I is for Innocent

Let's do the math together. "A" was the first Kinsey Millhone mystery, "B" was the second .ÿ20.ÿ20. (thank God for calculators), and "I" is the ninth. If the titles seem like a marketing gimmick, well, so be it. Millhone, who operates solo out of Santa Teresa, California, is one of the few quirk-free PIs in print today. Mix the plodding, question-'em-all methodology of Lew Archer with the Spenser wit, and toss in a pleasantly eccentric gaggle of recurring secondary neighbors {{ }}a la Nero Wolfe, for a completely modern amalgam of traditional genre elements. This time Millhone is hired to gather witnesses and facts for a civil suit. Her client is the ex-husband of a woman murdered six years earlier. The victim's estranged husband was indicted but subsequently cleared--seems the jury couldn't move past reasonable doubt. Now the ex, thinking of the child he had with the victim, is suing to prevent the alleged killer from squandering the victim's considerable fortune. Remember, in civil suits it's the "preponderance of evidence" that carries the day. Millhone pokes and prods among friends, neighbors, and associates; retraces the steps of the original investigator; and uncovers a tenuous connection between the murder and a very cold hit-and-run killing. Millhone leavens the inquiries with a brief fantasy involving a married hunk, a little obsessive housecleaning, and some observations on octogenarian romance. Clever plot, neat conclusion, prime Grafton. Let's see now, "J" is for . . . (Reviewed Mar. 15, 1992)0805010858Wes Lukowsky

After the pace and invention of ``H'' Is for Homicide, Grafton sets Kinsey Milhone on a quieter, more cerebral path in the ever-appealing PI's newest abecedarian adventure, again set in Santa Teresa, Calif. When fellow PI Morley Shine dies of a heart attack, Kinsey takes over the task of gathering evidence for a local lawyer who is prosecuting architect David Barney. Six years earlier, Barney was acquitted of murder charges in the still-unsolved death of his wealthy estranged wife Isabel, killed by a bullet fired through the peephole of her front door. Now Isabel's first husband, Ken Voigt, hoping to strip the architect of the fortune he inherited, is charging Barney with Isabel's wrongful death in a civil court, where less stringent evidence is required for conviction. Quickly finding holes in Shine's investigation, Kinsey uncovers a slew of suspects in Isabel's murder, including Voigt's second wife, Barney's first wife, Isabel's less attractive twin sister and even her best friend. Kinsey determines that Shine's death was not straightforward, solves the mystery of another years-old death and comes under direct fire herself before she finally, nearly too late, figures out who is the threat. There's much to enjoy here as Kinsey's octogenarian landlord Henry endures a visit from his fastidious older brother and romance blooms for neighborhood tavern owner Rose. But Kinsey may be voicing fans' hopes for ``J'' when she reflects midway through this case: ``I wanted to feel like the old Kinsey again . . . talkin' trash and kickin' butt.'' 300,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Mystery Guild main selections. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

California's formidable p.i. Kinsey Millhone (``A'' Is for Alibi, etc.), fired from her comfortable berth with Fidelity Insurance, now rents office space from busy Santa Teresa lawyer Lonnie Kingman. His usual outside investigator Morley Shine has died of a heart attack, and he hires Kinsey to take over the case that Morley was working on. It involves the upcoming trial of David Barney, acquitted of the six-year-old murder of his wife, Isabelle, but now being sued for wrongful death in civil court by Isabelle's first husband, Ken Voigt. Voigt, represented by Lonnie Kingman, is sure that Barney killed Isabelle and wants to keep her considerable fortune out of his hands. Lonnie thinks he has a strong case, buoyed by damning new evidence from drifter Curtis McIntyre. But what Kinsey finds as she begins to probe is a surprising number of people with reasons to hate Isabelle--among them Voigt's second wife, Francesca, and Isabelle's business mentor Peter Weidmann and his overprotective wife, Yolanda. She also uncovers curious gaps in Morley's files and begins to question his ``heart attack,'' as Lonnie's seemingly solid case collapses bit by bit, with her own life on the line in the gritty finale. A sober, resolute Kinsey, romanceless at the moment, and a clever, meaty puzzle--for which the publisher plans a 300,000 first printing. Rack up another winner for Grafton. (Literary Guild Split Dual Selection for July)