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The Undomestic Goddess
8.5
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Samantha is a high-powered lawyer in London. She works all hours, has no home life, and cares only...
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Twenties Girl
8.0
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Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in...
The Tennis Party
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It was Patrick's idea that they should have the tennis party. After all, he has the perfect setting...
Sleeping Arrangements
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Avg: 7.0
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Chloe needs a holiday. She's sick of making wedding dresses and her partner is having trouble at...
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated X (Kinsey Millhone, #24) in Books
Apr 25, 2023
This X Marks an Enjoyable Story
This book has three stories intertwined to keep PI Kinsey Millhone busy. In the first, Kinsey and her landlord, Henry, get a new neighbor, who seems adept at manipulating Henry and, by extension, Kinsey. Meanwhile, Kinsey makes an interesting discovery while digging through the papers of a late PI for the man’s widow who is facing an IRS audit. Finally, Kinsey is asked to track down a recent parolee by the man’s birth mother.
I’m glad I didn’t read the official plot description before I read this book since it has major spoilers. Instead, I let these stories unfold and interweave as they would, and I got caught up in the book. I do think the stakes were a little low, but I still enjoyed spending time with Kinsey and the rest, including some appearances by recurring characters. One of the stories has a rushed ending, but the other two stories reach satisfactory conclusions for me. Yes, this could have been a little stronger, but I really enjoyed spending time with Kinsey in this book.
I’m glad I didn’t read the official plot description before I read this book since it has major spoilers. Instead, I let these stories unfold and interweave as they would, and I got caught up in the book. I do think the stakes were a little low, but I still enjoyed spending time with Kinsey and the rest, including some appearances by recurring characters. One of the stories has a rushed ending, but the other two stories reach satisfactory conclusions for me. Yes, this could have been a little stronger, but I really enjoyed spending time with Kinsey in this book.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated X (Kinsey Millhone, #24) in Books
Feb 13, 2018
The plot of "X" opens up with the story of a woman attempting to steal a painting. Then Grafton switches to present day, catching us up with Kinsey. "X" details several threats - mainly Kinsey trying to track down a recently released felon for a client and Kinsey working with Pete Wolinksy's widow to assist her with finding some files related to an IRS investigation. There's also a subplot involving Henry and Kinsey's new neighbors.
I have to state up front that I love Grafton and I love Kinsey Millhone. I hope they never make this series into a film, because I have my own picture of Kinsey in my mind, and I don't want anyone to ruin it. I started reading this series in middle school (!) and look forward to each and every release. Alas, while I enjoyed "X," it seemed a bit lackluster compared to many of Millhone's previous Kinsey efforts.
If you've read any Grafton book (or truly any mystery), you can envision that Kinsey's disparate cases will somehow overlap at some point. Her cases are fairly interesting, though Kinsey hems and haws a bit about her past with Pete. The side plot with Kinsey and her new neighbors (while somewhat appalling) just drags on, which makes me sad, because it involves Henry, and I do enjoy Henry.
Overall, it's a quick read and also good to catch up with Kinsey. However, I found myself wishing we could progress a bit more with Kinsey's personal life (besides Henry). Though perhaps the book represents how stagnant Kinsey feels in life? Hard to tell. But I do hope the next book brings her a little more excitement and happiness in both work and her personal life.
I have to state up front that I love Grafton and I love Kinsey Millhone. I hope they never make this series into a film, because I have my own picture of Kinsey in my mind, and I don't want anyone to ruin it. I started reading this series in middle school (!) and look forward to each and every release. Alas, while I enjoyed "X," it seemed a bit lackluster compared to many of Millhone's previous Kinsey efforts.
If you've read any Grafton book (or truly any mystery), you can envision that Kinsey's disparate cases will somehow overlap at some point. Her cases are fairly interesting, though Kinsey hems and haws a bit about her past with Pete. The side plot with Kinsey and her new neighbors (while somewhat appalling) just drags on, which makes me sad, because it involves Henry, and I do enjoy Henry.
Overall, it's a quick read and also good to catch up with Kinsey. However, I found myself wishing we could progress a bit more with Kinsey's personal life (besides Henry). Though perhaps the book represents how stagnant Kinsey feels in life? Hard to tell. But I do hope the next book brings her a little more excitement and happiness in both work and her personal life.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone, #20) in Books
Sep 29, 2021
Can Kinsey Save Her Neighbor?
It starts innocently enough when Kinsey and her landlord, William Pitts, discover their elderly neighbor, Gus Vronsky, lying on the floor in his house one morning after falling and injuring himself. Gus only has one relative left, a great-niece who lives on the other side of the country, so she is intent on hiring someone to help Gus recover. The great-niece asks Kinsey to do a background check on Solana Rojas, the woman that she has hired, and nothing jumps out at Kinsey. Still, something seems off about Solana. Will Kinsey figure out what it is in time?
Because we get some chapters from Solana’s point of view, we know early on that she is bad news. It gets a little frustrating waiting for Kinsey to catch up, but the end result is worth it. As we got into the final quarter, I had a very hard time putting the book down thanks to several thrilling scenes. We get to see plenty of William, which is fantastic since he is my second favorite character in the series, second only to Kinsey, who continues to entertain. Solana is evil, and she makes a great villain for Kinsey to track down. There are a couple of sub-plots that I enjoyed, although they could have been a little stronger. There’s also a plot hole late in the book – something we know but Kinsey couldn’t possibly know about. This isn’t one of my typical cozies, but as long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine. Still, overall, this is another great entry in a beloved series. Even at twenty books in, it is easy to see why it is has so many fans.
Because we get some chapters from Solana’s point of view, we know early on that she is bad news. It gets a little frustrating waiting for Kinsey to catch up, but the end result is worth it. As we got into the final quarter, I had a very hard time putting the book down thanks to several thrilling scenes. We get to see plenty of William, which is fantastic since he is my second favorite character in the series, second only to Kinsey, who continues to entertain. Solana is evil, and she makes a great villain for Kinsey to track down. There are a couple of sub-plots that I enjoyed, although they could have been a little stronger. There’s also a plot hole late in the book – something we know but Kinsey couldn’t possibly know about. This isn’t one of my typical cozies, but as long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine. Still, overall, this is another great entry in a beloved series. Even at twenty books in, it is easy to see why it is has so many fans.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated “K” is for Killer in Books
Jun 26, 2018
Kinsey Faces a Daunting Case
PI Kinsey Millhone’s latest case is a cold one. Lorna Kepler has been dead for 10 months, and when she died she had been dead for two weeks before she was found, so the police couldn’t even determine the cause of death. As Kinsey begins to investigate, she realizes that Lorna had a completely secret life, and the investigation causes Kinsey to become a night owl like Lorna was. Will following her footsteps lead to her killer?
This is another great mystery. The cold case quality leads to some interesting complications to the investigation. Lorna’s life included some things that don’t normally pop up in my cozies, but we didn’t get gratuitous detail, which I appreciated. The ending was a bit rushed, but that’s a minor complaint. We don’t see much of the other series characters, but Kinsey is fantastic as always, and the book is populated with real people that draw us into the story.
This is another great mystery. The cold case quality leads to some interesting complications to the investigation. Lorna’s life included some things that don’t normally pop up in my cozies, but we didn’t get gratuitous detail, which I appreciated. The ending was a bit rushed, but that’s a minor complaint. We don’t see much of the other series characters, but Kinsey is fantastic as always, and the book is populated with real people that draw us into the story.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone, #22) in Books
Sep 1, 2022
Stumbles at the End
Kinsey Millhone is in the right place and the right time to foil a shoplifter. She is surprised to find that the shoplifter kills herself the next day. But the surprises keep coming when the dead woman’s fiancé hired Kinsey to prove that the woman didn’t kill herself. The fiancé doesn’t think she was a shoplifter either, so he and Kinsey have a contentious relationship from the very start. But can Kinsey figure out what really happened?
This book started out mostly well. There’s a subplot told in third person point of view chapters that really slowed the book down, but the chapters from Kinsey’s point of view were engaging. The further I got into the book, the harder time I had putting it down. Then we came to the climax, which turned out to be pretty weak, with one development I really didn’t like. It’s a shame because I enjoyed spending time with Kinsey and the rest of the regulars as always. This one is for series fans only.
This book started out mostly well. There’s a subplot told in third person point of view chapters that really slowed the book down, but the chapters from Kinsey’s point of view were engaging. The further I got into the book, the harder time I had putting it down. Then we came to the climax, which turned out to be pretty weak, with one development I really didn’t like. It’s a shame because I enjoyed spending time with Kinsey and the rest of the regulars as always. This one is for series fans only.
Movie Critics (823 KP) created a video about Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) in Movies
Jun 29, 2017
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated G is for Gumshoe (Kinsey Millhone #7) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
At the beginning of May, PI Kinsey Millhone is hired by a woman named Irene to track down her mother. The two usually talk one a month, but it’s been several months since they last talked. Before Kinsey can head out to the Salton Sea area, she gets words that a dangerous criminal is vowing revenge on the people who put him away, and one of those people is Kinsey. She does take the threat seriously. Should she? Will it complicate her search for the missing woman?
I was hoping with two parallel plots that they would build off each other. That doesn’t happen quite as well as I would have liked. In fact, the book begins to drag in the middle, although it certainly picks up near the end. We get to know another supporting character pretty well here, which in turn lets us get to know Kinsey better, which I love.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/04/book-review-g-is-for-gumshoe-by-sue.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I was hoping with two parallel plots that they would build off each other. That doesn’t happen quite as well as I would have liked. In fact, the book begins to drag in the middle, although it certainly picks up near the end. We get to know another supporting character pretty well here, which in turn lets us get to know Kinsey better, which I love.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/04/book-review-g-is-for-gumshoe-by-sue.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated J Is for Judgment in Books
Apr 21, 2018
I Judge This to be Another Excellent Book
Kinsey is surprised to be hired once again by California Fidelity. They’ve just paid out a claim on Wendell Jaffe’s life insurance five years after his supposed dead at sea only to hear he’s been spotted down in Mexico. Kinsey locates Jaffe only to have him vanish again. Can she prove he is still alive?
This is another fantastic mystery. The characters are strong and help pull us in. The story itself has plenty of twists and turns before we reach the climax. We have some time for updates from the series regulars, and I love what is happening there. Kinsey also stumbles on a surprise in her personal life. I’m curious to see how this sub-plot plays out in future novels.
This is another fantastic mystery. The characters are strong and help pull us in. The story itself has plenty of twists and turns before we reach the climax. We have some time for updates from the series regulars, and I love what is happening there. Kinsey also stumbles on a surprise in her personal life. I’m curious to see how this sub-plot plays out in future novels.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated “N” is for Noose in Books
Jul 6, 2019
Overcomes a Slow Start to be Entertaining
P.I. Kinsey Millhone has been hired to ease the mind of a widow. No one is questioning that Tom Newquist died of a heart attack, something brought on by his poor health habits. However, his widow, Selma, is convinced that something was bothering her husband in the last few weeks of his life, and she needs to know what that was. The problem is, she has no clue where Kinsey might begin to look, and none of Tom’s friends or co-workers in the Nota Lake Sheriff’s office are willing to speak ill of the man or have any clue what might have been bothering him. So Kinsey digs into his life, hoping to find some thread she can unravel. Was Tom hiding something? Can Kinsey figure out what it was?
Since this is a mystery, you know that Kinsey will eventually uncover something. The key word here in eventually. The first part of the book is very slow, and we are over a quarter of the way in before we begin to see evidence that there is something for Kinsey to uncover. However, the further it goes along, the more we get drawn in to another great mystery, and by the climax I was glad I had stuck with the book. We do get a little time in Kinsey’s native Santa Teresa, and it is nice to see the series regulars however briefly. Not that this book is lacking strong characters. The new cast are outstanding and help pull us into the story even before the plot takes off. While I don’t recommend this book as an introduction to the series, I think series fans will be thankful they stuck with the book until the end.
Since this is a mystery, you know that Kinsey will eventually uncover something. The key word here in eventually. The first part of the book is very slow, and we are over a quarter of the way in before we begin to see evidence that there is something for Kinsey to uncover. However, the further it goes along, the more we get drawn in to another great mystery, and by the climax I was glad I had stuck with the book. We do get a little time in Kinsey’s native Santa Teresa, and it is nice to see the series regulars however briefly. Not that this book is lacking strong characters. The new cast are outstanding and help pull us into the story even before the plot takes off. While I don’t recommend this book as an introduction to the series, I think series fans will be thankful they stuck with the book until the end.