"O" Is for Outlaw

by Sue Grafton

Hardcover, 1999

Status

Available

Publication

Henry Holt and Co. (1999), Edition: 1st, 336 pages

Description

PI Kinsey Millhone of California discovers an undelivered letter exonerating her first husband of beating a man to death, for which she left him. Kinsey goes after the real killer, a probe that takes her back to Vietnam War days.

Rating

½ (560 ratings; 3.7)

User reviews

LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
One of the best entries in this series. Kinsey deals with new guilt over leaving her first husband 14 years ago; she discovers he may not have been responsible for the death of a man back then as she believed at the time; and now he lies in a coma, the victim of a savage beating himself...she has
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to know why.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
Kinsey’s first marriage has always been an unknown for readers. In this book we get to explore that relationship and in doing so we learn more about the tough P.I. we’ve come to know and love. O is for Outlaw has the same expected set up of the other novels, it just deals with Kinsey’s past
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instead of a stranger’s this time.

From bar fights to Vietnam Kinsey digs into her ex’s past and the confusing circumstances surrounding their break-up. She also makes a quick trip to Louisville, Ky. and spends a bit of time in the southern city.

BOTTOM LINE: A good addition to the series and a fun read.

There’s one glaring thing I have to mention about the audio version of this book. All of the books in this series, from “A is for Alibi” to “N is for Noose” are read by Judy Kaye. She always did a fantastic job and I have a feeling her narration is a big part of why I’ve enjoyed these. This latest installment is read by Mary Peiffer. She doesn’t do a bad job; it’s just not the voice I’ve grown to connect with Kinsey Millhone. I have no idea why they switched narrators midway through the series, but it’s definitely a disappointment.
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LibraryThing member miyurose
I think this has been my favorite in this series so far. This is also one of the few series I've read entirely in order. I think I liked this as much as I did because it was personal for Kinsey. You get a glimpse into her past, which is usually very shadowed and un-mentioned. I also did not have it
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remotely figured out, which is a mark of a good mystery to me.
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LibraryThing member dbhutch
Grafton reveals more still of out beloved Kinsey's past when Kinsey gets pulled into the shooting of her 1st ex-husband Mickey Magruder. Ms. Grafton shows us how Kinsey and her 1st husband met, and soon divorced, and why. An a quick lesson about not judging based on reputation alone. For me,
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Grafton is back on track with her "O" book in the series, one I can say I enjoyed much more than the previous 2 in the series. The more personally involved Kinsey gets, the more these seem to come alive, the more driven she is about her cases. Only thing I have to wonder is - what is Ms. Grafton's interest in louisville, KY?
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LibraryThing member FMRox
Kinsey Milhone, PI, sends herself on another private mission to solve the case for a former acquaintance, her ex-husband. Mickey, her ex, shows up shot and in the hospital and Kinsey decides to follow the clues to find out why and how. This takes her back through her life and the time she left him
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for case in which he asked her to lie providing an alibi for him during a murder investigation in which he was suspect. This caused the rift in their marriage ending it. Kinsey feels compelled to "make things right".
This is an interesting leap for Kinsey who seems to only run into family during cases. Otherwise, she would stay the lone wolf forever. She, of course, is a better investigator then the 2 dics that come from LA to accuse her of the shooting. She solves the case (for them) due to her usually tenacity and end up forgiving her ex as he lays in bed at the ICU. Some of things that arise for Kinsey personal relationship with him make him look like a very bad person. The only part that doesn't fit is Kinsey's forgiveness of his betrayal.
The cast of characters is large, but interesting. There is a nice element of Vietnam vets. Because Kinsey has grown too big for Santa Teresa, Grafton takes her from there to LA, Louisville and back which is a nice scenery shift. The story flows nicely until the end with a nice revenge scene after the twist.
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LibraryThing member ffortsa
I'm not sure the title makes sense this time, but she had to find something for 'O'. We learn more of Kinsey's backstory here, as her first ex-husband figures quite centrally to the story when contents of his storage locker are sold at auction and Kinsey's belonging show up among the papers. I
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sometimes wonder how the small communitites around Santa Teresa can hold so many rich and slimy characters.

Once again, while I didn't exactly solve the mystery before she did, I caught the clues ahead of her, and ended up mumbling to the page 'come on, don't you see that???' But she catches up eventually, and the ending is satisfying.
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LibraryThing member Heptonj
This one shows Kinsey making up for her error in judgement from years past with her ex-husband. As Mickey lays dying in ICU she tracks down a host of unsavoury characters and eventually comes to the right conclusion. Along the way she meets several very interesting people with a variety of
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backgrounds and in addition the setting is broadened by her trips to LA as part of her investigation.

This is another good novel in the alphabet series which are, as always, familiar, comfortable territory.
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LibraryThing member nocto
Decent mystery with more of Kinsey's past coming to the fore. Nothing terribly special but an enjoyable read.
LibraryThing member nocto
Decent mystery with more of Kinsey's past coming to the fore. Nothing terribly special but an enjoyable read.
LibraryThing member kaulsu
Ahh, Grafton is back! This book has her snappy wit in full abundance. The sleuthing may be a bit much...how often do P.I.s put themselves so recklessly in danger? Oh. Wait. I guess they do exactly that. I did figure out who did it, but mostly because he was a character with no apparent
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motive...until near the end. Fun and fast read.

I'm glad she is back in form...
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LibraryThing member ScottKalas
An interesting plot but the story was not. Maybe I'm getting burned out with Kinsey and her antics. Her 'snooping' is getting pretty ridiculous, especially when she is searching her ex-husbands apartment. The holes and unconnected dots are aplenty too. The closing on the book for 'O' is for Outlaw
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misses the target for 'Outlaw' in plot and character but 'O' is for Outlandish may be more on target.
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LibraryThing member Mrsbaty
O is for Outlaw begins with Kinsey getting a phone call from a man who claims to have something that belongs to her. Turns out, he had bought the contents of a storage unit at an auction and it contained some things that were hers. He’s willing to sell them back to her for the right price. This
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intriguing beginning leads us on a trail that will reveal more about Kinsey’s past than most of her other books have ever revealed.

As it turns out, the storage locker belonged to Kinsey’s first ex-husband whom, up to this point, we have known nothing about. We find out why they split up and that possibly, Kinsey was in the wrong. This really bothers Kinsey and she has to find out the truth. Going back to re-investigate an old murder and old acquaintances can have deadly consequences!

I enjoyed this book for the interesting mystery and for the depth of background we pick up on Kinsey. Sue Grafton is still going strong 15 books into this series.
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LibraryThing member readafew
Sue Grafton in my opinion is not an inspirational writer but she is very compitent and I continue to purchase an read them (so they ain't all bad) but I would tend not to classify her as "Mystery" writer because through 'O' there was only one book I didn't know several chapeters from the end who
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dun it and why. This was the one I was caught flatfooted on and I don't know if I was just not paying attention or if she's getting better. Overall up to this one I think it is the best of the series and we learn quit a bit more about Kinsey's past and the 1st husband that is alluded to. Enjoy
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Past lives. Kinsey discover's that her ex-husband whom she left when he asked her to lie for him, is destitute, and before she knows it, gunshot and in a coma. Kinsey decides she'd better find out what happened to him over the interviening years, and discovers that the lie wasn't that big a deal
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after all. Once a detective always a detective, her ex husband was on the trail of those who'd framed him long ago. Kinsey reckons she can pull it off on his behalf, before letting what has past go.

I really enjoyed the initial reading of this, but struggled this time around, the police are particularly unbelievable, and the co-incidences quite large. Still a well told tale though,
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LibraryThing member lkernagh
Not one of Grafton’s better books in the Kinsey Millhone series, IMO, but that could be in part due to the change in reader for the audiobook. Having consistently listened to the voice of Mary Peiffer from A is for Alibi through to N is for Noose], I found it a little jarring to suddenly have to
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get used to a new “voice”, just like I would probably struggle if - GASP! Grover Gardner were replaced as reader for the Inspector Montalbano books…. But I digress. What I did like about this installment is that we get to learn about Kinsey’s first husband, more about Kinsey’s childhood and the short time she spent as a rookie cop. Kinsey continues to encounter offbeat characters - in this installment a Tarot card reading granny and biker-dude with some anger management issues - and Grafton manages once again to provide an action-packed climax, but for the most part, this was just an average read for me.
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LibraryThing member christinejoseph
Typical her

The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. Last week he bought a stack. They had stuff in them—Kinsey stuff. For thirty bucks, he'll sell her the lot. Kinsey's never been one for personal possessions, but curiosity wins out and she
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hands over a twenty (she may be curious but she loves a bargain). What she finds amid childhood memorabilia is an old undelivered letter.

It will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of that first marriage, about the honor of that first husband, about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril.
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LibraryThing member lamotamant
Yay for some backstory... nay for *almost everything else.

*When I start a series I usually end up compelled to finish it out. Okay, scratch usually and insert always. This series has made me regret this compulsion. So what's with the "almost," huh? For one, I'm ALMOST done with the currently
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published books. Two, there were some modestly funny bits thrown in amongst the chunky, clopping-along-haphazardly plot. Three, people ate a QP with white wine and it made me happy.
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LibraryThing member DocWalt10
Excellent series
LibraryThing member dasam
The descriptive writing is the best part. The plot is not as silly as the M and N, but the character seems to become less able, smart, and experienced with each novel. Grafton tries to blame it on Kinsey's personal history, but that is a stretch. How many times she explains her not having a weapon
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handy by saying she does mostly boring work and most PIs don't need one? Fine. But if you are knowingly dealing with dangerous people, and you have been chased and shot before, maybe having one handy might make sense, even if it means you can't have her face some extra danger to help the plot along.

I can also understand not working with the police when they are incompetent or criminal themselves; but here she does it because she can. As much as I like the characters, this is disappointing.
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LibraryThing member lamour
In this novel in the series, we learn about Knisey's first marriage to Mickey Magruder. She met him when she was a young police officer and he was a season veteran. She left him when he was accused of beating a man to death after which Magruder's life seemed to go down hill. Now 14 years later,
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Magruder is mysteriously shot and Kinsey tries to find out who and why did it.

Her search leads her to realize that Mickey Magruder was innocent of the killing she had believed him guilty of. She must also figure out who shot him which leads her back into the Vietnam War and a murder that happened there when a soldier pushed another wounded soldier out of medivac helicopter.
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LibraryThing member polywogg
BOTTOM-LINE:
Pretty good story, could have been a contender.
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PLOT OR PREMISE:
Kinsey gets a blast from the past from her ex-husband, Mickey Magruder.
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WHAT I LIKED:
Kinsey finds out that when she walked out of their marriage thinking he was guilty of murder/manslaughter, he actually had an alibi that
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he didn't reveal. He was never convicted, and in the years since, they've had no contact. It's interesting to see her work through a sense of guilt and a desire to know the real truth. Before she finds him, someone shoots him on the street and he's in a coma. Soon she's wearing his leather jacket and hunting down his shooter. The story is solid but does jump around quite a bit to get to the final bit.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The solution is a bit "out there" for pieces tying together, and like a couple of the previous books, feels a little unfair to the reader. Not as bad as previous, however.
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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.
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LibraryThing member TVNerd95
At least we had a “live” character in this book worth rooting for and so glad Duffy came through for Kinsey in the end. The last two books before this one didn’t really give me someone besides Kinsey to root for and I found those stories to drag me down. This one on the other hand was
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exciting, gave us someone to root for and opened up some of Kinsey’s past. Her first ex-husband Mickey is an interesting character and I could see how Kinsey fell for him in the past versus her other ex-husband Daniel.

The case is very realistic to the times the story is set in. This book also gave us a side case that was linked but not really part of the overarching plot but Sue Grafton never let it take away from the main story or let Kinsey stray down that path for too long in the book. A much stronger story than both M and N and I really enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member susandennis
One of Kinsey's ex-husbands surfaces in a coma and raises questions - some new and some 14 years old. The premise is pretty standard for this alphabet series. And I won't pretend to give a fair review. I love this character and each and every one of the books. I wait and wait and wait for the next
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one. They used to come every year - now it's every year and a half. I am thinking that during this wait, I may start at "A" again.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Audiobook performed by Judy Keye.

Book # 15 in the popular Alphabet series starring private investigator (and former cop) Kinsey Millhone. It starts when a man who buys abandoned storage lockers calls to tell Kinsey he’s found a carton stuffed with personal memorabilia with her name on it. Turns
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out the storage locker belonged to her first ex-husband, Mickey.

Of course, it’s not so simple as that. Mickey’s been shot and Kinsey looks like a possible suspect. But who would go to the trouble to frame her? And what was Mickey up to that would get him shot?

I love that the series is set in a time before computers and cell phones, when investigators (whether police or private detectives) needed to be both inventive and persistent in tracking down all the leads and possibilities. The plot is suitably intricate but Grafton reveals little bits and pieces of the puzzle, letting the reader try to figure out the solution right along with Kinsey. I confess that I was unsuccessful until I was practically hit over the head with the information.

The ending was satisfying and somewhat touching. That last poignant paragraph was a nice surprise.

Judy Keye does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. I loved the various voices she used for some of the more colorful characters: neighbor and landlord, Henry; Cordia; Duffy; Porter Yount.

Note: I read about four or five of these books early on and then stopped. A couple of years ago I re-read the first in the series and really enjoyed it. Now, after reading this one, I’m making a promise to myself to go back and read them all.
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LibraryThing member jguidry
This was another good episode in the Kinsey Millhone series.  I really liked getting some background into Kinsey's past life.  Learning about her first marriage and the ending of that marriage gave a glimpse into her current personality.  I also like how Kinsey worked to change things and fix
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past sins".  I also enjoyed the new characters from Los Angeles--her ex-husband's landlords.  They were a lot of fun and I'd have liked more interaction with them.  The main disappointment was the motive for the shooting of Kinsey's ex.  I guess it makes sense, but the conclusion could have been written more interestingly.  I still enjoyed the story though."
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Awards

Audie Award (Finalist — 2000)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1999-10-12

Physical description

9 inches

ISBN

0805059555 / 9780805059557

UPC

000805059555
Page: 1.5241 seconds