L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton

As an avid fan of Sue Grafton’s Alphabet murder series, I’m now on my second read of her series, having first read L is for Lawless when it was originally released in the 1990s, I think. So far, I’ve loved the previous books in the series, enjoying the chance to get to know Kinsey Millhone a second time.

This novel centres on whether Bucky’s grandfather was a fighter pilot during World War II or not. Bucky has no reason to believe he wasn’t and is hoping for a payout, as a result. The military authorities have other ideas, claiming they have never heard of the grandfather.

As a favour to her neighbour and landlord, PI Kinsey Millhone goes round to offer advice. What appears to be a simple administrative error turns into something far more sinister when the grandfather’s flat is trashed. It looks like someone was looking for money? But what money?

Kinsey soon finds herself on the trail of the perpetrator and his partner, ending up in a cheap motel in Texas. When Ray shows up, Kinsey discovers that the proceeds of a robbery in the late 1930s were never recovered and someone now wants to collect. He’s not averse to killing anyone who gets in the way, either.

While Kinsey is her usual wise cracking self, using all her skills to get to the truth, the novel never really caught fire for me. It’s well-written, as you’d expect, and Kinsey’s her usual resourceful self, but I couldn’t help feeling she wouldn’t have got involved in the first place.

She was also away from her usual haunts and the familiar characters that brighten up the backstory. The bad guys were an unlikable bunch who never quite grabbed my attention or interest.