Rating: 
Summary: She Asks the Right Questions
Review: Sue Grafton proves again that she is a superb stylist as well as a spinner of fine yarns. This one involves kinsey's ex-husband, former cop Mickey MacGruder, whom she walked out on a decade earlier, believing he had been involved in a beating death and then tried to get her to lie for him in order to cover it up. The surface story has Kinsey trying solve the msytery of why MacGruder was recently shot (he lies in a coma throughout the whole of the story); and the back story, perhaps the most compelling part of the book, takes us all the way back to the Viet Nam Conflict and sheds new light on the men who served in that war and an unsolved (and largely unknown) murder that is the key to solving all the subsequent murders. As usual, Kinsey learns that people are not what they seem to be. Your friend is your enemy; your enemy is your friend. As usual, the driving force, as in all of Grafton's books, is the need to know. She asks the questions, and we are forced to stick around to see their answers. This book begins with one that is simple yet engaging: Where did this box with all of my (Kinsey's) grade school papers come from? Answer: from your ex-husband, who let his storage lockbox payment lapse. Why didn't he pay it? Answer: He has been shot and is in a coma going on three months. Who shot him? Answer: The police think you did it, Kinsey. Me? I haven't seen the man in ten years. Why would they think I did it? Answer: Read the book. You won't be able to put it down. p.s. The minor characters in this book, like Henry and the two maiden sisters, are so charming as to be worth the price of the book, though Grafton does seem to have an inexplicable penchant for octogenarians.
Rating: 
Summary: Consistent Grafton
Review: Like many of the people here I've also read this whole series. I think Kinsey Millhone is my favorite among all of the female PI's that abound today and I find that Ms. Grafton is consistent in her portrayal from book to book. "O" is no exception to that. There were many things I liked about this book. The way it begins with Kinsey breaking into someone's house because she won't pay $10 for information is funny. Kinsey's outlook is just a little off-center and I find that amusing. So, I liked the book. However, after saying all of that I was disappointed in the ending. I hate it when the protagonist does something dumb just to advance the plot. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't read it yet, however, if you're being pursued by someone who has a gun and you're pretty sure this person means to harm you would you drive right past not one, but TWO Santa Teresa deputy cars and the LAPD detectives who are backing you up? I don't think so. This was clearly designed to end the book in a certain way at a certain place but it was done in an unbelievable way. With all of Ms. Grafton's expertise this surprised me. Good book anyway. Kinsey Millhone is head and shoulders above her other sisters in crime.
Rating:
Summary: V is for Very Good!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I've read other/most of the alphabet series by Sue Grafton and this is one of the best. Kinsey is such a realitic character and the humor wrapped in and around the mystery is a treat. One criticism I have is that many of the characters are so similar, plus we have a lot of fathers and sons with the same last name, so it can be confusing to keep it all straight.
Rating:
Summary: Peek into Kinsey's past
Review: Kinsey Millhone is a person I would like to know. She's quirky, intensely loyal and tenancious as a bulldog. Additionally, anyone who is brave enough to cut their hair with cuticle scissors is to be admired. I have every volume and I've enjoyed reading all of her adventures. I especially liked this book because we get a glimpse into Kinsey's past and begin to see why she acts/reacts to men and to tight situations the way she does. I read this book in two sittings and would recommend it to any other Grafton fans. To a new reader, however, I would recommend that the stories be read in order. Grafton builds something new into each one and, as they build, the reader begins to understand Kinsey and her slightly off-centered world. P.S. Ms. Grafton -- we need more of Henry....he's just too precious for words -- and because of his age, he might not be around/spry for the rest of the alphabet.
Rating:
Summary: The masterpiece
Review: Any Sue Grafton is 5 stars, but I think this is the best of the series. L is for Lawless was the funniest. B is for Burglar the most ingeniously plotted. Sometimes Grafton has a tendency to pick her culprit out of the hat with last-minute revelations just before the end. Here the plot builds up steadily to a logical climax and logical culprit.
This is the one about her her first husband, a cop falsely accused of killing. All the novels are self-contained but this is series that is well worth starting with A is for Alibi. It's kind of like reading Proust as characters reappear.
She likes to set every scene carefully. Buildings, weather, clothing, food and characters' physical appearance are all carefully described with details about how they look, how they sound and how they smell. Some readers may find this holds things up. Kinsey Milhone is put in peril at the end of each book and saved in the nick of time, and this sometimes gets implausible. The novels are all set within a fairly narrow times frame, in the 1980's (no cell phones or DNA evidence) and another implausibility is that of a private eye handling two or three murders a year, but if we worried about that we wouldn't be reading private eye stories anyway. Otherwise a perfect writer.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner in the alphabet of crime
Review: I discovered Sue Grafton in 1995. I have read all of her books and recommend that readers do the same to see how Kinsey develops from A to O. I have written to her and am on her mailing list for personal appearances and advance notices of new books. Sue is a great example of how to treat her readers. She respects us! What I love about her books is that there are a few sentences to tell you about Kinsey in each book. Even though you may have missed the other books, it doesn't take you long to learn about her. I love the idea that she has one black dress, has a neat apartment, nice landlord, etc. Her awful junk food choices washed down by a glass of Chardonnay are wonderful! She's the perfect person with one dress and a VW. I hope that Sue does not bring her up to date with cell phones, etc too soon. I've learned some great investigative tips from her. It's amazing what people will tell you over the phone when you play dumb or are less than truthful. No real crime here. Just a fact-finding mission. O for Outlaw was a good read. I didn't pick up who was the bad guy until late in story. Great ending as always. The little bits of info she puts in lead to a surprise ending. You think, "How did I miss that clue?" How can one say seriously, I'm awaiting "P"? What will that stand for?
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: O is for Outlaw Sue Grafton Henry Holt and Co. 1999 ISBN 0805059555 H.C. Mystery/Slueth This is the 15th installment of Kinsey Millhone, and this is the most personal case of all. Kinsey is contacted by Teddy Rich a storage locker scavenger who's come up with a box of old documents about herself that he is willing to sell her for $30.00, she talks him down to $20.00. In this book we find out all about Kinsey's first marriage to Mickey Magruder a vice cop who lost everything when he was accused of a murder 15 years ago. I had not had the pleasure of reading all 15 novels by Sue Grafton but if they are all like this one they are wonderful and I'll get the others to read, she has made a fan out of me. This book held me in suspense from the very beginning to the very end,with lots of left turns and plot twists to keep it fast paced and exciting. Kinsey discovers that she may of been wrong about her ex-husband, so she decides to look into the case herself even though it will put her in danger. The events flowed through in a timely manner and the ending tied up all the loose strings.
Rating:
Summary: Kinsey is at it again!
Review: I wanted to write this review while it was still fresh on my mind. I just finished O is for Outlaw and as usual was entertained. I was angry I had to leave for work with three chapters left and rushed home to finish it. This is classic Kinsey and I should know; I've read them all beginning with A is for Alibi. I have actually had the book since January. But I always wait on these books and savor it for a time when I can devote my full attention to it. Thrifty Kinsey Millhone pays twenty bucks (having bartered down from thirty) for a locker of her past momentos left by her ex-husband Mickey Magruder. She walked out on him when she thought he asked her to be his alibi for a murder he was accused of. They were both cops at the time and in her mind he had asked her to do the unthinkable. A letter turns up that gives Kinsey cause to think maybe she made a mistake about Mickey. Then a visit from L.A. cops reveal that Mickey is laying in the UCLA hospital, the victim of a gunshot. The plot thickens. You bet it does. Sudenly there are a cast of suspicious acting characters and as the reader you are left with the thought. Now what is going on here? A blonde ponytailed bike rider, a former barmaid turned rich matron, bar owners who may be involved in illegal activies. All of this makes for a diverse cast and rich mix of possibilities. Leave it to Sue Grafton to weave the twists and turns into an ending that will make you sigh and say, Now why didn't I think of that? When is P coming out?
Rating:
Summary: O if for Oustanding
Review: In this 15th serving of the alphabet mysteries, Grafton dishes up a tale of hidden past and murder, all carefully plotted against the complexity of her narrator's personality and good-humoured observations. O is for Outlaw rates as one of my favourite Grafton's novels--the adventure of Kinsey Millhone, peanut-butter sandwich fan and PI, takes on an unprecedent turn of facing a past she had put behind her for years. On the trail of solving another mystery, this time her own, she faces another upheal battle against evil in the shape of a too familiar face. Read this book if you've never read an alphabet mystery -- if you're a fan of Grafton, a lot of questions about Kinsey's past are revealed at last. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A solid member of this alphabetical family
Review: "O is for Outlaw" is not exceptional and it is not bad. I'd rate it a notch above average - not because of the quality of the mystery (it was average), but because of the quality of the characters. There were a number of interesting people, from the man who buys auctioned off storage garages to Dixie, the loose waitress turned loose rich hostess of parties to the elite to Mickey, Kinsey's mysterious ex-husband. More than enough suspects to keep the reader guessing!
I listened to "O is for Outlaw" as a book on tape and it was a great companion on my 45-minute drive to work. Judith Kaye reads all of them and she does a fabulous job!
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