Q is for Quarry

Rating:
Summary: Q is for not Quite up to par
Review: I have read all the books in Sue Grafton's alphabet series and have enjoyed each one. Q is for Quarry wasn't as good as I had hoped. I felt the pace was rather slow moving, between her "partners" illnesses and hospitalizations and the never ending saga of Kinsey and her new found, wealthy extended family, which I feel is being dragged out too slowly. I couldn't wait to finish the book, it seemed too long, and then all of a sudden, it was over. After a book chock full of needless details about fast food meals and all the other details Ms. Grafton always includes, the ending was abrupt.

Rating:
Summary: What a ride!
Review: This was my first "Kinsey Millhone" story. I found it to be a very enjoyable read. Sue Grafton hooked me right from the start. I loved the fact that I was surprised by the identity of the killer. I had gone in another direction. The story was extremely compelling. Adding the composite of the real victim at the end was most touching. After reading "Q", I can now see that I am going to having a very 'alphabet' summer!!!

Rating:
Summary: A nice, middling Grafton
Review: This is a very fun Grafton. She's picked up the pace a little again and added to some of the memorable characters that surround Kinsey. She also allows us a little more of a glimpse into Kinsey's very fractured past. The fun thing about this book is that it was based on a true story, which, unfortunately has remained unresolved. But Grafton has taken the facts from that case and fashioned a very plausible little twisty story that makes you glad that the alphabet isn't shorter.

Rating:
Summary: --An Engaging Story--
Review: Sue Grafton gives us her 17th Kinsey Millhone story in Q IS FOR QUARRY. I've read the entire series, and have enjoyed each and every book. It's not necessary to read every book in this series to understand the story, but if you like good mysteries, start with the first book and read them all. I guarantee you'll have lots of entertaining reading if you do.

This time Kinsey works with two retired police detectives who hire her to help them investigate an old mystery that they were never able to solve. In the previous eighteen years, a young Jane Doe was stabbed to death. The mysterious woman was never identified and her body never claimed. The detectives want one more chance to find the killer and perhaps identify the woman.

As usual, the author takes us into the life of private detective Kinsey Millhone, who at age 36 is set in her ways, and quite a character. She loves fast food, has a rather odd assortment of friends and lives an unglamorous, but nevertheless interesting life. Kinsey has her own kind of tomboy charm and she's still trying to figure out her life and her past.

This story is loosely based on a true murder case.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious, Flat, Plodding
Review: I enjoyed Grafton's earlier books immensely, but the last few have been kind of iffy.... some good and some bad. I was hesitant to invest in this one, but the premise sounded interesting. It could have been a good story, but I found myself struggling to get through it. I thought it was just me...maybe too many distractions just now. But after reading some of the other customer reviews, I see that I was not alone. There are the usual tedious descriptions of life's minutia common to Grafton's books, but what is worse, the entire story is flat and plodding without any spark. If this was a debut novel by an unknown author, it would go straight to the discount table in the bookstore. Only Grafton's name and past reputation are responsible for this book being a bestseller.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe not her greatest, but it's worth reading/listening to!
Review: I'm not into heavy mysteries. That's why Sue Grafton can do no wrong for me as a beginning reader of mysteries. Kinsey Milhone is a delightful female detective; her adventures and escapades are interesting and the forward movement of the plot is adequate to hold my attention as in Q is for Quary. I don't get lost in a maze of characters nor am I bogged down with "spicy" sex. I especially enjoy her books on tape. As I travel, I listen to many of her books and have always enjoyed Kinsey. She is a favorite and I am ever looking forward to her new adventures. I have read or listened to almost all the ABC mysteries by Sue Grafton and have enjoyed them immensely. As for the older detectives, and their relationship, their habits and aches and pains--so common with folks in their senior years - most believable!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book One
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book Two

Rating:
Summary: Spellcheck's no substitute for proofreading
Review: I like Grafton's books, and always look forward to them, but this one is full of bloopers that passed the computer spellcheck, but that are correctly-spelled wrong words. It happened at least 15 times, maybe more -- I'm a fast reader, so I finished this book in 24 hours, and these hit me one after the other -- very irritating and distracting. Somebody ought to be proofreading for diction before books go to print -- I come across this pattern of bloopers more and more frequently these days.

As far as Grafton's story is concerned, the solution struck me as "out of left field" not only as I encountered it, but even after I finished the book. When I read the explanation for the source of the story, I realized that this was something less than Grafton's usual tightly plotted works of imagination and, instead, something tailored to a troublingly unresolved actual crime. This was a less successful book, in my opinion, than her others.

I am enjoying Kinsey's journey toward reconciliation, however. I look forward to more of that.

Rating:
Summary: Not Grafton's best effort
Review: I have read all of the alphabet series, in order, including Grafton's newest, Q is for Quarry. I was quite disappointed to find it not nearly as entertaining as any of the previous entries. I have to agree with the other reviewers voicing the opinion that the author is feeling pressed to keep churning out these books.

I thought the characters were one-dimensional and I couldn't get into the story. I read all of the other books in a day or so, but it took me two weeks to get through this one. Definitely not a page-turner. There was little involvement of Kinsey's landlord (Henry) and his sister-in-law Rosie, who I particularly like. To me, the book was flat and I got the impression that the author was just "phoning it in." I will continue to read Grafton to see if the next effort is better, as I have liked her work a lot up til now.

Rating:
Summary: I think this may be my favorite "Sue Grafton"
Review: So many authors write decreasingly well as time goes on, no doubt burning out from the pressure to write a blockbuster each year. Sue Grafton is *not* in this category. I thoroughly enjoyed Q is for Quarry and think it is just as good -- and probably better -- than earlier works (which for the most part I also enjoyed). This witty and fast paced book tells the story of Kinsey teaming up with two retired police detectives -- good buddies, each of whom has health problems that the other worries about -- to solve a "cold" case of a teenage girl found dead near a quarry. No-one knows who the victim is, let alone who killed her or why. The characterization is very vivid, particularly the emphasis on the friendship between the detectives. This is wittier than some of Sue Grafton's earlier works. The plotting is excellent, although (and perhaps I was reading too quickly) I sometimes couldn't figure out quite how they got from A to B -- although much of the plot does involve following hunches.

I sent my copy on to a person who doesn't read mysteries -- I hope she makes an exception for this one.

Rating:
Summary: Q is worth reading, despite Quibbles
Review: Grafton has crafted a tightly written novel around some real life facts that differs from her other "Alphabet" mysteries. Q is for Quarry is based upon a real life murder victim, whose identity has never been established. Kinsey is working with two retired cops in trying to resolve this 18 year old case. (The novel is set in 1987) Numerous characters fill the pages as the story line slowly unfolds, old secrets are uncovered, and the clues pile up pointing to a few likely suspects. The suspence is hardly spine tingling, but the story line is well written and the characters are believable. Most of the action takes place in the far southeast corner of California, unlike most of the other novels is this series. And quite a bit is written about Kinsey's long ignored relatives early in the book, who are familiar with the crime scene's quarry, only to be mostly forgotten in the last half of the book.(R is for Reunion?) Grafton also spends a lot of time on people doing every day chores - ironing, dusting, washing dishes, even grocery shopping. This seems odd to me. Anyway, I enjoyed reading the book!