Suspense

Much better than last book. Kept my interest throughout. KIRKUS REVIEWThe release of a 24-year-old who?s aged out of his juvenile conviction for murdering one of his schoolmates reopens old wounds for everyone concerned and brings Santa Teresa private eye Kinsey Millhone (X, 2015, etc.) to the case.Even though Fritz McCabe was the one who did the time for killing Sloan Stevens, her death seems to have been the fault of nobody and everybody. Frozen out by her classmates at posh Climping Academy after reportedly exposing Iris Lehmann?s scheme to pass high-stakes test answers to Poppy Earl and Troy Rademaker, Sloan was shot 10 years ago while running away from Troy, who together with Fritz, Austin Brown, and Bayard Montgomery, had driven her out to the Yellowweed camping ground. Fritz?s parents, Lauren and Hollis McCabe, have welcomed him home, but they?re distinctly less happy to have received a copy of a sex tape several members of this crowd made shortly before Sloan?s death, along with a note demanding $25,000 for its destruction. Lauren, fearing the theft of the original tape may have provided a motive for Sloan?s murder, wants Kinsey to get to the bottom of the mystery¥until she doesn?t, firing her for calling the kids-turned-adults liars when they claim the tape was nothing but a mockumentary lark. Kinsey?s just as pleased to be free of the case: Lauren McCabe?s been anything but a model client, and Kinsey already has to deal with the unrelated threat of Ned Lowe, a serial killer on the lam who?s set his sights on her. But her respite from both the Yellowweed shooting and her own stalker is all too brief, and soon a present-day murder and the threat of even more violence force her back to both cases.Any time spent with Grafton?s inimitable shamus is one of the highlights of the year, but her 25th case drags on forever before ending with a whimper. Fans won?t mind as they cheer the series on to Z Is for Zany, or whatever the endlessly resourceful author has in mind.

(2017) Last book in series. Before Grafton could finish & release Z, she passed away. She will be missed. Probably the best of the series that I have read. Weaker story is the main one where she is hired to track down an extortionist that is after money to keep a sex/assault movie created by a group of high school kids from being exposed. This one comes down to one of the group murdering a bully (Austin) because he threatened to tell his rich daddy that he was gay and being cut off with nothing. Then this same kid kills one of the group who stumbles on the fact. The stronger part of the story involves a serial killer who is after Kinsey and the result is he is killed by an overweight friend by her bouncing on his chest and asphyxiating him, just like he had killed his victims.KIRKUS REVIEWThe release of a 24-year-old who's aged out of his juvenile conviction for murdering one of his schoolmates reopens old wounds for everyone concerned and brings Santa Teresa private eye Kinsey Millhone (X, 2015, etc.) to the case.Even though Fritz McCabe was the one who did the time for killing Sloan Stevens, her death seems to have been the fault of nobody and everybody. Frozen out by her classmates at posh Climping Academy after reportedly exposing Iris Lehmann's scheme to pass high-stakes test answers to Poppy Earl and Troy Rademaker, Sloan was shot 10 years ago while running away from Troy, who together with Fritz, Austin Brown, and Bayard Montgomery, had driven her out to the Yellowweed camping ground. Fritz's parents, Lauren and Hollis McCabe, have welcomed him home, but they're distinctly less happy to have received a copy of a sex tape several members of this crowd made shortly before Sloan's death, along with a note demanding $25,000 for its destruction. Lauren, fearing the theft of the original tape may have provided a motive for Sloan's murder, wants Kinsey to get to the bottom of the mystery¥until she doesn't, firing her for calling the kids-turned-adults liars when they claim the tape was nothing but a mockumentary lark. Kinsey's just as pleased to be free of the case: Lauren McCabe's been anything but a model client, and Kinsey already has to deal with the unrelated threat of Ned Lowe, a serial killer on the lam who's set his sights on her. But her respite from both the Yellowweed shooting and her own stalker is all too brief, and soon a present-day murder and the threat of even more violence force her back to both cases.Any time spent with Grafton's inimitable shamus is one of the highlights of the year, but her 25th case drags on forever before ending with a whimper. Fans won't mind as they cheer the series on to Z Is for Zany, or whatever the endlessly resourceful author has in mind.Pub Date: Aug. 22nd, 2017ISBN: 978-0-399-16385-2Page count: 496ppPublisher: PutnamReview Posted Online: July 17th, 2017Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1st, 2017

It was a sad synchronicity to finish this book on the day Sue Grafton died. Five stars to Sue. ( )

So this one hurt. Book 24 and only one left to go in a series I have been reading for over two decades and I couldn’t finish it.

I was put off from the very beginning. I could not get past the fact that Kinsey took a case that involved the covering up of a 14 year old girls rape. It felt wrong and out of character. Why would she help someone who deserved retribution. Every time it was mentioned I felt gross. I had to stop.

As per usual I do not give stars to books I do not finish. It wasn’t for me and I feel a low star rating should always be reserved for horrible writing. Having said that, I was close on this one. That was how put off I was.