Product Description

Reba Lafferty was a daughter of privilege. Abandoned by her rebellious mother when she was an infant, she was the only child of a rich man already in his mid-fifties when she was born, and her adoring father thoroughly spoiled her. Now, at thirty-two, having had many scrapes with the law, she is about to be released on probation from the California Institution for Women, having served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence for embezzlement. Though Nord Lafferty could deny his daughter nothing, he wasn't there for her when she was brought up on this charge. Now he 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 niceties 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.

R is for Ricochet. And R is for romance: love gone right, love gone wrong, and matters somewhere in between.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116529 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-08
• Released on: 2004-07-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Amazon.com Review
When wealthy octogenarian Nord Lafferty hires Kinsey Millhone to help his newly paroled daughter find her way back to the straight and narrow after doing time for embezzlement, the Santa Teresa P.I. has no idea what she's getting into. Reba Lafferty's ex-boss, land developer Alan Beckwith, is the man who sent her to prison--so how come she's meeting him just hours after her release, and treating Kinsey to an X-rated reunion scene played out in his parked Mercedes? And why is he also playing sex games with Reba's formerly best friend, who still works for him? A visit from an old friend from the FBI clears up the mystery--Beckwith is suspected of running a money-laundering game, and they need Reba to make their case by rolling over on him. It’s not until Millhone presents Reba with photographic evidence of Beckwith's two-timing that she agrees to do what the Feds want... but she'll only do it her way, which could get a lot of people killed. Grafton fleshes out this well-crafted thriller with a romantic subplot involving a romantic triangle that features Kinsey's elderly landlord Henry, his brother, and a vivacious widow who can't seem to choose between them. It doesn't add much to the plot, but the fans of this evergreen series (who must be wondering what will happen to Millhone when Grafton gets to the end of the alphabet) probably won't mind a bit. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Grafton offers more of the same-old same-old in her less-than-inspired 18th Kinsey Millhone novel (after 2002's Q Is for Quarry). In this sexy adventure, the spunky hard-boiled detective has to escort the newly paroled Reba Lafferty, privileged ne'er-do-well, to her stately home, keeping her on the straight and narrow. Reba challenges the PI with her barely concealed hankerings for the now off-limits booze, gambling and charming Alan Beckwith, married real estate developer and former employer for whom Reba took a two-year barbwire vacation courtesy of the California Institution for Women. Lust is in the air as studly, stylish cop Cheney Phillips enters in his red Mercedes, fanning the flames with Kinsey, when Beckwith's activities catch the eye of the feds. Kinsey lends a supportive ear to her beloved 87-year-old landlord, smitten by a 70-year-old neighbor. Kinsey and Reba team up to get the goods on Beckwith, but reckless Reba has vengeful ideas of her own and more than once lands their collective fat in the fire. If the chemistry between Cheney and Kinsey seems forced at times, Grafton as usual creates believable and enduring characters and a strong sense of place in her town of Santa Teresa circa 1987. And that should be more than enough for most fans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Kinsey has been hired by a wealthy father to befriend his daughter upon her release from prison after serving a sentence for embezzling funds from her boyfriend/employer. It sounds easy, but the detective learns quickly that Reba's boss is still involved in a complex money-laundering scheme and is wanted by many federal law-enforcement agencies who want Reba to help them get evidence against him. Eventually she does, but there are problems leading to the exciting climax when the sleuth herself is kidnapped. Kinsey is young enough to appeal to teens; her lighthearted personality and witty asides amuse and entertain. Fans of this series will be pleased that she has a new boyfriend, but may be frustrated because her elderly landlord's family interferes.–Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Mediocre...
I have been with Sue Grafton since A is for Alibi, and the best that I can say about the 18th book in the Kinsey Milhone series, R is for Ricochet, is that it is mediocre. In Ricochet, Grafton is very short on plot and very long on tedious description. It's definitely not a riveting tale.

Wealthy, retired businessman, Nord Lafferty, hires Kinsey for a different kind of job. Nord has a ne'er-do-well daughter, Reba, who is about to be released from jail. Her sentence was for embezzling money from her job. Reba also has issues with alcohol, drugs and gambling. Kinsey is hired to serve as babysitter and chauffeur. Much to Kinsey's surprise, Reba is a likable sort, and Kinsey is drawn to help her-even after her assignment is finished. Milhone figures out that the embezzlement case is more than it seems, and the deeper she digs, the murkier the situation becomes.

But what makes this book a disappointment is the heavy dose of description. It's not just enough for Grafton to tell us that there are flowers in front of a house. She also has to regale us with what they are, what they look like (including height, color, etc.), how they smell, the sound of them rustling in the wind, and even their texture. A description of a toilet seat goes on for a paragraph. Enough already! It's like taking a bite of a big sandwich and finding very little meat. The subplots were also unnecessary. Henry's love interest (Kinsey's landlord) and his feud with his brothers is totally annoying and doesn't add one thing to this book. The story finally starts moving, but not until chapter 28.

Still, I gave R is for Ricochet 3 stars because even a mediocre Grafton is much better than a good effort by many mystery writers today. There is just too much fluff out there. So when "S" comes along, I'll give it a try (but maybe I'll wait for the paperback version next time).

Another Page-Turner from Sue Grafton
Kinsey Millhone's personal life is so dreary that even her octogenarian pal and landlord, Henry, is a social butterfly by comparison. At least Henry has a girlfriend. Kinsey's doldrums are lifted when she accepts what appears to be an easy-money assignment from a wealthy local resident. Pick up his errant daughter, Reba Lafferty, from prison. Make sure she registers with the parole board and stays away from booze, drugs and bad company for a few days until she gets back on her feet. A piece of cake, right?

Fans of Grafton's popular alphabet series will be nodding knowingly that the simplest assignment can turn from cake to hash in less time than it takes to open the box. Reba Lafferty turns out to be a handful. She has been spoiled rotten by an indulgent, elderly father who blames her downfall on bad choices in life and friends. These include not only alcohol and drugs but also embezzlement from her employer. Also, she has picked up some pretty interesting pals in prison, to no small concern of her father.

As Kinsey soon discovers, after peering through a hedge and observing a steamy reunion between Reba and her ex-employer within hours of her release from imprisonment for stealing money from his company, there's a whole lot more going on than meets the eye.

Meanwhile, Kinsey keeps running into an old flame, Cheney, from the FBI. Is it personal, business, or a little of both? She discovers that not only is the FBI trying to reel him in, but the IRS is hot on his tail. When details start to emerge on how big a fish Reba's former boss really is, it's all business --- at least until late hours keep Cheney and Kinsey working together and old embers start to rekindle.

Once Reba is convinced that her former boss has been using her --- and cheating on her to boot --- she's ready to help trip him up. Kinsey discovers that Reba has all the right instincts of a perfect private investigator: guts, brains, energy, the ability to lie to get what she wants, and motivation. In fact, she has Kinsey cowering in several exciting scenes of breaking and entering, chase and capture, which lead Kinsey into the line of fire. Reba would make a perfect sidekick for Kinsey in future books, except for one tiny thing --- she's a convicted felon.

Reba may be one of Grafton's more endearing creations. She has blown life into a secondary character, which often takes a back seat in a crime novel. But in R IS FOR RICOCHET, Reba outshines Kinsey and you're pulling for her all the way. You can almost feel Grafton's excitement when Reba comes on the scene.

Now if she could just jumpstart this novel with less meandering and lackluster descriptions, from highway directions and dull wardrobes to menus, R IS FOR RICOCHET would be right up there. Once it gets going, though, it's a page-turner.

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

Limping toward "Z"
In R IS FOR RICOCHET Kinsey is hired to babysit the daughter of a rich man who's just been released from prison. Reba Lafferty is a very needy and impulsive girl and Kinsey soon takes her under her wing. Eventually she learns that Reba had taken the rap for her money-laundering boyfriend.

We also get no fewer than three simultaneous romances. Henry, Kinsey's eighty-seven-year-old landlord, has fallen for a seventy-year-old woman whom he met on a cruise ship; Reba is still carrying a torch for Alan Beckwith, the money launderer, until she finds out he's been cheating on her with her best friend; and even usually celibate Kinsey falls into the sack with Cheney Phillips, a cop investigating the money-laundering scheme. Grafton handles the sex scenes rather well, concentrating more on what comes before and afterwards than the ex-rated details.

I've read about a half dozen of this alphabet series and if there's one thing I've learned it's that Grafton has an aversion to the jump cut. She's afraid to leave anything out, including Kinsey rearranging her underwear drawer; she should also get a promotional fee from MacDonald's, considering her love for the quarter pounder. There also comes a time in each of these mysteries where Grafton writes herself into a corner. In this one Kinsey and Reba are looking for a hidden room in Alan Beckwith's new office building. They find it but there's a keypad and they don't know the code. No sweat. Reba guesses the combination. Grafton deserves a big COME ON NOW, SUE for that one.

There's no doubt Grafton is limping toward "Z" but I'll keep on reading her just to find out what she does with "X". Xerox? X-ray? Xanadu?