The alphabet series: R is for ricochet

I've almost finished reading the entire Kinsey Millhone alphabet series by the late Sue Grafton. Each book is named after a letter of the alphabet and covers one of PI Kinsey's cases. Kinsey lives in the small fictional Californian town of Santa Teresa in the 1980s. She's one of my favourite book characters: independent, brave, and resourceful but also introverted and kind of dysfunctional. I find Kinsey intriguing and relatable, fleshed out by the cast of enduring eccentric characters who inhabit her personal life.

I love the 1980s setting! It's fun to read how Kinsey solves her cases in the pre-Internet days, using index cards to write case notes. She is without a mobile phone for constant communication so she has to use information gained from looking up hard copy public records. The 1980s setting is one of the star of the series as provides a unique take on the crime novel and the nostalgia is entertaining.

I've read reviews where readers lament Sue's detailed descriptions of people and places and I tend to agree with this assessment. She does use up a lot of words explaining these things, but I think it's her way of evoking a strong sense of the time period.

I've reviewed the R book in this post.

R is for ricochet | Published July 2004 | Read September 2023

In R is for ricochet, Kinsey ends up involved in a case of embezzlement, money laundering, and murder. All this from a seemingly simple request by a wealthy client to collect and watch over his 30-something daughter, Reba, upon her release from jail after a 22 month-stint of a four-year sentence for embezzlement.

As with all the alphabet novels, R is not especially complex, just a darn good story. There's a bit more than usual on the regular series characters, but I was OK with that as I've grown to know and love the peripheral players. I also loved Reba - smart, adventurous and unpredictable - and the friendship of sorts that develops with Kinsey who is usually prone to shy away from personal relationships.

Sadly, Sue passed away before the Z book could be written. Her daughter announced at the time of Sue's death that Z won't be written by a ghost writer out of respect for Sue's wishes. "The alphabet now ends at Y"🥹.

Kinsey Milhone series: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐