Status
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Description
"Of #1 New York Times-bestselling author Sue Grafton, NPR's Maureen Corrigan said, "Makes me wish there were more than 26 letters." With only two letters left, Grafton's many devoted readers will share that sentiment. X: The number ten. An unknown quantity. A mistake. A cross. A kiss. X: The shortest entry in Webster's Unabridged. Derived from Greek and Latin and commonly found in science, medicine, and religion. The most graphically dramatic letter. Notoriously tricky to pronounce: think xylophone. X: The twenty-fourth letter in the English alphabet. Sue Grafton's X: Perhaps her darkest and most chilling novel, it features a remorseless serial killer who leaves no trace of his crimes. Once again breaking the rules and establishing new paths, Grafton wastes little time identifying this sociopath. The test is whether Kinsey can prove her case against him before she becomes his next victim"--… (more)
User reviews
A mix of three cases, none adding up to a solid plot
.
PLOT OR PREMISE:
Kinsey is hired by a rich client for a simple task -- find her biological son who was recently released from prison.
.
WHAT I LIKED:
There are three storylines running concurrently, and the mix of types of cases is
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The problems with the neighbours are so obvious, the solution is seen a mile away by everyone except Henry and Kinsey. And mostly just annoying. The interest from the missing persons case deteriorates almost into Kinsey Millhone, marriage counsellor. And the leftover case redeems Pete's character but then goes way over the top at the end.
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.
On one level this book, X by Sue Grafton, is classic Kinsey Millhone, just like the 23 novels before it. However there's a few differences from most of the novels. For one, there's no paying client herein if we ignore a bogus $200 and several offers of
I liked this book a lot. There's something very appealing about the character of Kinsey Millhone as she doggedly goes through her paces. Lines like "I'd been a biter as a kid and I can still remember the feel of flesh between my teeth" illustrate Grafton's ability to sketch Kinsey's traits so well. But there's one scene in this book, quite chilling in fact, that might undermine Kinsey's basic self-reliance. That remains to be seen but it adds to the feeling that X is setting up the last two books in the series and I'm really looking forward to being able to read all 3 together though that's a few years away. X is a very good addition to Grafton's long running series and I am very impatient for Y and Z to appear. X goes on sale in a few days on August 25th but it's going to be years before Y & Z appea
In X, Sue Grafton travels a slightly different path. The story is calmer. She is not looking for killers or thieves or kidnap victims. She is hired by a very wealthy woman to find the son she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager. She paid Kelsey in advance and the job didn’t take long at all. Then things start to fall apart.
Several people in this book are not who they claim to be. But Kelsey is able to locate and speak to many of the people for whom she seeks to get background information. Some of that information further complicates her mission.
The ending has an unusual, but logical, twist.
Like Grafton’s other books, she includes enough descriptions that the reader can easily visualize everything Kelsey sees, like a blind person watching a movie as someone describes the details.
One major theme of the book is drought in California and ways to deal with it. Most are very practical. One, however, using paper plates and plastic utensils, creates another problem: Unless the materials can be recycled or composted, they add extra trash and garbage that will remain in festering landfills.
A couple of negatives: She repeats the names and status of six people several times.
There is a questionable time schedule in one segment: It’s 5:00. She is supposed to meet someone away from the office between 6 and 7. She then makes arrangements to meet someone else, away from the office as well, “As soon as possible.” Before leaving her office, “I took my sweet time closing up, and made a detour to the post office....” After the first appointment, she stopped to buy some sandwiches.
Interesting observation: “Even as I was exonerating him, I continued to condemn him in equal measure, proof positive that our prejudices are nearly impossible to scotch.”
The biggest problem with a Sue Grafton/Kelsey Millhone book is that once you finish reading one, you have to wait two years for the next.
The latest in the Kinsey Millhone series of mysteries is a winner. You will keep reading to discover HOW Kinsey keeps from being murdered herself as she investigates a serial killer. Grafton’s fans will not be disappointed – unless it is to realize this series is nearing its
4 of 5 stars
X begins with Kinsey at a bit of a loose end, business is slow but she nevertheless soon finds herself caught up in three
The first involves finding the current address of a young man recently released from prison for his wealthy birth mother. The simple task complete, Kinsey doesn’t give it a second thought until a local police detective alerts her that the hundred dollar notes she was paid with were registered as part of a blackmail case. Annoyed, Kinsey investigates, unraveling her clients lies.
The second relates to a pair of elderly new neighbours that raise Kinsey’s hackles when they start to impose on Henry’s generosity.
Meanwhile, Pete Wolinsky’s widow asks Kinsey for her help in finding old financial documents requested by an IRS auditor. In amongst a box overflowing with paperwork, Kinsey discovers a padded mailer addressed to a priest and a coded list. Curious, Kinsey finds herself following up on the case, unprepared for the horrors she discovers.
W is for Wasted was a bit of a disappointment due to a rather lacklustre and longwinded plot, but X is much improved and more reminiscent of earlier books in the series. While there aren’t any great surprises, the cases are interesting, and well thought out. I found the investigation relating to Pete the most compelling, there is real danger involved for both Kinsey and others.
The pace of X is measured, as all the books tend to be in this series. Set in the 1980’s Kinsey’s investigations are all about legwork in the pre internet, pre mobile phone era. Kinsey spends a lot of time browsing library archives, making phone calls and on stakeout.
Kinsey herself is not an excitable character, but she is a thoughtful and determined investigator that focuses on detail. I’ve always liked her but I was hoping for more personal development as the series approaches the end. Essentially Kinsey is a loner, Vera makes a brief appearance which I enjoyed and former romantic interests Dietz and Chaney rate a mention. But Henry and Rosie are really the only people she interacts with.
As a longtime fan of the series I was mostly satisfied by this installment and I’m eager to see how Grafton brings it to a close.
Then there is the case Kinsey inherits from the deceased Pete, about an unpleasant man named Ned Lowe and the various women linked to Ned, whose names Pete has recorded in encrypted form. For a long time it looked as if there was no real crime to be proven here and then in the end it gets a bit berserk, but outside the scope of the book. Finally there is the "great drought of 1989" story, which went on and on and on, although Edna and Joseph's comeuppance was satisfying.
Very entertaining to read as ever, even with the obsessive detailing of all Kinsey's meals and showers etc. Now that I think of it, what was the whole "Anna Dace in the pub" thing all about? It went nowhere.
Really enjoyed this book; however, it took a long time for Kinsey and Pete’s widow to figure out they break-ins are connected to Pete’s cases.
The latest is simply called X. (Yup, only
In Kinsey's world it's only 1989. She's working cases using the 'old' gumshoe methods of surveillance, telephones (and payphones), calling in favours and contacts. It's quite fun to watch her solve cases 'the old fashioned way' without computers.
This latest entry brings back a former P.I. and case from Kinsey's early days. Pete is dead and a carton of his old files reveals a hidden list of women's names. The connection - a cold hearted man. Could he also be a cold hearted killer?
Picking up the latest Kinsey book is like settling down to catch up with an old friend. These characters are familiar, welcoming and comfortable. Kinsey herself is engaging and endearing. Not to mention dogged and determined. I'm also quite taken with the supporting cast - Kinsey's octogenarian landlord Henry and his extended family.
In addition to the main plot, there's a second one involving a bitterly divorced couple. This plot felt extraneous to me, like an add on to fill out the book. I never became truly invested in this plot line. There is a third involving Henry's new neighbours and water conservation. This one I loved!
Although the books have a crime in each and often a dead body, they're not overly graphic. I found myself a little taken aback by one element of the cold-hearted guy's MO. It seemed like a bit of a shock after the relatively sedate investigation to that point. The other thing I noticed was the level of described detail - a bit too much of the mundane.
As the series winds down, I wonder if the loose ends of Kinsey's romantic life will be tied up. I thought we might her get back together with Cheney Phillips. Wishful thinking maybe!
I've actually chosen to listen to the last few books on CD. Kudos to the publisher for using the same narrator for all of the book. Judy Kaye's voice has personified the mental image I've created for Kinsey. It's got a nice little rasp to it. Kaye also has great inflection and interpretation. This isn't my favourite of the series, but it was still an entertaining listen on the drive back and forth to work.
I’m fervently hoping I make it and will be able to read
X was a particularly good book in the series. I enjoyed its 3 or 4 concurrent plot lines.
There was just the right amount of feeling at home with the characters and pure enjoyment in the story and suspense, though for me it wasn’t the best book to read before bed. Thought I love this alphabet series they’re not exactly cozy mysteries.
I appreciate how the book in this series can sometimes be really different from one another, but the recurring characters never deviate from how they should be, taking into account their presence in many of the books.
I continue to really enjoy Kinsey, and as usual love Henry (the only landlord I’ve ever even liked) and luckily Henry does have a large role in this book. Still, it wasn’t enough Henry for me, and I’m hoping he’ll take center stage (along with Kinsey) in the last 2 books, especially the last one.
In some ways, this book was a tad darker than some of the others in the series, but it also had plenty of humor, and plenty of everyday type events.
I do really like Ed the cat, and thoroughly enjoyed the 1980s drought described in the book given the current drought California is in.
I was basically satisfied with how all the sub-plots were resolved.
I do get tired of people acting stupid in mystery novels; here, I think it was done not so much to further the story as to create suspense. I’m happy just being in the company of the characters and place and I don’t need the extra suspense.
One minor quibble: In an earlier book I didn’t like her previous take on homelessness and the homeless that much, and here she didn’t do thorough enough research on psychology (there is no PhD in Marriage & Family therapy; MFT’s are Masters level – psychologists PhD level, and the situation in question did go with that, but even the fact that she brought it up. Then again, Kinsey doesn’t have any kind of degree in psychology, so many it was Kinsey that didn’t know her stuff, not the author.
As with most series, I highly recommend reading X after reading A through W. The characters grow and change and reading in order and not skipping books allows the reader to fully savor the arc of the entire story, A-Z. (It’s one reason I struggled reading the short stories in the short story book Kinsey and Me: The old Kinsey is in them, and I like keeping up with the present and future Kinsey & Co.)
4 ½ stars
I was quite disappointed with "X."
As is typical with the alphabet books, there are two independent mysteries going on simultaneously. However, in the case of "X," it is well past 2/3 of the book before the reader is let in on what the second mystery is. And it was such an inconsequential mystery that I felt as if Grafton just threw it in there to be able to say that she had her usual 2nd mystery included.
The main mystery about Ned Lowe is actually pretty interesting, and I was curious as to how all the involved characters would contribute to the resolution. Well, the resolution was pretty disappointing. It made me think, "Wait. So was that a mystery after all?"
Whereas I usually can't put down a Grafton book, this book was much slower, and I felt I had to push myself through it. Very unusual for Grafton. What saved this book is Grafton's writing. She is a terrific writer, and her descriptions were spot-on. I enjoyed this book more for her writing than for the story itself. I can only hope that her "Y" book will be better and return us to the glory of her other alphabet books.
Of course, I won't go into the plot too much as not to spoil anything. So here are just some thoughts.
There's three separate
There's a "Bank of X. Phillips", characters with the last name "Xanakis", a "Father Xavier", and perhaps other X references that I have forgotten or missed, but no one major reason why this book should earn the X title.
Grafton is less heavy-handed in her 1980s references here as in the recent novels, which I consider a good thing.
Characters briefly pop in and out of this novel, much like being cameo appearances. Some are new, some from the past. Some of these characters are left kind of hanging in the overall story...it's like, why is the person even here in the novel. For instance, Kinsey's relative (Anna Dace -- "My father was Anna's father's favorite uncle, making us (perhaps) second cousins. I might also be her aunt") shows up in a bar and then leaves with Kinsey's old flame. Nothing happens with that thereafter, unless I inadvertently missed reading a page. Another instance is when Kinsey finally meets her old flame's mother, but the mother's appearance is very brief.
Maybe these cameo appearances are indications that there'll be more coverage of these characters, and further loose ends tied up, in the next two novels.
I have always liked Kinsey, and am always rooting for her, so I always look forward to a new novel featuring her in spite of any minor flaws I find in each book.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and
There are three stories going on in X.
It is the 1989 drought in California and Kinsey’s neighbor and landlord, Henry Pitt is concerned about water consumption. Despite all his water conservation measures, his water bills are rising. Along with this, Henry and Kinsey appear to have needy, clingy new next door neighbors.
In early March, a woman contacts Kinsey. She’s being rather secretive and private and would prefer to meet at her home rather than in Kinsey’s office to discuss her services. However, she is also leaving the next morning on an extended trip. So in early evening, Kinsey takes the half hour drive along windy roads to meet Hallie Bettancourt in what can only be described as a mansion. Hallie wants to find the son she gave up for adoption many years earlier.
If you recall from other books, a fellow (somewhat slimy) detective, Pete Wolinsky was killed in a robbery attempt. His widow, Ruthie, is contacted by the IRS who is looking at Pete’s records as well as his former employer, Byrd-Shine Investigations, which ceased operations 15 years earlier. Ruthie has looked through whatever she has and come up empty handed and has asked Kinsey to look through the one box she has. While not finding any financial records, Kinsey did stumble across a sheet with 12 rows of numbers, each with 8 columns of 4 numbers, tucked into a folder. Additionally, underneath the bottom flap of the storage box was an envelope containing a rosary, a bible, and two greeting cards from a Lenore Redfern, who died a dozen years earlier. Apparently the envelope was meant for her daughter, who was four at the time of her death.
In X, nothing is as it appears to be, which of course, is why we like reading Sue Grafton mysteries. Other than the clothing Ms. Grafton describes, there is nothing that would set the book in 1989 vs. 2015–well maybe no cell phones and laptops. Her neighbors, Henry, William and Rosie play minor roles, as do her previous dalliances. Her new characters are interesting and the plots are new.
With only two more letters to go in the series, I’m hoping Ms. Grafton will think about doubling up on letters, AA is for Accidental Asphyxiation or start using numbers. I hate to think at she would stop writing. That would be T is for Tragic. Anyway, I’m sure there are many of you out there who have invested the time to read the 23 previous novels in the series. It would be silly to stop now. Go for it.
And don’t forget one of my favorite books by Grafton, Kinsey and Me. It is some of Grafton’s best and most interesting writing.