“V is for Vengeance,” by Sue Grafton

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 8
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This marks my first departure from reading this series in order. I read the first ten books, "A" through "J," and have now skipped forward a dozen books to "V." Has the series evolved? I would say yes, quite a bit, and in ways that I find appealing. The most important added feature is the alternation between first-person narrative by Kinsey Millhone and third-person narrative featuring Dante and Nora. Other authors have used this technique well; Joan Hess with her "Maggody" series comes to mind; and Grafton handles it masterfully as well. Particularly interesting is the meeting of Dante and Kinsey late in the book wherein we get to see Kinsey from another person's perspective. She comes off differently to someone - especially to a gangster - who is meeting her for the first time than she appears to herself, and that perspective shift is depicted here beautifully. Will I eventually read all of the books in this series? Oddly, that's not necessarily a goal, even though I enjoy them very much. Sad that she didn't get to Z (Or will she ? "Z is for Zombie"?) but I intend to read W, X (I still think "X" should have been "...is for Xenophobe" but who am I to second-guess Ms. Grafton?), and Y before returning to K. I also recommend her book "Kinsey and Me," with some of the best short story writing I have experienced!