However, that really did not seem to be the problem here. The book was slow in starting, but then seemed to be chugging along just fine. I kept looking at the remaining pages left for me to read as they got smaller and smaller with no obvious 'end' in sight. So when Grafton literally ended with a phone call, and no real obvious conclusion (no one was arrested, no one confronted except the wrong person, etc.)...well, I went backwards through several pages and chapters to see if I had missed something. I know I read fast especially when it comes to books I pick up for pure enjoyment, but I didn't think I read it that fast! Not only was the main crime not solved to my satisfaction, but the side story dealing with Kinsey's involvement with a couple of sleazy brothers was never solved either.
This is not to discourage anyone from reading Grafton's books...she is, as I have said, an intelligent author, and she doesn't dummy down her books for her audience (which makes me cringe). But this time, she lost me at the very end...I know it wasn't just me, because some of the other reviewers said the same thing.
Karen Sadler
When a writer puts out a series of books like these, there should be a few constants the reader can hang his/her hat on. The wrap-up at the end, ("respectfully submitted") is one of those constants, I think. I was SURE I got a defective copy that was missing the final chapter. I even took it back to the bookstore to exchange it for one that was complete......no such luck.
Grafton provided an actual detective story, she held out the discovery of Dr. Dowan Purcell after an adequate period of time. The sub-plot of the story is an odd concoction that doesn't appear to fit-in with the actual plot of the story, more like some excuse for Kinsey to have guy problems. The outlandish scenario of the sub-plot came to an even more that unfeasible conclusion than the entire sub-plot itself.
The final outcome was also somewhat disappointing. It appeared to be an unusual twist, that came from somewhere in thin air; a part of the joy in reading a mystery is having at least the slightest chance of discovering the conclusion before the final page is read. As a reader, if I have no chance of detecting the criminal, I have no sense of accomplishment and feel cheated somehow.
Kinsey Millhone is a character that is impossible not to like, though. A female detective is an idea that still tickles the imagination, and gives a breath of fresh air to the female-public. Her straightforward, smart mouth, independent woman attitude is greatly superlative in comparison to any male detective.
Perhaps beginning with P was not the best of ideas, and I'd appreciate her work more all the way back to A. Either way, Grafton is definitely not an author that I'd set aside frivolously.