Oh dear – over a fortnight to read a 368 page crime novel. Proof indeed that I need to take a break from Sue Grafton and her leading lady Kinsey Millhone.
The twist in this installment is that Kinsey is working in the cold, closed, inland environment of Nota Lake, a million miles away from her home turf of Santa Theresa. She’s hired to find out about the final days of the local smalltown cop, by his widow who wants to understand what was obviously on his mind in the run up to his apparently natural death. Kinsey soon realises that her employer, Selma, is as unpopular and disliked in the town as her husband, Tom, was popular and beloved. It’s a novel about insiders and outsiders, communities closing ranks and ‘the enemy’ prizing a way through.
Buy it: Amazon link