Rating: 
Summary: At least this one has a plot.
Review: Yes, it has a plot, but it's an old one rekindled, with no new quirks to whet the reader's appetite. Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in California, aged 37, twice divorced. Branching out on her own - more or less - for the first time and to help and old friend of a friend - Kinsey takes on an eighteen year old unsolved murder case. Stacey Oliphant was one of the original investigating officers, but not even the victim's name ever surfaced. Now, Stacey has retired from the sheriff's department and has non Hodgkin's lymphoma. It's for Stacey that private detective Con Dolan requests Kinsey's help with the case. Both Stacey and Con had found the body originally and investigated the original case. I never quite understood why Kinsey Millhone was selected to help in this case, and I never got used to her being a woman and Stacey being a man, it confused me. This book is a quarry in itself. It's dusty, old, dry, and full of bones. Any mystery writer could dream this one overnight. What's next? R is for Read me - PLEASE?
Rating: 
Summary: Quintessential!
Review: I can hardly wait until each new offering is available. They are scooped up as they debut. My brother and sister feel the same.
Rating:
Summary: Should "Q" Stand for Quit?
Review: After reading so many of Grafton's books and enjoying the devil-may-care personality of P.I. Kinsey Milhorne, I was very disappointed in this book. There are so many characters ,I was hardly able to keep up with who was who, and why, and none of them were appealing anyway. In this book, Kinsey teams up with her old pal, Con ,from the police force.He later has the heart attack he too obviously deserves from all the overly mentioned cigarette smoking and alcohol imbibing.A third member of the ensuing investigation and a close friend and mentor of Con's, Sheriff's Dept. retiree, Stacey Oliphant, is dying of cancer. Con feels if the three of them join forces to solve an old case of Stacey's, it will pull him out of his depressed state and give him something to think about .The setting , mainly in windblown, dreary, one horse, mobile home towns with names like Creosote,AZ or was it CA? did nothing for me either.Hope Grafton can have a rest between books and rejuvenate her high spirits which are probably evident in her main character.
Rating: 
Summary: I love the alphabet series, but this one mis-fired
Review: Some of the other reviewers have said Kinsey's personality changed in this book, but I didn't notice that. What I did notice, however, was a lengthy story that plodded along at a much slower pace than most of the alphabet books. Kinsey did express some disgust with Hungarian cooking, for the first time. I'm sorry, but I couldn't get very excited about a couple of old retired cops re-opening an 18 year old murder case. I used to enjoy the antagonism between Kinsey and Con Dolan, but in this book, it was if they were lifelong best friends. There was little tension in the entire book until the very end, which went out with a bit of a wimper. As a side note, I sensed as I was reading the book that Ms Grafton may be tiring of writing the series, and this may be her last book. I hope not.
Rating:
Summary: New Dimensions of Kinsey's Family in a Reality-Based Mystery
Review: This book is essential reading for all Kinsey Millhone fans! Ms. Grafton has outdone her usual brilliance. She has taken a marvelous series and made it better by adding two new elements to her well-honed heroine and typical plot. The first new element is that you will learn a lot more about what was going on in Kinsey's family before, during and after she was born. This new information will provide the basis for many satisfying plot complications in future to expand your enjoyment. If you skip this book, the next books in the series probably won't work as well for you. The second new element is basing her mystery on an actual unsolved homicide in Santa Barbara County, California in August 1969. As a result, we can all speculate along with Ms. Grafton about what really happened. If the real case is ever solved, we can also see how close she and we came to the right answer. By including four forensic reconstructions of the real victim, readers can also potentially help identify the victim. It's one thing to make up one's own neat little mysteries. It's a much grander and exciting thing to take on the real thing. I hope that Ms. Grafton will create other reality-based mysteries in the future. As the book opens, Kinsey is about to turn 37 in four weeks . . . and is in a little more reflective mood than usual. Soon some of that's dispelled when she takes on a new role as leg woman for Lieutenant Dolan and Stacey Oliphant, who originally investigated killing of the stabbed and dumped young female victim in 1969 at Grayson Quarry on Highway 1 in Lompoc. Stacey had retired from the Sheriff's Department eight years earlier, but is back working part time on cold cases. This one?s lack of closure has always bothered him. He's suffering from a bad case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from which the odds against recovery are long. Dolan and Oliphant have known each other for forty years, and Dolan wants to help his friend regain his zest for life. As you can imagine, Kinsey doesn't like direction from anyone and working for men of retirement age who are more than old enough to be her father is a challenge. Oliphant is 73 and Dolan is 63. To that, you can add the complications of illness and lack of physical vigor. It's a whole new set of challenges for Kinsey. There were several aspects of the story that especially appealed to me. First, Kinsey's disconnection from her family has seemed somewhat artificial to me over the prior books. How many people do you know who are so distant from most of their living relatives? By beginning to make some connections, Kinsey will become a more interesting character. For instance, what would Stephanie Plum's appeal be without her family? Second, some writers overdo family connections over time. The Amelia Peabody series seems to be bordering on that problem now. The books then become more about the family than about the story. Ms. Grafton has wisely avoided that. Third, Kinsey is working with people whom she normally would not have as colleagues. That also provides lots of new scope for her as a character and the chance to introduce interesting new characters. Both aspects of this book were successful. Fourth, part of the book also takes place in the Southern California desert, which is a rich counterpoint for the usual Santa Teresa surroundings in these novels. Having grown up near that area, I loved her treatment of desert life there. It's one of the best I have seen. After you finish this story, think about some part of your family with whom you've never had much contact or have lost touch with. Give them a call and get together. Find out what you've been missing!
Rating: 
Summary: Thank the Book Gods for Sue Grafton !
Review: It seems most of Grafton's fans who are complaining about this novel are basically saying they don't like the fact that she mixed non-fictional events with fiction to create this story. Maybe they can't accept the fact that Grafton has created such a believable and enjoyable "world of Kinsey" and they don't want any real-life intrusions to interupt this world. Although I can't blame them, for Kinsey's world is truly one of the most satisfying and rewarding worlds I've had the honor of visiting, I can't agree when they say this is a mediocre novel. Once again, in her extremely impressive style, Ms. Grafton has delivered another intriguing and pleasing story. This is the 17th book in the Kinsey series, and I personally find it mind-blowing that this superb author has kept this entire series in the good to great to spectacular range. I can not think of another author (no, not even King) who has written 10 winners in row....let alone 17 !!! This is truly an incredible feat. The most amazing and rewarding part is that Grafton has never once insulted her fan's intelligence. When I read the other current and popular mystery writers' work in between the Alphabet series, like Patterson, Sandford and Cornwell, I very often find myself moaning and groaning over some very silly, unbelievable and improbable situations and dialog. Grafton has never once faltered in this department, and personally, I think she deserves an "Author of the Century" award for being so consistent and showing the utmost respect for her fans. She also deserves an award for the most gifted sense of humor, out of all authors and all genres. She has never slipped into "silly territory" like so many authors do. Her humor remains fresh and truly funny. I would highly recommend reading "Q is for Quarry" to experience all of the above praises. It is indeed a great novel and clearly demonstrates that the author has enough intelligence, ideas, and gusto to complete the entire alphabet without losing one ounce of steam. One of the greatest authors of our time, PERIOD !
Rating:
Summary: I Love Kinsey Milhone!
Review: I'm not into mysteries! I don't care for overly-complicated plot constructions. But from the first ABC mystery, I became a fan of Sue Grafton. Her work is uncomplicated, straight-forward and easy to follow as she limits her characters and slowly introduces new ones to the reader. Kinsey is my pal and whatever she does and wherever she goes, I'm right there with her.
Great read!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three
Rating:
Summary: Back in form.
Review: Grafton has done it again. And her style is still refreshing. Kinsey not only demonstrates she is capable of helping out someone she has a professional relationship with, she gets a little closer to her estranged family as well. Read on, you will like this one. Lets just hope Grafton doesn't fissile out before she finishes the alphabet.
Rating: 
Summary: Q is for I wish I'd quit reading this book
Review: This is the first of Grafton's books I've read, and it has an interesting plot idea, but wow, does she miss the mark. Grafton has a plodding writing style that leeches any suspense out of the pages that left me very disappointed. Not one I could recommend at all.
Rating:
Summary: Another great one.
Review: I have read the entire series to date and greatly anticipate the release of each one...however I was disappointed with P. Because of that I was leary of Q...and wonderfully surprised. I felt that Q brought back the pace that I felt was missing in P. If you felt P was missing something...Q is better...trust me.
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