"L" is for Lawless (A Kinsey Millhone Mystery, Book 12) - Hardcover

Grafton, Sue

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805019375 ISBN 13: 9780805019377

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 1995

Synopsis

Get ready for one of Kinsey Millhone's "wildest adventures yet" (San Francisco Examiner) from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton

Kinsey's skills are about to be sorely tested. She is about to meet her duplicitous match in a couple of world-class prevaricators who quite literally take her for the ride of her life.

"L" Is for Lawless: Call it Kinsey Millhone in bad company. Call it a mystery without a murder, a treasure hunt without a map, a quest novel with truly mixed-up motives. Call it the return of Kinsey as bad girl-- quick-witted and quicksilvery, smart-mouthed and smart-alecky-- poking her nose into everyone's dirty laundry as she joins up with a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde in an Our Gang comedy that will take her halfway across the country and leave her with a major headache and an empty bank balance.

America's favorite borderline delinquent is back with her one-liners on tap and her energy level on high, romping through her fastest and funniest adventure in this, her twelfth foray into the alphabet of crime.

"A" Is for Alibi
"B" Is for Burglar
"C" Is for Corpse
"D" Is for Deadbeat
"E" Is for Evidence
"F" Is for Fugitive
"G" Is for Gumshoe
"H" Is for Homicide
"I" Is for Innocent
"J" Is for Judgment
"K" Is for Killer
"L" is for Lawless
"M" Is for Malice
"N" Is for Noose
"O" Is for Outlaw
"P" Is for Peril
"Q" Is for Quarry
"R" Is for Ricochet
"S" Is for Silence
"T" Is for Trespass
"U" Is for Undertow
"V" Is for Vengeance
"W" Is for Wasted
"X"

About this title

About the Author

The New York Times #1 bestselling author Sue Grafton (1940-2017) entered the mystery field in 1982 with the publication of 'A' Is for Alibi, which introduced female hard-boiled private investigator, Kinsey Millhone, operating out of the fictional town of Santa Teresa, (aka Santa Barbara) California, and launched the bestselling Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries. In addition to her books, she published several Kinsey Millhone short stories, and with her husband, Steven Humphrey, wrote numerous movies for television, including “A Killer in the Family” (starring Robert Mitchum), “Love on the Run” (starring Alec Baldwin and Stephanie Zimbalist) and two Agatha Christie adaptations, “Sparkling Cyanide” and “Caribbean Mystery,” which starred Helen Hayes. Grafton is published in 28 countries and in 26 languages.

From the Back Cover

"L" Is for Lawless: Call it Kinsey Millhone in bad company. Call it a mystery without a murder, a treasure hunt without a map, a quest novel with truly mixed-up motives. Call it the return of Kinsey as bad girl - quick-witted and quicksilvery, smart-mouthed and smart-alecky - poking her nose into everyone's dirty laundry as she joins up with a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde in an Our Gang comedy that will take her halfway across the country and leave her with a major headache and an empty bank balance. America's favorite borderline delinquent is back with her one-liners on tap and her energy level on high, romping through her fastest and funniest adventure in this, her twelfth foray into the alphabet of crime.

Reviews

Bemused, beleaguered and begrimed, Southern California's premier PI, Kinsey Millhone leaves her hometown of Santa Teresa in an adventure (her 12th in the alphabet series) that begins straightforwardly enough but quickly twists into a knotted string of untruths. While getting ready for the Thanksgiving Day wedding between a local tavern keeper and the elder brother of her landlord, Kinsey agrees to help the family of recently deceased neighborhood WWII vet, Johnnie Lee, find out why the military has no record of his service. Soon after Kinsey has finished looking (fruitlessly) through his papers, Lee's rooms are burgled, and Ray Rawson, who claims he is an old friend recently arrived in Santa Teresa unaware of Lee's death, is beaten up. Kinsey soon finds herself on a plane bound for Florida, in possession of only the clothes she's wearing and her purse( with an extra toothbrush), trailing a young pregnant woman in possession of a duffel bag spirited from Lee's home. On a stopover in Dallas/Fort Worth, Kinsey sleuths disguised as a hotel maid dusting baseboards ("tough to picture the boy detectives doing this," she reflects), meets the increasingly unreliable Rawson again and encounters yet another figure from Lee's past, a violent, vengeful psychopath. While gradually sorting out the connections among this cast, Kinsey travels to Louisville, where Rawson's 80-something mother proves her mettle and Kinsey, determining that lawless, in this case, is neither adjective nor collective noun, unravels a decades-old mystery. 750,000 first printing; Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In her 12th alphabetically entitled appearance (e.g., "K" Is for Killer, Holt, 1994), plucky private investigator Kinsey Millhone is just doing a favor for a friend?checking the military status of a recently deceased neighbor?when she's sucked into a chase for the spoils of a 1941 bank heist. It's a lively outing with a couple of heart-pounding scenes, some interesting characters (the most memorable: a half-blind 85-year-old grandmother who wields a shotgun and a baseball bat), and even a little detection. There are also hints of Kinsey's connecting with long-lost relatives, plus a romatic wedding of octogenarians. And, as usual, Grafton gives enough background so it's not necessary to start reading the series at "A." With Grafton's legion of fans growing and her first print runs escalating from 150,000 for "H" to 750,000 for "L," every library with mystery readers should have this book, preferably in multiples.
-?Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L., Va.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Grafton has covered 11 letters of the alphabet and produced 11 best-sellers starring the popular Kinsey Millhone. The gritty PI has reached near-cult status for many readers, guaranteeing a built-in audience for all her adventures. But Grafton's huge success and the accompanying pressure to produce another 15 "alphabet" books seems to have resulted--at least in her last couple of efforts--in less quality. This time the plot sounds slightly contrived, the writing is a little tired, and Kinsey's spunky earthiness is sometimes grating. The action centers on Kinsey tracking down half-a-million dollars from a decades-old bank heist carried out by a motley trio: Johnny, now dead, Gilbert, a very much alive psychopath, and mild-mannered Ray, the only one of the trio to have done time for the robbery. Ray and his daughter, Laura--a true bimbo--have involved Kinsey in a high-stakes treasure hunt for the loot. Johnny has left a series of cryptic clues behind, but with psycho Gilbert hot on the trail, too, Ray, Laura, and Kinsey figure it's only a matter of time before he finds them and the money. There's a harrowing cross-country chase, plenty of double-crossing shenanigans, an eccentric granny who's proficient with a Louisville Slugger, and a surprising ending. Flaws? Definitely, but Kinsey's irrepressible, irresponsible, still lovable charm shines through vividly enough to keep her old fans, if not win many new ones. Emily Melton

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805019375
• ISBN 13: 9780805019377
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304