B Is For Burglar

Author: Sue Grafton
Genre: Light Mystery
Series: #2 in Kinsey Millhone series
Type: Paperback
Pages: 310
Publisher: St Martin's Press
First Published: 1985
First Line: "After it's over, of course, you want to kick yourself for all the things you didn't see at the time."

Book Description from GoodReads:  Although business has been slow lately for P.I. Kinsey Millhone, she's reluctant to take on the case of locating Beverly Danziger's sister Elaine Boldt. It's a small matter that Beverly should be able to handle herself. So why is she enlisting Kinsey's services? Beverly claims she needs Elaine's signature on some documents so that she can collect a small inheritance. But the whole affair doesn't sit well with Kinsey. And if there's something she's learned in her line of work, it's to always follow your instincts.

Kinsey's hunch proves true when she begins her inquiries into Elaine's whereabouts and discovers that the attractive widow was last seen in a flashy lynx coat boarding a plane for Boca Raton. But the more Kinsey searches for Elaine the more questions she encounters. Is Elaine's disappearance tied in to the brutal murder several months ago of one of her bridge partners? And what happened to Elaine's Persian cat who seems to have also vanished?

Things take a turn for the worse when a stranger vandalizes the home of one of Elaine's neighbors and another neighbor turns up murdered. With her reputation and career on the line, Kinsey risks all to find a missing woman and a killer who's waiting in the shadows to strike again.

My Review:  I read this book over Christmas holidays.  I wanted a fun, light read which, if I'm being honest, would be quick so I could meet my goal of reading 65 books in 2013.  I'm not new to Sue Grafton but I'm no expert either.  

I read 'A is for Alibi' several years ago after hearing how much one of my good friends adores this series.  Personally, I was surprised at how little I liked it because usually she and I are pretty on par with liking books.  Since our experiences were so different with Grafton's first Kinsey book I began to think that maybe I was too hard on A is for Alibi when I reviewed it back in December 2009 (see my review of A is for Alibi HERE).  So, I decided to pick up B is for Burglar just in case I was wrong about my initial feelings about this author and series.  Sadly, I feel the same way.  I just didn't love it.

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I just don't love Kinsey.  She's an OK protagonist but is she written strong enough and interesting enough to carry an entire series?  No.  She's no Stephanie Plum or Alex Cross ... she's forgettable.

Similar to the first book in the series, this book was very predictable (I guessed 'whodunnit' half way through again), it had red herrings that were only mildly diverting, tonnes of characters who weren't well fleshed out and a plot that was hard to get excited about.  As I was reading I kept thinking 'What am I missing?  This is supposed to be a great series!'

The very rushed ending that left me wanting was the straw that broke the camel's back.  This wasn't a bad book ... it just wasn't interesting or memorable.  I think Kinsey and I will part ways now. 

My Rating: 2/5 stars