Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Strong mystery and characters
Cons: Slows down a bit at one point
The Bottom Line:
Hunting for an heir
Gives Kinsey family drama
Another great book
Malice Among the Maleks
I have officially crossed the line to the second half of the
Kinsey Millhone series, and I’m sad about it.
I am really enjoying this PI’s cases and watching her life unfold. “M” is for Malice is another great example of why.
Kinsey fully intends to turn down her latest client. It’s not that she doesn’t need the work, but
she has no interest in getting to know her recently discovered cousins, and one
of them, Tasha Howard, has called asking to hire her. However, the case appeals to her too much, so
she takes it. The owner of Malek
Construction recently passed away, and the only will anyone can find leaves his
money to his four sons. The problem is
that no one has heard from his son Guy in almost twenty years, ever since he
was kicked out of the family’s home after too many brushes with the law. He was also supposed to have been written out
of the will, but no one can find that newer will.
No one has heard from Guy in all these years, and no one
knows where he was even headed when he left, so to say the trail is cold is
putting it mildly. Can Kinsey figure out
what happened to Guy? Is he even still
alive?
I’m sure it is no surprise to anyone familiar with the
series to say that the hunt of Guy only serves to introduce Kinsey to the Malek
family and plenty of family drama. This
series excels at family drama, and uses it to weave complications to
mysteries. It is exceptionally well done
here. Yes, things do slow down a bit in
the middle, but I was still pulled into the story because I was expecting, and
dreading, what was coming next. I
thought I had things figured out a little early, but author Sue Grafton managed
to confuse me again before everything got wrapped up.
As always, Kinsey is the star of the book. She’s again found herself taking a case that
makes her examine the way she relates to the people in her life. A sub-plot involving an ex coming back into
her life really help with that as well.
The growth is slow, but she is at least asking the right questions of
herself.
Not to say that the rest of the cast aren’t strong. Sue Grafton could create a character with
just a few sentences, and these characters are proof of that. There are a few series regulars, and I
enjoyed seeing them, but the bulk of the time is spent with the characters
related to the case, who shine.
When Kinsey’s path crosses some Christians, I started to
wince, expecting them to turn out to be hypocrites or extremists. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they
were presented in a positive light, which unfortunately seems to be rare in
fiction.
I’m still listening to the series on audio, and once again
the book I listened to was narrated by Mary Peiffer. I find her take on Kinsey and the rest of the
characters to be delightful. She
definitely helps pull me into the world of the books.
“M” is for Malice
is another strong case for Kinsey and an enjoyable ride for us.
If you haven’t discovered the alphabet cases of Kinsey, here
they are in order.
This review is part of this weeks Friday's Forgotten Books.
Great review. This was one of my Grafton favorites, and like you, I was pleasantly surprised to see people of faith portrayed positively.
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