Best Kinsey story so far, despite a disastrous ending

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	• S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) Sue Grafton Berkley, 2006 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 223 reviews view larger image
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Complicated, Yet Easy to Read

This is one of Sue Grafton's best alphabet novels for the simple reason that it is written in a quadratic. The crime occurs in 1953, but she is investigating in the 1987 and the writing is done through both the perspective of Kinsey and that of the people who were involved in and peripheral to the crime. It seems like that would make your head spin, yet the book is very readable and the mystery portion is excellent.

For Kinsey fans, read it if you haven't already, and for those not acquainted with her novels; it's time you got to know this author's work.

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S is for Silence another fabulous novel by Grafton

I love Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series and S is for Silence is another engrossing read.

This novel is structured differently than her previous work with many of the characters in the novel getting their own individual chapters. The reader gets to see through flashback all of the characters who were intimately involved with a woman who went missing decades ago.

Most of time I abhor flashback scenes in movies but Grafton does make it work here. My only real problem was that there was not enough Kinsey in this novel! You don't get much information on Henry, Rosie, or her latest relationship.

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Great book

Sue Grafton's books are always terrific and this was no exception. The Kinsey series are always entertaining and keep you guessing. I love the audio books because I drive long distances and now I look forward to the drives instead of dreading the time!

A FUN ADDITION TO GRAFTON'S ALPHABET

If the weather is cold and the wind is howling outside, why not settle down with a cup of hot chocolate and Sue Grafton's S is for Silence, another clever contribution to the Kinsey Millhone series. This pleasant little romp has Kinsey investigating the 1953 disappearance of a woman, Violet Sullivan, local legend and "town harlot" who was loved by few and despised by many. Everyone in town, it seems, has had some sort of involvement with Violet........and has their tale to tell.

The story is set in the 1980's with Kinsey hired by the womans now adult daughter to find out what happened to her mother, who left town in her new 1953 Chevy BelAir taking nothing more than her Pomeranian dog and the clothes on her back (and perhaps the $50,000 insurance settlement she continually brags about to anyone who will listen). Unlike most of the previous offerings in this series which usually detail events strictly from Kinsey's point of view, this novel features flashbacks told from the standpoint of various individuals involved with Violet during the fateful week preceding and following her disappearance. Violet is a colorful character, sometimes kind and thoughtful while at others mean spirited and manipulatve So what happened to her?? Did she simply run off or was she murdered?

Lean back, prop up your feet, sip your hot chocolate and savour this engaging little diversion. It's not Shakespeare or Tolstoy, just simple entertainment........so enjoy.

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Best Kinsey story so far, despite a disastrous ending

Well, I wholeheartedly agree with everyone who said that the conclusion is worse than lame: the killer had no motive, no obvious connection to the victim, and the only reason why it might be him is that in those flash backs he is the only one that comes across as truly ruthless and calculated... Furthermore: the "deductive reasoning" that leads Kinsey to discovering the murderer's identity goes something like that: "Aha, he bought her a puppy - therefore he must be the person who three days prior to her death highjacked a bulldozer to dig a hole to bury her in a car (that at that point she did not even have)"...... And why introduce all those characters and show in elaborate detail how Violet's dissappearance changed their lives for ever - when no follow up whatsoever is given as to how things might have changed for everybody once the truth is discovered.
Having said that: I still think that this is SG's best book to date. Curiously enough, I like it precisely for the reasons all other readers quoted as weaknesses: very little Kinsey, very little of her friends and her familiar environment, and what with all the '53 flashbacks.... Well actually, less Kinsey is more: I have been reading this series for the plot mostly but always had a hard time identifying with or even enjoying the heroine. How could one, indeed? Kinsey seems to be intellectually and emotionally arrested at a level of a preschooler: she lives in a toy apartment, never, it seems, has eaten a meal that could not have come in a Happy Meal box, has no outside interests whatsoever, and her emotional and social capacity is limited to parallel play in the sand box with very occassional toy sharing... She wears no makeup, her wardrobe consists exlusively of jeans, sweats, t-shirts, and turtlenecks. For fun, she cleans her bathroom. The only long term relationship that she can sort of sustain is one with her eighty year old landlord....
So yes, "S for Silence" is a very good read because instead of dealing mostly with dull and unreal Kinsey, it is populated by flesh and blood people - full of real emotions, desires, weaknesses and doubts. The nostalgic trip back in time feels very real, even if there are factual inaccuracies, as some have pointed out. It is and engaging, complex and compelling read. SG - please, more books like this one. And please, please introduce Kinsey to an occassional fruit or vegetable (not counting pickle in her pickle and peanut butter sandwich) - I am no health maniac but I get major heartburn after each book. Despite running each day, eating like this Kinsey should be the size of Goodyear Blimp....

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