Author: Sue Grafton
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July, 2004
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/10
Description: Reba Lafferty was a daughter of privilege, the only child of an adoring father. Nord Lafferty was already in his fifties when Reba was born, and he could deny her nothing. Over the years, he quietly settled her many scrapes with the law, but he wasn't there for her when she was convicted of embezzlement and sent to the California Institute for Women. Now, at thirty-two, she is about to be paroled, having served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence. Nord Lafferty wants to be sure she stays straight, stays at home and away from the drugs, the booze, the gamblers.
It seems a straightforward assignment for Kinsey: babysit Reba until she settles in, make sure she follows all the rules of her parole. Maybe a week's work. Nothing untoward—the woman seems remorseful and friendly. And the money is good.
But life is never that simple, and Reba is out of prison less than twenty-four hours when one of her old crowd comes circling round.
My Thoughts: Overall, this is a decent series but it’s starting to lag for me. I like Kinsey but while reading this book about Kinsey’s latest job of picking up a convicted felon released from prison on parole fell short of the mark for me. I felt Kinsey’s tenacious skills as a private investigator were wasted with this babysitting job. The few interactions Kinsey has in the book with Henry left me unsettled as well. With a long-running series, there needs to be definitive character development and growth. As we near closer to the end of the alphabet, it doesn’t feel like there’s much growth.
There wasn’t a lot of mystery with this story but I am hoping that will change with the next book. There is potential in R for a new relationship for Kinsey and I think it’s time. Let’s face it…Henry isn’t going to live forever and when that time comes, Kinsey is going to need people around her to help her pick up the pieces and cope. I get that in Kinsey’s line of work, being a loner is part of the job, but I would enjoy seeing Kinsey’s circle of friends increase beyond Rosie and the gang. I would enjoy seeing Kinsey finally settle down and start a family!
For the record, I did like Reba Lafferty more than I thought I would. I was expecting her to be a nasty piece of work, but she surprised me several times in the story. Even when she screws up and slides backwards, you don’t get the sense she’s a bad person, just a messed up girl who gets mixed up with the wrong people and makes bad choices.
I will see this series through to the end since I’ve come this far. I really like Kinsey and want to find out what happens next but I’m not champing at the bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment