspense novel in the `alphabet series' is filled with unexpected twists and turns, not to mention infused with Grafton's wry sense of humor. I loved the quirky relationship between the two old cops, Dolan and Oliphant! Amidst a story of tragic death and horrific murder, they were a great addition and added definite comic relief.
I would have like to see Kinsey's past delved into a bit more, but Grafton is the Queen of `dangling the carrot'. I'll be sure to read the next one (although I'm a bit behind in my reading as I'm busy writing my own novels). It's going to be a sad day when Sue Grafton finally gets to the letter `Z'.
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
[......]
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not great, but typically entertaining, Juil 19 2004
Par Un client
I've read all of these except the new one, "R", at this point. Obviously, I like them. I think "Q Is For Quarry" is a perfectly respectable specimen of the series, if not one of the best.As is happening more and more often, Kinsey spends most of the book far from Santa Teresa, this time in a small town near the Arizona border. This location is better executed than the small California town in "N Is For Noose," I think, though there seems to be less of an effort to produce a sense of local colour. There's more just a feeling of isolation, of being stranded in the desert, which works for these characters. As also often happens in these books, the last few pages, in which there is a sudden outbreak of action and danger and the perpetrator stands revealed, are not really satisfying or convincing. And there are a few scenes involving Kinsey's landlord Henry, who has a new girlfriend, and his sister-in-law the Hungarian cook Rosie, apparently intended as comic relief, which I didn't like at all. Luckily, Grafton abandons this stuff early on. The meat of the book, as far as I'm concerned, consists of Kinsey's interactions with a variety of ordinary unhappy people in ordinary American settings, credibly described. I get the feeling that Grafton can write this stuff in her sleep, but I enjoy reading it. Her friends and co-workers the unhealthy older ex-cops also provide some reasonably interesting interaction that doesn't detract from the story.
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Darker and Darker, Jui 24 2004
I've mostly enjoyed the Alphabet series, but Sue Grafton's last few books have been darker and darker. I'm tired of the same old whining about her love life, her family, and her relationships in general. Her writing has become contrived, predictable, and frankly down right boring. I usually keep all my books, hardbound or paperback, but Q is for Quarry is going straight to my public library as a donation.
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C is for crappy, Jui 10 2004
Par Un client
I read a lot. I enjoy mysteries. After finally getting around to reading a book by Sue Grafton, I have to say that I'm utterly disappointed. This was my first, (and last, thank you very much), Sue Grafton novel. It was boring, contrived, and PREDICTABLE. At some point, (I'm not exactly sure, but it could have been when Grafton was trying in vain to make Kinsey's estrangement from her family a viable sub-plot), I started rooting for all of the main characters to be killed. I have never disliked 'the good guys' as much as I did when reading this novel. Hey, here's a cop that drinks and smokes too much. Naw, shucks ma'm - that's not cliche! In fact, the entire book was one, long, ridiculous cliche. Ah, but enough of this. I've wasted too much time reading this horrible book to write any more. Do yourself a favor - don't read this book.
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The Odd Couple engage Kinsey, Avril 20 2004
*****WARNING: THERE MAY BE A SPOILER*****First, the good things about this, the 17th outing for Kinsey Millhone: * the setting is excellent. I enjoy both the coastal and desert locales in which it is set, and, although I was about to scream if Grafton told us the colour of the desert soil once more, she did manage to capture the landscape extremely well. As well, throughout the series, Grafton has had a pretty good way with bringing to life Smalltown, USA and its inhabitants. This is no exception.
* the 'Odd Couple' like characters - the two retired / medically unfit police officers. I could see Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau perfectly cast (if they weren't dead alreay).
* Aspects of the police procedural.
* The interesting depth added to Kinsey's family relationships in this book. A newly emerging relationship with an aunt, which has surprised even Kinsey in the way it has affected her. At last she is beginning to open up to possibilities. Now, what I didn't like:
* I agree with the reviewer who says everything is over-described. Cutting down the number of adjectives and 'languid' takes on every action and place would make a tighter read.
* However, my biggest disappointment and the reason for the 2 stars is that I think there is a major plotting / logic flaw in this novel. The key clue is dropped on page 19. To me, it stood out a million miles away. I spent the rest of the books getting angrier and angrier at what was to me an elemental flaw in something which was meant to be a police procedural. Surely, given the notes taken at the time a record was kept of who and where the missing person report, later retracted, came from. It would have eliminated about half the book, in hurrying the solving of the 'who was Jane Doe' part of the story.
* The rather formulaic and lazy way that the investigation in Quorum is plotted. "Oh, here's 2 or 3 possibilities (schools / dentists)...let's travel with Kinsey to the first two, which will be easily eliminated, although there will be a bit of a thread which we will come back to later (the school secretary/ dental records) and on the third try she will come up trumps." That's plot padding, and it's predictable. You know every conversation will be sewn with one thread of information, and I'm afraid the reader doesn't have to work very hard to pick it out. So, in summary - the character Kinsey is developing little by little, but the plotting of the mystery is getting lazy, and the padding out of the story tiresome.
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Back to her pace and quality mystery writing., Avril 7 2004
I really enjoyed this mystery. It's been a while since I enjoyed an American female writer's series...they often tend to drop off in quality of writing, and it becomes hard for authors to retain the interest in the major character/protagonist. I cannot tell how many times after about five (when you know they are going for a series) that I just barely get through the book, and I am sure the author feels that way too.This must be a lucky letter of the alphabet for Grafton. I enjoyed the dusty desert scenery I am familar with from my youth (grandparents in Mesa and we were in SF). Also the added information about Kinsey's family is a bonus. Kinsey finds it a treat working with two older cops who are both having health problems on a cold case. As per usual, stirring the pot causes things to come to a boil, but Grafton manages to weave into the storyline several different possible motives, which makes it very hard to determine who killed the young girl in the cold case. Kinsey also shows a more caring side of her in her treatment of the women in the story, one who loses a brother, one who is an alcoholic. Maybe she find a way to care about her family? Karen Sadler
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Kinsey Millhone at Her Very Best, Mars 13 2004
Kinsey Millhone is working in her office when Homicide Lieutenant Con Dolan comes around. He's temporarily sidelined because of a series of heart attacks. His wife has passed away, so now he's alone and he is helping his old police pal Stacy Oliphant, who is currently dying of cancer and cleaning out his apartment, so no one else will be left with his mess when he passes on. He and Con have come across a cold case they want to close before he dies and they want Kinsey's help with the legwork.The case is an unsolved eighteen-year-old mystery. A young woman had been murdered and left for dead off California's Highway 1 near Lompoc. She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female, whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry. Kinsey resolutely pursues overlooked clues that are close to two decades old. When the body was discovered, a wrecked red convertible was found nearby and that leads them to Quorum, a desert town near the Arizona border, where the red convertible had been stolen from an auto repair shop around the time of the murder. Oliphant's cancer kicks up, so he has to go back to the hospital, leaving Kinsey and Dolan on the road to Quorum without him. After a couple of days of dogged detective work, Kinsey comes back to the hotel to find Dolan in the midst of a heart attack. She calls an ambulance and now with him in the hospital, she strikes out alone after the killer. As her investigation continues she learns about Quorum's long-hidden secrets and that causes the killer to strike again. As I'm a big fan of Kinsey Millhone's, I was predisposed to like this book and I wasn't disappointed. I especially liked the two hard-boiled old cops who seem to act like an old married couple. I was saddened when Dolan was stricken ill and when Oliphant had to go back to the hospital, then gladdened when Dolan got a stint in his heart and was okay and when Oliphant's problem wasn't the cancer. These cranky, curmudgeon cops make a great pair and I hope to see more of them as this alphabet series continues. I also liked the peek into Kinsey's past and family life presented in the story.
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Yes, I have read them all, Fév 17 2004
...and Q is for Quarry is not the best of the best of this Grafton series, but it's pretty darn good. If you live in California, as I do, and know the Santa Barbara area in which most of Grafton's books are situated, it makes the reading doubly interesting.
One of the many neat aspects of this alphabet series of hers is that Kinsey changes over time, and characters, 'issues,' dangers, and themes recur. Milhone's character has deepened; this is no cardboard P.I.
Read it - and read all the rest. Best to start at the beginning, but you don't have to slog through A thru P in order to enjoy Q. Each book is complete within itself.
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Ce produit
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CDN$ 10.99 CDN$ 9.89
Habituellement expédié sous 3 à 5 semaines
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Accueil Amazon
