One morning, Kinsey Millhone arrives at work to find the building surrounded by police cars and yellow crime tape. The body on the street is that of Parnell Perkins, her co-worker at California Fidelity.
The murder is quite a shock to Kinsey. She copes by burying herself in private investigation work. Her current case involves Bibianna Diaz, suspected of making a faulty worker's compensation claim.
Kinsey dons a fake name and disguise and befriends Bibianna in an attempt to expose her as a fraud. The trusty p.i. gets more then she bargains for and winds up criminally linked to Bibianna.
In order to save her own hide and hopefully solve her case, Kinsey cooperates with her colleague, Lieutenant Dolan of the Santa Teresa Police Department. He tells her that Bibianna's small comp case is actually linked to a massive fraud ring out of Los Angeles. Since Kinsey has made so much headway with Bibianna, Dolan wants her to continue her disguise and infiltrate the ring.
Kinsey reluctantly agrees and finds herself in a world of danger. Raymond, the head of the crime ring, is a very dangerous man. Kinsey tries to stay close to Bibianna. The result is both women virtually being held prisoner by Raymond's gang.
Millhone gets the answers she's looking for, but can she get out alive with the story? Until then, can she play her role safely without the crooks finding out her true identity?
Car insurance scams, medical fraud, and murder: these are the subjects in the eighth installment of the Kinsey Millhone series titled "H" is for Homicide.
For readers who are not familiar with the series or title character, here's a quick description. Kinsey Millhone, a quirky no-nonsense gal who lives in a converted garage apartment and drives a VW bug. Though she may sound boring, readers soon see that the life of this private investigator is anything but ordinary.
I've read most of the books in this popular Sue Grafton series and enjoy them all. Unfortunately, "H" is for Homicide is not one of my favorites. I had a hard time accepting Kinsey in her role as prisoner in disguise. My favorite scenes in these books are of Kinsey hightailing it up and down the state in her trusty VW Bug, gradually gathering clues until the mystery is solved.
In this story, the poor girl is trapped in a filthy apartment with dangerous gang members throughout most of the plot. Granted, she stays in character. All the famous wise cracks are present, but the depressing setting made me feel closed in as a reader as well.
I don't criticize Grafton's choice of story line. Car insurance scams are a popular career option in California. Perhaps the path the plot took is what bothers me. The epilogue is rather short. For such a wild case, I need a little more debriefing.
Of course, this is just a matter of reader preference. I still love Kinsey as a character and the way she lives through Grafton's words.
The one legitimate criticism I have pertains to background information. Since this is a series, it's necessary to fill readers in on past events. If a reader begins the series in the middle, he or she can't get a picture of the character is question. Grafton is usually pretty good at providing this information, but there was less of it in this book. I doubt new readers would be lost, but they wouldn't know the real Kinsey.
Just because "H" is for Homicide isn't my highest-rated book doesn't mean it should be skipped. There's nothing wrong with this story; it's simply one of my least favorites.
I still recommend that you pick up a copy of "H" is for Homicide. Fans of the series must read them all. Most of my complaints about this book are a matter of personal preference. Who knows? You may think this Sue Grafton work is an excellent installment in the series.
