Book Review: "C" is for Corpse by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Amazing characters; twisting mystery

Cons: Solution a tad obvious early

The Bottom Line:

Attempt on his life

Brings new client to Kinsey

Fun twists for readers

Accident or Murder?

I really began to enjoy the audio book rotation I was on in 2015, listening to some non-cozy authors I kept meaning to read, and I fully intend to continue doing this in 2016.  I’m starting the year off right with "C" Is for Corpse, the third Kinsey Millhone book by Sue Grafton.  And it’s quite the ride.

Kinsey is working out at the gym when she is approached by Bobby Callahan.  Bobby is there doing his rehab, trying to gain as much of his life back as he can after a horrific accident he’d had 10 months before.  It was an accident that he shouldn’t have survived, and the fact that he is walking at all is a major miracle.

However, Bobby doesn’t think it was an accident, and he thinks his life is still in danger.  Unfortunately, his memory of the time before the accident is vague at best, so he needs to hire Kinsey to fill in the gaps, no matter where they might lead.  Kinsey really likes Bobby, so she agrees to take him on as her client.  She’s just beginning to make progress when tragedy strikes again.  Can she figure out what happened all those months ago and how those secrets are playing out today?

The idea of finding out why someone tried to commit murder 10 months ago intrigued me, and the book definitely delivered on the promise.  I will say I figured things out a little bit before Kinsey did, but I was actually proud of myself for putting those pieces together, and that didn’t negate the thrill of the climax at all.

The series doesn’t have a lot of recurring characters, but Kinsey’s landlord actually gets his own sub-plot in this book when he gets a new love interest.  I enjoyed seeing a bit more of him.  Kinsey herself is a great character who can easily sustain a novel; I truly love her.  And Sue Grafton is a master at creating characters with just a few sentences, so we quickly get to know the cast she creates for this book.  It is actually fun to watch just how she does that.  These well crafted characters also draw us into the story, and we truly feel for them as the events unfold and secrets are revealed.

Once again, the audio version I listened to was narrated by Mary Peiffer.  She continues to do a fantastic job.  It’s a fine balance between over narrating a book vs. giving it some life and character, and she finds that balance perfectly.

I am quite happy to finally be visiting Kinsey, and it is easy to see why the series is so popular.  If you’ve missed "C" Is for Corpse, be sure to fix that today.

And once you read this book, you'll want to move on to the rest of the Kinsey Millhone mysteries in order.

This review is part of this week's Friday's Forgotten Books.