Sue Grafton. K is for Killer (1994)

     Sue Grafton. K is for Killer (1994) It’s hard to believe that Grafton’s books are set in the early 90s. The only clue is the absence of computers, which have changed ways of doing things faster than any prior technology. They are the most disruptive technology ever invented. (I just read a gloomy comment on Arizona’s anti-immigration law, sponsored and supported by white Republican males with close connections to the Tea Party, which itself could not grow so fast so quickly without the internet.)
     Anyhow, Kinsey Millhone investigates a ten-month old murder, which was motivated by money, graft, and political corruption. The story is nicely twisty, with a couple of plausible suspects cleared one fact at a time. A crime boss, who had intended to marry the victim on the day she was murdered, wants Kinsey to pass on the identity of the murderer, which she does, because although she knows who he is, she doesn’t have the evidence to convict him. Kinsey realises that her desire for vengeance overcomes her respect for the law and due process. In a way this was foreshadowed by the story’s setting, almost exclusively at night.
     Grafton as usual delivers the goods; A well plotted tale, interesting characters, and sufficient atmosphere to produce plausibility. ***
(2010)