Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29987 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-27
• Released on: 2007-11-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
California PI Kinsey Millhone, hired to investigate the disappearance of a client's eccentric, elderly mother, must also evade a vengeful criminal whom she helped put away four years earlier. "Grafton creates . . . a twist in the complex plot to tease Bronte fans, and a new, vulnerable side to the still-sardonic Kinsey," said PW. "The only complaint is that it ends abruptly." Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Feisty private investigator Kinsey Millhone continues to solve mysteries, in this case finding and taking an elderly woman to a nursing home near her daughter. But the lady mysteriously disappears within hours of her arrival. Painfully aware of the fact that a contract has been arranged for her own murder, Kinsey unravels the events of the past clue by clue, narrating the action-filled story in a realistic, easy-to-read, informal style. Less motivated students are sure to appreciate a character with a respectable, exciting job without having had a college education; although Kinsey had police training, her bodyguard freely admits he left high school but later took an equivalency test. This light mystery maintains interest to the end; everything happens quickly. --Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Vickie Sears
Kinsey Milhone is a thirty-three-year-old self-employed, twice-divorced private investigator - a witty, philosophical woman who wears jeans and tennis shoes and cuts her own hair every six weeks with a nail scissors: "If I were asked to rate my looks on a scale of one to ten, I wouldn't. I have to say, however, that I seldom wear makeup, so whatever I look like first thing in the morning at least remains consistent as the day wears on." As "G" is for Gumshoe opens, Kinsey is hired for what appears to be a simple case: to find Agnes Gray, Irene Gersh's missing mother. Shortly thereafter, a friendly district attorney warns Kinsey there is a contract out on her life because of her involvement in another case, and suggests she hire Robert Dietz, a burned out private investigator, for protection. Within a few pages, Sue Grafton presents multiple plot lines which she masterfully weaves together with tantalizing clues, fast action, and upbeat dialogue. Mrs. Gray is pursued, found, lost, found, and dies while dropping clues as secretive as her nature about a crime committed in 1940. The situation with the hit man turns out to be more complicated than anticipated; so, too, is Kinsey's relationships with Robert Dietz, and the pace flies as Kinsey finds her answers and the hit man finds her. Kinsey is sharp and womanly, and her cases are thought-provoking and full of excitement. When Kinsey signs off the novel with her characteristic "Respectfully submitted," it is like leaving a much-loved friend at the end of a delicious afternoon. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.

Customer Reviews

"G" is for "Not" Great
Prior to picking up this book, I had just finished a sweeping historical saga/soap opera kind of book (The Winter Rose) and was definitely looking for a break. I scanned my bookcase and thought that it might be the right time for a visit with Kinsey Malone. I always read this series in order and "G" was next on the list. So with an open mind, I wanted to see what Kinsey has been up to.

These books usually start off good and I particularly loved reading about her refurbished/remodeled garage apartment. That's one thing about Grafton...she loves to describe things. You never walk into a room in one of her books without knowing everything that's in it. Sometimes I think this is a cop-out where the descriptions fill up the page because there isn't much of a story there.

Within the first few chapters, we're apprised of Kinsey's latest job. She's to find someone's elderly mother and oh, by the way, there's a hitman after her. The good thing about the hitman is that it introduces us to Dietz, someone Kinsey hire's as a bodyguard. Finally there's someone in her life who's telling her what to do. As faithful fans, the reader knows this is something she has a very hard time dealing with because no one likes their independence more than Kinsey. Since the relationship turns into something more than a working one, I'm sure we'll see more of him in future "letters".

Speaking of letters, it's a good thing there's so many letters in the alphabet because at least we know Kinsey is going to make it through to the end of the book. But with all the ridiculous things she does, it's amazing she's still alive. In this book, she knows there's a hitman after her and she even hires a bodyguard to protect herself yet, time and again, she's sneaking off on her own which defeats the whole purpose of a bodyguard.

This entire story was so convoluted and when it was finally solved at the end, I didn't even understand it. I was then going to reread the end a few times but decided the book wasn't even worth it. This was definitely not one of Grafton's best. The story is weak and the ending is definitely not satisfying. So with "H" up next, I'm hoping it doesn't stand for "horrendous."

The second reading was simply delightful!
I've just read 'G is for Gumshoe' a second time and, without doubt, Miss Grafton has a pinnache for spinning excellent reads. Her 'funky' attitude about life makes nearly every offering in this series more fun that its predecessor. I love Kinsey Millhone and Sue Grafton.

Indifferent
This was the first book I picked up for the Alphabet Mysteries. I listened to the audio book version of this story. I was told that each story is basically a "stand alone" story, not really relying on the previous one to build on it, so I just dove right in with the letter G, because that was the CD audio book they had my library. ;) I wanted to love the book and I wanted to really be interested in the story. But I really wasn't. It was interesting enough, and it had enough of a story and a mystery, but it seemed like a very convoluted way to get to the story, too many switch-a-roos and stories that seemed to sprout out of nowhere. I can't say I hated the story, but I certainly didn't fall in love with it. Sometimes the narrator of the audio book makes a difference, and I didn't find the woman's voice who was narrating the book to be very pleasant. It was almost whiskey smoker sounding, so it didn't sound like it was coming from a 30ish year old woman, but rather a 50ish bar hopper. The narrator was very excited when the story called for it, so I have to give her credit for her enthusiasm when reading particularly exciting passages. I have 3 more books on CD from this series, so I am hoping that one of them really hooks me and I love it. I have high hopes because it wasn't a bad story, just not a great story.