Q is for Quarry

Rating:
Summary: True Crime for Kinsey
Review: "Quarry" is loosely based on a 1969 Santa Barbara murder with a victim who remains unidentified to this day. Grafton became interested in this unsolved case and sponsored a forensic sculptor to do a likeness of the victim, which she included at the back of this book in hopes that someone will recognize the picture. This seems to be the year for big time mystery writers to take a hands-on interest in unsolved crimes what with Patricia Cornwell's six million dollar investment in the Jack the Ripper case.

Two retired detectives call in Kinsey Milhone to assist them in reopening the cold case of an unsolved murder of a Jane Doe victim. The trail leads the trio to small town Quorum CA. On the surface, Quorum is God-fearing and conservative, but appearances are deceiving, and soon Kinsey is up to her tumbled hairdo in suspects.

The book is a bit of a slow start to get everyone in place. I question the wisdom of having two cohorts that are both dying. Not only is it depressing, a lot of time is spent to and froing to emergency rooms and discussing diets and the horrors of smoking. I do not object at all to Grafton's love of placing senior citizens in her stories, I just wish she would be sure their health warranted the tasks she sets out for them. Like many other reviewers, I could do without the ongoing soap opera of Kinsey's rediscovered family. "Quarry" is back in the familiar groove after a really fine departure in "Peril" where Grafton extended her scope and vision. She does her usual fine job of characterization and descriptions that add so much to her novels. The plotting is excellent, and the ending is nicely surprising. I'm just hoping Kinsey can soon find a friend who is under 65.

Ms. Grafton heeded her fans. The final report is back in place, the whodunit is crystal clear with no ambiguity that might possibly make the reader think for a few minutes after closing the book, and the motives are straightforward with no complexities. This is the type Kinsey that pays the bills.
-sweetmolly-[Amazon.com] Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Best Grafton to date.
Review: With 17 books into the alphabet Sue Grafton has finally reached "Q" with Q is for Quarry. This book was inspired by an unsolved 1969 homicide. Grafton heard about the case a now retired forensic pathologist. Although fiction the book, with its roots in a real case, it is very interesting, highly readable novel. For this reviewer it is her best to date.

Rating:
Summary: Not the zest of earlier books in the series
Review: Please let me start out by saying that I do admire what Sue Grafton HAS done with this book; i.e., start a process that may finally solve an old murder and bring closure to the the parents, relatives, friends, et al of the unfortunate girl. This is very admirable.

With that said, I have found that this books lacks the zest, the non-stop fast-paced plotting of many of the earlier books in the series. It took a long, long time getting going, with a lot of exposition, and the sub-plot about the continuing revalation of information about Kinsey's own family really added nothing at all to the plot. It was like a story-within-a-story, with each totally unrelated to the other.

Of course when an author has a built-in following with a series as long as this one, there is a little more room for fleshing-out the tale because the pressure to come up with something that editors will find worth the money and effort to put into print is non-existant. But, unlike many of the other titles in the series, this one was definitely not a page-turner. In fact, I put it down for days at a time. There was no "can't wait to find out what happens next" element in this novel.

Sue Grafton is certainly a gifted writer, and anything she puts out in certainly worth readng, so I will probably buy "R" when it first comes out in hardcover, but if it moves as slowly as this one, I'll probably wait for the subsequent books to come out in paperback.

Rating:
Summary: I really liked this one!
Review: I think Q is for Quarry is one of Grafton's best work. I did not like P and I almost gave up on the series but Q has kept me still a loyal fan. The whole time that I was reading I just kept wondering "who did it?". I think that in itself made it good to me!

Rating:
Summary: Quite a Different Kinsey!
Review: This was quite a different Kinsey book, but I too enjoyed it. I liked the idea that is was based on a real unsolved crime, and I just hope that that crime is solved as a result of this book. Kinsey is very likeable in this book. She is much softer and more friendly. Heavens, we see her friends with her nemesis Dolan in this book, and it seems to work. There may not have been as much as non-stop excitement in this book as we've seen in others, but let's be fair - it's good to give Kinsey a little rest from bad people and life threats. Besides, she is working on solving a twenty year old crime, so how dangerous could that be? It was also good to get a good glimpse of small town America, the setting for this book. I missed her neighbour Henry and Rosie the owner of her neighbourhood restaurant in this book, but I'm sure they'll be back.

Rating:
Summary: Wait for the paperback version
Review: I used to love the alphabet series. Now I'm beginning to believe Sue Grafton is just going to skate on the reputation of the earlier books in the series. Sadly, this book was a very big yawn.

Rating:
Summary: Q is for Questioning...
Review: and that's where I am about the direction Grafton is taking with the Alphabet Murders series.

I was intrigued to learn that she based the story on the research she did on a real cold case about an unidentified Jane Doe found over 30 years ago in Santa Barbara. I think the research added a lot to the murder plot of Q.

However, I can't help but compare the most recent Kinsey outing with that of another fine author, Marcia Muller. Muller published "Dead Midnight", the 21st instalment of the Sharon McCone series, just before Q came out, and it is a terrific read. Like Kinsey, Sharon has many family problems, but her character has grown, changed and prospered over the years, and is surrounded by both familiar and new characters who keep the texture of the series updated.

Kinsey seems stuck in a rut, going nowhere. The supporting characters are all of another generation, and Kinsey no longer seems to relate at all to her contemporaries. Yes, she's always been somewhat of a loner, but the direction that she's taken to isolate herself even further with only familiar senior citizens seems unnatural and false. I think Grafton has spent enough time on the murder plot of "Q" to make it realistic, but has paid not enough attention to Kinsey's character development.

I hope that she gets back on track with "R". She's still on bestseller lists, but is losing some of her following with the downhill direction that the series is taking.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Kinsey and her two pals were engaging and the plot kept me guessing to the very end. Grafton vividly captures the desert town atmosphere. She even throws in a few good laughs in here and there for good measure. Not crazy about the family stuff though. Like Kinsey better as a loner. Welcome addition to the series. Well done.

Rating:
Summary: Her best so far!
Review: I've read every book in the series and this one is definately one of my favorites! I thouroughly enjoyed it and I think all the Kinsey fans out there will too. Other reviewers commented that the book was so slow moving, but I disagree. I found the story very engaging. I really enjoyed reading this book!

Rating:
Summary: Like Pringles Chips....
Review: ...I crave 'em, can't wait to tear into 'em, but about 1/4 way through I lose my enthusiasm and get kinda bummed out by 'em.
That's how it was for me with Q. I was salivating to get my hands on a Kinsey book and tore into it ravenously, only to find myself setting it aside after a few chapters. Of course I picked it up a few days later and finished, hoping that there was going to be a fun turn of events or startling discovery when the murderer was established. But by the time I got to the end, I didn't care about the murdered girl, who killed her, what happened to any of the characters...It left me feeling very unsatisfied. I went back and read G just to make myself feel more whole.
I must say that I wasn't that wowwed by P either, and I hope that R brings some fun back to the series.