"N" Is For Noose

Rating:
Summary: Even Kinsey gets a dog of a case once in a while.
Review: I've read every one of Grafton's books (in sequence, even) and I have to agree with the consensus that this isn't one of her best. Why? The small town setting, where everyone's either a cop or a waitress seemed phoney. And I didn't see the point in her running home to Santa Teresa -- it seemed like a device to drag in her local cast of characters in for a couple of chapters, and they were pretty wooden old props in this volume, weren't they? I hope that this book is an aberration and that the next one will get back on the right track, but Grafton might be excused if it's becoming harder to breathe life into her characters -- it's happened to many a mystery writer.

Rating:
Summary: This is definitely not one of her better books!
Review: I kept waiting and waiting for some action to occur in this one! I felt fairly cold, most of the time, as I read this one, because Grafton's descriptions went on and on about the cold, sleet, snow, etc. I did not figure out the murderer, until it was obvious, so, she did do a good job, keeping me in suspense about that. Although, I would not read this one again, I will of course read the next, and hope that the plot is a little more exciting!

Rating:
Summary: i have read better .
Review: I am a 20 year old woman who thought she did not like "N" is for Noose because she is young . This is the first of Sue Grafton's books that I have read and I'm sorry to say I didn't like it . I have read Dean Koontz for most of my novel experience and I thought this would be a neat change . I didn't know there were others when I began to read it so I dont know kinsey as well as the rest of you, I hope she is smarter in the novels before and after because figuring out the end half way before the main character does is somewhat boring .

Rating:
Summary: I happen to like Kinsey, no matter what she's doing!
Review: Although, not to be placed at the top of the heap, I have always enjoyed Kinsey's antics and really enjoy Sue Grafton's writing style. Obviously I don't "bore" as easily as most of the other "critics". I guess this is because I live in a small town myself and have first hand knowledge of people just like those in this book. In fact, almost everyone in the entire county where I live is like this. Anyway, I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the "O" book whatever it is called.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best of Kinsey's adventures
Review: I agree with most of you that the plot is too vague and the small town too dull to make this a good book. But you have to admit that Kinsey on speed is quite a treat!

Rating:
Summary: N is for Not the Best of the Bunch
Review: Let's face it. Kinsey's not the same without the all-purpose black dress, or at least a passing conversation with one of the following: Vera Lipton, Lonnie Kingman, Jonah Robb. She's at her best when lying her way through a charade she's concocted to get into someone's house or past someone's secretary. Here, it was like everyone else had her moves all figured out way, way before she did. Of course, that's how it is in a small town. You sneeze and everyone says "God bless you." I borrowed this from the library. Maybe, if the paperback is on discount, I'll go ahead and buy it just so I can someday say I've got the whole alphabet series. But that'd be the only reason. It was an OK read, but I probably wouldn't read it again, and next to K is for Killer, the one I'd least recommend to a new Sue Grafton fan. Sue is a fellow native Kentuckian, and I hate to speak evil of her, but I sure hope Kinsey gets her groove back in O:)

Rating:
Summary: Let's hope O is for Original Plot next time
Review: This book was not only a disappointment, it was a waste of time. I was still at page 83 before anything of interest had happened. Yes, I knew what the characters wore and smoked, but let's face it, she's no Dickens, so that's not enough to keep our interest. I know she originally wrote in this genre to counteract criticism from producers that she couldn't write good plots...Sue, fight back!!

Rating:
Summary: Nobody's perfect!
Review: The general concensus is that this was not the best of Sue Grafton. Hopefully, "O" is for Outlaw will bring back the magic that got and kept all of us reading about Kinsey in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Wordy digressions distract from already weak plot line
Review: N is for Not Worth the Time it takes to Read. Starting with an implausible hiring premise, Sue Grafton fritters away the reader's patience with irrelevant set pieces like Rosie's birthday party, a Barbie doll collection, and endlessly repeated discussions of Kinsey's tastes in clothing and food. These efforts could better have been spent in making the plot more complex and more coherent.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed and unfulfilled by my weakened heroine
Review: Just finishing "N", I am unhappy that I had solved the crime long before Kinsey and was railing at her sloppy fact-checking and detective work. Usually I can count on Ms. Millhone to give me a boost for female-kind, but this time she left me embarrassed and sad. Maybe she needs a major career change, she seems unable to deal with the stress of her job as she gets older. Even though I hate to lose Kinsey, it might be time for Ms. Grafton to take time off or try writing another character for awhile to get fresh perspective. I'd hate to see her go the way of Robert B. Parker (who I love, but his last few years don't match up to his first few).