Rating: 
Summary: Sue Grafton almost at her best
Review: "N is for Noose" was a fast, easy-read. It was typical Sue Grafton taking us through one of her more taut adventures. Lots of plot twists, scary situations, and red herrings. Grafton's style is starting to approach another famous "Santa Teresa" author, Ross MacDonald. Good, solid character development for all but the key person. The first 99% of the book was great! The ending came too fast without enough buildup. Suddenly you're down to the last few pages and "bam" the bad guy is revealed. I hardly knew much about the guilty party by the time the book ended. This novel could have finished stronger, but it is still very good reading. I highly recommend the book!
Rating: 
Summary: Up to her high standards
Review: "N" is a return to the more upbeat Kinsey Milhone of Grafton's earlier books and I welcome her back. This book is fast paced, loaded with great character sketches and lots of Kinsey's observations. An entertaining and charming read!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing installment in an otherwise enjoyable series.
Review: I was very disappointed by this book. The villain was fairly obvious and the story seemed overly long. None of the new characters were well developed and we get no further insight into Kinsey. I was only mildly interested in the solution and the methods used to reach it were usually simplistic - if they lie to you the first time, they're obligated to tell the truth the second time, etc. Hopefully more thought will be put into the next installment, or we'll never reach 'Z'.
Rating:
Summary: Grafton is back in form.
Review: The year's sabbatical that Sue Grafton took between "M" and "N" has paid off quite well. This volume is well-written, nicely plotted, and keeps the reader guessing, even down to the last ten pages. Much more engaging and satisfying than some other volumes in the series. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Sue Grafton and Kinsey Milhone never disappoint!!!
Review: I eagerly await each of Grafton's alphabet series with excitement. In fact, I have read each twice - just finishing "M is for Malice" before "N" was released. So often we wait for a book or a movie sequel and are disappointed. This has yet to be the case with Grafton. "N" is fast-paced, has beautiful descriptive narratives of the Lake Nota area, is chuck full of interesting and unique characters and is interspersed with the Kinsey humor and insights that we all know and love. These book are so involving that I found myself missing Santa Theresa and Henry along with Kinsey. And, even though I had an inkling of the killers identity, I didn't care because the plot is so skillfully written and I become so involved in Kinsey's life. I read a lot of mysteries and Grafton is by far the best. If you haven't started these books, please do. You won't regret it!!
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: N IS FOR NOOSE, is a page-turner, and probably not far behind the best suspense read in recent memory THE SHAPE: A NOVEL OF INTERNATIONAL SUSPENSE by Craig Furnas. Grafton is always full of surprises, and she delivers them here. One can be glad she has 12 more letters in the alphabet to go. I can't wait to see what she does with the letter "O!" And I respect Grafton for refusing to sell her novels to the movies (because she thinks they'll ruin her stories). Michael Crichton got $10 million for the rights to AIRFRAME. Grafton wouldn't get that much. But you can be sure she's passing up some big bucks!
Rating:
Summary: AS good as the rest in this exciting series
Review: Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone drives from her Southern California home to the Sierra Mountains where her client, Selma Newquist resides. Selma wants Kinsey to investigate the serious problem that had been bothering her now deceased spouse, Tom who has been investigating a recent rash of murders. Kinsey immediately runs up against the townsfolk reticence and their opinion that the widow Selma is just a troublemaker. They firmly believe that Kinsey should return to the coast and leave Tom rest in peace. Kinsey agrees with the locals until someone roughs her up in her hotel room, a way of delivering a distinct warning to the sleuth. The intrepid and obstinate Kinsey digs in her heels and soon concludes that Tom was looking into a murder case from several years ago that seems to be tied to the recent killings. However, Kinsey better be ultra careful because the killer wants to remain anonymous and has no problem eliminating the pushy outsider. Though "N" IS FOR NOOSE is not as taut a mystery as fans expect from Sue Grafton, the novel remains a humorous (especially self-deprecating) and witty novel. Kinsey is vintage Millhone and the quirky townsfolk propel the story line forward. Though the jumbled conclusion is a bit off kilter, readers who enjoy reading about female detectives will take great pleasure from this gratifying story. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: I come at this from a peculiar angle...
Review: I have read a number of Grafton's alphabet mysteries and I found them to be good but a bit tedious (3 stars or so). However, I've taken to listening to them as books on tape and have found them to be quite enjoyable. Judy Kaye does a fantastic job as the voice of Kinsey (she has her wry sense of humor nailed - her voice perfectly matches Grafton's words - whovever cast Kaye as the voice of Milhone should get 5 stars) and I find the books to be quite enjoyable.
I do agree with other reviewers that the ending was a bit clunky, but the rest of the book built up enough tension and drama to still give the book an above-average rating in my estimation.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Kinsey's best outing
Review: By now, Grafton's heroine, Kinsey Millhone, is well established amongst the ranks of female detectives. This book possibly isnlt the best of the series. I found it a little disappointing in that it plods somewhat and I wasnlt at all guessing to the end - to me the perpetrator stood out a mile off. I found some of the peripheral characters just plain boring.
Rating:
Summary: Cold Case file
Review: A woman wanted to know why her recently dead husband was under stress. She was willing to hire Kinsey Milhone to find the reason. Her husband Tom Newquist had not been sleeping well. The job was in the vicinity of Carson City. It was the sort of place where people might wear a combination of snow and western clothing. The widow of the dead man, Selma, was very helpful. Tom Newquist did not smile. In his picture he had the look of a police officer. Before his death by heart attack he was not necessrily a healthy man. He drank, he smoked, he was overweight, and he was strait-laced. He saw the world in rigid terms. He was a good investigator by all reports. His sister believed he tried too hard to please his wife who was a snob. Kinsey was assaulted and felt herself going into shock. She received help getting to the hospital. I did not realize that investigators liked to dig into old unsolved cases, but apparently they do. Tom Newquist was probably involved in such a venture when he died. Uncharacteristically he ate away from home just prior to his death. An unidentified woman was seen within a quarter mile of his pick up truck parked by the side of the road. The break in the case came from someone in Nota Lake who believed the dead man had an interest in a female investigator from another sheriff's department.
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