Q is for Quarry: A Kinsey Millhone Novel | Gal's Guide Library | TinyCat |

2024-04-23 6:28 am

Q is for Quarry: A Kinsey Millhone Novel

by Sue Grafton

Hardcover, 2002

Status

Available

Series

Kinsey Millhone (17)

Tags

Genres

Publication

G. P. Putnam's Sons (2002), Edition: 1st, 385 pages

Description

Fiction. Mystery. HTML:Sue Grafton delivers an intensely gripping mystery based on an actual unsolved murder in this #1 New York Times bestseller featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved... That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body are nearing the end of their careers in law enforcement�??and they want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to help with their legwork and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. Kinsey is intrigued by the cold case and agrees to take the job. But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her kill… (more)

Rating

½ (614 ratings; 3.7)

User reviews

LibraryThing member FMRox

PI Kinsey Milhone finds herself dragged into an investigation of a cold case with two sickly police detectives. Grafton uses for her storyline a true cold case from Santa Barbara in 1969 with her spin on it.
This one Grafton seems to have really come back. Better storyline, less unexplained side

plots and good characterization. I love that Kinsey meets her match in junk food gorging. I got a little tired of the two old sickly men she dragged around. Kinsey definitely needs a friend or two. She seems to be considering more about her family as they force themselves on her. Plot is pretty decent with multiple characters and multiple suspects. Grafton does an excellent job of pulling out the small town relationships.

LibraryThing member ffortsa

[Q is for Quarry] is one of the best in the Grafton alphabet series. Two aging detectives, one retired on disability, the other retired and ill, come to Kinsey to help solve a cold case that has stuck in their craws for 18 years. Con Dolan has grumbled about Kinsey in many other books, but now he

enlists her help.

The story beautifully renders the relationship between the two older men, one alone, the other a widower, and how they care for each other. Grafton makes them endearing to this reader, very real in their flaws and their dedication to solving the murder still on the books.

Kinsey's family shows up as well, her cousin Tasha, her aunt, her family history. In fact, the entire book is about family, the good guys and and bad guys. A sweet read.

LibraryThing member Mrsbaty

I first read this book several years ago and it has stuck in my mind ever since then. I think about it often. I was really happy to read it again when it came up this time in my reread of the series and it still has the same appeal it did the first time. When a book can keep you thinking about it

for years, the author is definitely doing something right!

Kinsey is contacted by Con Dolan, a police detective that has come up in many of the previous books, to help him with a cold case. He has a friend, one of his early mentors as a detective, who he believes is dying of cancer and needs an interest to keep him alive. He wants to reopen a Jane Doe murder case that they had first investigated 18 years ago. Kinsey is intrigued and joins the investigation.

I don't want to give spoilers but the investigation trail is fascinating to me. How they pick up clues from 18 year old police reports and follow them to the end is really intriguing! The cast of characters they encounter feel like people you know in your everyday life. The settings in the book like the small town and the abandoned condominium development are can be pictured as clearly as if you'd been there yourself. The murderer is unexpected.

Most of this story happens out of Santa Teresa. I don't find myself missing Henry and Rosie though, because the story is so engrossing.

Two more things add a deeper level to this entry in the series. The first is that Kinsey re-encounters her mother's family in a big way. The murder dump site is actually on her family's property and her mother's sister comes to visit her bringing stories and providing photos. The second is that this mystery is based on a true story that Sue Grafton heard about at a dinner party. The sad end to that is, however, that the Jane Doe she heard about has still never been identified or the murderer brought to justice. This kept running through my mind as I was reading and I'm sure it's why this story is so much more poignant than the other stories in the series. This is definitely the best Kinsey yet.

LibraryThing member polywogg

BOTTOM-LINE:
Team Dolan works surprisingly well together.
.
PLOT OR PREMISE:
Dolan brings Kinsey a cold case -- an 18-year-old case of homicide for an unidentified Jane Doe.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The plot device Kinsey working with Dolan while helping out a retired old-timer who was one of the original

detectives on the case is flat out awesome. Kind of like the series Cold Case that was on TV a few years after the book was published. And the teamwork of three of them is a nice twist on the traditional "go it alone" storylines of most of Kinsey's cases. As with some of the previous stories, she ends up in a small town where everyone knows everyone and the motives are all potentially interconnected. Finally, while there is some drama with Kinsey's extended family, for once it ends up being relatively positive overall.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Dolan and Stacey bicker like an old married couple, and it gets tedious. The story is also about 30% longer than most of the novels, and it does drag in a few places.
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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.

LibraryThing member kd9

I had already read this Kinsey Millhone, too. But unlike P is for Peril, I remembered more of the details of the book and enjoyed them less.

This books is a fairly straightforward murder mystery, with the only significant twists, the murder happened 18 years ago and it is being investigated by two

former cops, both in advanced states of physical decline. They hire Kinsey to help them. She enjoys the company of older men, certainly more than I do.

The best part of the book, again, are the physical descriptions. You can smell the high desert and see the homely features of the middle class families whose lives she turns inside out. A home made quilt features as a significant clue.

I will keep reading books in this series, but this one is not a favorite.

LibraryThing member smik

Con Dolan and Stacey Oliphant are reaching the end of long careers in law enforcement and are keen to solve a case of a "Jane Doe" that has gone unsolved for 18 years. Stacey is fighting cancer and Con has a dodgy heart and both friends think the other needs something to focus on. They were the two

men who found the body of a young girl, bound, stabbed and dumped. No-one ever claimed the body even after months of investigation. Con approaches Kinsey Millhone to work freelance with them on the investigation. Con belives the guilty party is one Frankie Miracle, already convicted for the murder of his girl friend. This is #17 Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series. This is quite a long book and I must confess that, towards the end, I was in danger of losing track of what the original investigation was about, especially after the murder of one of those Kinsey had interviewed. Sue Grafton based this on the real unsolved homicide case that happened in Santa Barbara in 1969.

LibraryThing member Heptonj

Another excellent plot from Ms Grafton with the addition of background information on the true crime it was based on. One has to hope this poor girl has been identified. It was a good idea for Kinsey to have partners in the form of Dolan & Stacey as it lent the book unexplored characters and

storylines. This is definately one not to miss.

LibraryThing member readafew

Q is for Quarry is the Qth book in the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series. Kinsey is back and suffering from Spring Fever and Lieutenant Dolan offers to hire her to help him and his retired friend try to identify a murdered girl in a case 18 years old. Much fast food consumption ensues.

Not a bad

book, it is another standard Kinsey book, the plot follows same slow buildup with a bunch of running around until the last quarter of the book where it starts to go somewhere and the last %10 where things are really moving along. These are fun easy books that generally just keep you interested enough on who did it to keep reading, but never enough to consider it a must read. I like them and generally read one when my other reading has been a little heavy and I need a little break.

LibraryThing member ReadingBear

Liked: 1) finding out Kinsey’s pretty–she looks like her late mom who was considered pretty 2) the paeans to fast food burgers. I don’t eat them but she writes about them so well I want to! 3) the fact that Sue Grafton based this on an actual unsolved murder. Was wondering how she keeps this

‘new’ & thought maybe you don’t have to when you are Sue Grafton & people know what they want from you… but still she did find this way & it’s incredible. The reconstruction of the actual dead/unknown person is at the back of the book & it would be so great/sad but wonderful if, as a result, she gets her identity back!

LibraryThing member hmskip

I love the Kinsey books, but this one is not the best.

LibraryThing member edesvousges

Synopsis: Kinsey Millhone, private detective, is hired by two retired police officers who want to solve a case that has been in their craw for almost twenty years. They need Kinsey to do the legwork to help figure out who murdered a young girl in 1969 and dumped her body in a quarry owned,

interestingly enough, by Kinsey's estranged family. Based on a true story (creeeeepy) and placed by Grafton in 1987.
Readability: Kinsey is one of my oldest literary friends, so it was almost soothing to read and hear her voice and dry humor again. Finding out information about her family, too, was such a breath of fresh air! Like learning something new about a best friend.
Predictability: I had the wrong guy! I was pleased that I didn't know whodunnit. Grafton did not let me down.
Couldn't Put it Down Factor: Four out of Five. Five out of Five for the last 100 pages. Stayed up til 2am to finish. : )
Recommend it?: Absolutely. I would recommend anything by Grafton. Watch out for some f-words, and pretty grizzly details about Jane Doe, however.
Overall Rating: Five stars. I just love this series.

LibraryThing member dbhutch

Ms. Grafton seems to have gotten backon track after the "P" book. In this installment of Kinsey's cases, she works with her old STPD buddy Lt. Dolan and one of his dept buddies to try to crack an old case that's been around for 20 years. Kinsey pulls the pieces all together for the case, mostly by

ther dogged interview style - harass the heck nd be a nuisance until people tell you what they know to shut ya up ;-). We also get MUCH more on Kinsey's family, and the rift in it, background on her parents, aunts, and Grand. All in all a very challenging few weeks for Kinsey,and with the typical unexpected twist that Ms. Grafton is so well known for.

LibraryThing member nocto

I really feel like I'm just reading this series because it's there rather than because I enjoy it these days. But I seem to keep reading it any how and I'm pretty certain I'll still be here turning the pages when Z rolls around. This had a better plot than I was expecting and a less repetitive

nature than some of the others that have come before it. Not bad really.

LibraryThing member kaulsu

This book seemed very different than the previous 16 novels. Although she was 'hired' by a retired cop, it never felt like she was under retainer. It turns out the plot was inspired from a true cold case.

She begins the book bringing back her mother's family (again), but then moved away from that

plot thread without backwards glance. I wish she would either embrace them or divorce them once and for all.

LibraryThing member jrtanworth

The mystery itself was quite engaging as bits of evidence are gradually uncovered by Kinsey and her the two elderly cohorts she is assisting. The somewhat average rating is due to the fact that the story spends too much time sidetracked on side stories not essential to the mystery -- Kinsey's

relationships with her extended family and the health issues and eating, smoking, and drinking habits of the detectives she is working with.

LibraryThing member benfulton

Really, for a character with more than 18 books written about her, we don't know a heck of a lot about Kinsey Millhone. This one brings out her family in more detail, and I suspect by the time we get to Z there's going to be a mushy reconciliation with them. I hope not. A lot of the stories in this

series are really good, and it would be a shame to finish them all out with mush.

Take this one for instance. Based on an unsolved true story of a young girl murdered in California, Grafton paints a lovely picture of small town America - the interrelationships, the unhappiness, the expectations, and comes up with an elegant and plausible plotline explaining the girl's death. Kinsey partners up with two old, sick cops who worked the murder, and the characterizations of the two are touching, and the relationships between the three are gently funny.

Grafton tries to push ahead some of the subplots of the other characters, but I'm not too sure what you can do with a romance involving a 90-year-old. I suspect it was put into the series as a bit of comic relief, and now she's going to have to write her way out of it. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all gets put together.

LibraryThing member reading_fox

Murder. Kinsey is called in by two old friends/ex policemen, to help "provide some legwork" in the investigation of an unsolved, and unidentified body 17 yrs ago. The emphasis is again on small town america from long ago, and how the community sticks together against outsiders. Well developed plot

helps keep the fast food descriptions from becoming too annoying.

Random Subplot: Henry's love life. WHy? we really don't care.

LibraryThing member lizhawk

In an unusual twist, Sue Grafaton based this tale on a real Jane Doe, liberally sprinkling with her own imagination. Kinsey works with two retired detectives, reopening an old case and tracking seeming obscure and unrelated clues through small California desert towns to eventually find the killer.

Rather formulaic, sometimes long on description, an easy read for those who like quick series.

LibraryThing member quiBee

This is part of a series of books following a female American detective.
This particular book has her joining a couple of retirees looking at the unsolved murder of a young female many years before.
I don't know if it was because it was a book I kept picking up and putting down so often that didn't

build up a proper interest in the story, but I didn't find this book particularly engrossing.

LibraryThing member Berly

Admittedly, I jumped into the middle of this series, so maybe I am missing some endearing background info on super sleuth Kinsey Millhone, but she just didn't do it for me. I liked her, but didn't love her. The sidekicks, crabby old guys, were pretty good. Humor was good. But the mystery just

unfolded so slowly. Yes, it was a cold case, but still. Not sure how Grafton got so far into the alphabet with this series...just okay.

LibraryThing member susandennis

I am so sucked into this series that I am beyond any rational thought. But, even so, I did think that this story was a little different. Better, maybe. I think you either like the series or you don't and I do. Not very insightful but there you have it.

LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd

Kinsey gets recruited by Lieutenant Dolan to help investigate a cold case, in which a Jane Doe was found stabbed and dumped in a quarry 18 years earlier. Dolan, who has had a health scare himself, thinks the retired detective who originally worked the case will get a new lease on life after cancer

treatment if he can finally identify the woman and find out who killed her. Kinsey is stuck in a small town with two aging sick men trying to put together the pieces of a very old puzzle. And another one of Kinsey's mother's family members shows up, stirring up all her own resentments and abandonment issues. I seem to remember liking this one quite a lot when I first read it, but the story line felt a little bloated to me this time around---too many characters with too many old secrets. But it was fun to watch Kinsey introducing Detective Oliphant to every brand of fast food known to Californians in the 1980s. Grafton was inspired by an actual unsolved murder that came to her attention, and she was able to use some of the details in writing this novel. She was instrumental in having the body exhumed, and a reconstruction of her face sculpted by a forensic artist. Despite the efforts of Grafton and the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department, including wide circulation of images of sculpted likeness, the victim in that case remains unidentified and her killer unknown.

LibraryThing member DocWalt10

Acquired this book Oct 27, 2017. Read again starting May 16/19 and finished July 16/19. Her books can be read in one seating but finding the time is the challenge. As always, a great read. Never a dull moment. I never tire of Kinsey Millhone, the main character in Sue Grafton's books. She is an

independent young woman, self-employed, doing what she loves to do and is good at it. As a private investigator, she is a minority in her field. If you enjoy suspense, this book and series are for you.

LibraryThing member TVNerd95

I loved this one. I loved the cold case. I loved the interaction between Kinsey, Dolan and Stacey. You really get some insight and can see just how much more comfortable Kinsey is with people older than her versus closer to her own age. The other good thing in this one is how great the older

characters are written. They are active, engaged, coherent, ornery and just in general not just cranky old people.

The cold case is especially engaging and I loved it. The story leads Kinsey almost all the way to Arizona and Kinsey really shows us her ability to use multiple avenues of inquiry to try and find and answer. She and Dolan/Oliphant come at this case from many angles trying to get just one sliver of information to bring the cold case to an end.

I really appreciated that Kinsey was working for Lt. Dolan in this one – you could tell he came to her because he truly respects her and knows she is good at her job. Stacey Oliphant is another old geezer that I just fell in love with like Henry. He is so adorable and intelligent – what a great addition to the story.

I loved how at the end of the book the author explains the case that was her inspiration for this one and gives the reader some insight into how her story came together. This was definitely one of my favorites in the series.

LibraryThing member tkcs

Grafton's books are the perfect thing to listen to while running errands. I just keep ordering the CDs from my library, and about the time I finish with one the next one arrives.

Subjects

California Fiction

Detective and mystery stories

Millhone, Kinsey (Fictitious character) Fiction

Mystery fiction

Women private investigators California Fiction

Awards

Audie Award (Finalist — Mystery — 2003)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2002-10-14

Physical description

9.25 inches

ISBN

0399149155 / 9780399149153

More

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