I always eagerly await the next book in Author Sue Grafton’s alphabet mysteries. This one was no different, following the same cast of characters as in the previous 21 novels. The main character, Kinsey Milhone, is investigating a decades old kidnapping. The book’s setting flips from chapter to chapter from the present (1988) back to the time of the kidnapping (1966).
In U there is again a little more of an uncovering of Kinsey Milhone’s personal past which helps the reader to understand why Kinsey reacts to situations in certain ways.
The book was good. It remained true to the series. I thought that the conclusion of the mystery was a bit abrupt and could have been developed more. When reading U, one of the things that was in the back of my mind was the fact that since the novels are in sequential order and just a few months between each, time moves very slowly. The character and time, once current, are now twenty years ago. I consider how Grafton must have to constantly fact check as she is writing as if it were the ‘80s. It must be difficult to keep that in perspective as she writes.
--Carolyn Hirst-Loucks
