Interesting mystery idea and likable detective but unable to develop story

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	• J Is for Judgment Sue Grafton Fawcett, 1994 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 31 reviews view larger image
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Fun book to read

Sue Grafton writes a great series,you feel like you know the people in the book. Will read the whole series.

Interesting mystery idea and likable detective but unable to develop story

As soon as I read her earliest books, Sue Grafton became one of my favorite writers of light, straight, credible detective fiction. She can be a terrific storyteller. After being badly disappointed by the skimpy, disorganized "G" and "H" stories, but buoyed by the "I" book, I was looking forward to "J," which promised a very interesting tale. Unfortunately, I was disappointed again (though not as badly as I had been by "G" and "H" or as I would be with "L"). It is difficult to get a handle on exactly why. The book is quite a mish-mash.

Grafton opens the "J" book with a complex and fascinating premise, even if it was not exactly original (for example, see John D. MacDonald's "The Empty Copper Sea") -- a slick, near-bust land developer/real estate wheeler-dealer disappears under mysterious circumstances, is presumed dead, yet is spotted elsewhere years later. The early part of the book is interesting, with some good attention to detail. But the book never really takes seriously and runs with its opening plot idea.

Instead, the book strings it out for a while, deteriorates into a series of subplots (about the kids, about the wife, about the cop, about the partner ...) that lead nowhere, and then diddles away any life the story has left with a let-down ending involving a marginal character with a confused motive. This is not helped at all by a last-minute attempt to suggest that the person was a master criminal after all, despite what appears to be impetuous, emotional, out-of-control, lunatic behavior. It leaves the reader wondering why it was worth slogging through all of the pointless personal subplots and complicated original premise.

The book's excellent opening premise seems to be used merely as a gimmick to kick-start an aimless, pointless story. All of the characters' motivations are obscure and confusing: the son, the husband coming back, the partner, someone turning murderous overnight. The murder happens far too late in the book. The story bumps along to a conclusion using one contrived "confession" scene after another (cop investor tells about money still in existence; leads back to partner, etc.).

The opening premise promised a finely crafted complex crime by a single mastermind. Yet, in execution, the promise evaporated because no one person in the story has his/her act together. No one is acting deliberately. Whatever happened -- the storytelling is so obtuse at times it is not entirely clear -- is a mass of completely haphazard and unconnected events (husband returning home because of son; son getting into trouble; cop homing in on extant money). No clear villain emerges who was responsible for one overarching, clever crime, just a bunch of disconnected people spinning their wheels. The attempt on literally the last page of the book to suggest that what had happened had a larger meaning is flip, inadequate, and unconvincing, as is a melodramatic end scene in which a character "swims out to sea."

Generally, Grafton is a witty, upbeat writer, and Millhone is a fun character, and there is evidence of this in the book. The book provides some personal details of Millhone's family history that are mildly interesting. But in this book they feel distracting and painted-on. They fail to gel with the rest of the story and are not presented, much less resolved, in a meaningful way. Not since "H" has Millhone looked as haphazard, disorganized, procedure-oriented, coincidence-driven, and unprofessional. There is simply not enough of a coherent story to support her. The tone of the book is remarkably upbeat, but increasingly comes across as empty flippancy and scenery-chewing utilized just to get through a sagging, aimless plot.

Again, a likable, comfortable lead character and tone and a good premise and beginning made me want to like the book. But it simply fell apart to the point where I cannot in all honesty give it any more than three stars.

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Not Her Best, But Still Fun...

For me, this one took a while to get into, but it was still a fun, entertaining read. The first paragraph grabs your interest. There are some changes in Kinsey's life, or maybe I should say in her past as she knew it. I look forward to seeing how this incorporates into future books. I'm trying to work my way through the alphabet.

J is for Judgment

Sue Grafton always has you looking for more...desperately awaiting the next letter of the alphabet!

Greeaaat

This series of books is one of the most interesting I have come across. The main character and surrounding characters are very interesting.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

"Ms. Grafton writes a smart story and wraps it up with a wry twist."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Wendell Jaffe has been dead for five years--until his former insurance agent spots him in a dusty resort bar. Now California Fidelity wants Kinsey Millhone to track down the dead man. Just two months before, his widow collected on Jaffe's $500,000 life insurance policy--her only legacy since Jaffe went overboard, bankrupt and about to be indicted for his fraudulent real estate schemes. As Kinsey pushes deeper into the mystery surrounding Wendell Jaffe's pseudocide, she explores her own past, discovering that in family matters, as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment....
A MAIN SELECTION OF THE LITERARY GUILD

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