P is for Peril : A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

by Sue Grafton

Hardcover, 2001

Call number

MYST GRA

Collection

Genres

Publication

Marian Wood Books/Putnam (2001), Edition: 1st, 352 pages

Description

Fiction. Mystery. HTML:Kinsey Millhone ventures into the darker side of the human soul in this gripping novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton. Kinsey Millhone never sees it coming. She is mired in the case of a doctor who disappeared, his angry ex-wife, and beautiful current one??a case that is full of unfinished business, unfinished homes, and people drifting in and out of their own lives. Then Kinsey gets a shock. A man she finds attractive is hiding a fatal secret??and now a whole lot of beauty, money, and lies are proving to be a fatal distraction from what Kinsey should have seen all along: a killer standing right before her e

User reviews

LibraryThing member aubs
Don't do this to yourself. If you are reading this series, just skip this book. I've read the entire series up to Q so far and they have been good, despite the authors overzealous and unnecessary description on anything and everything. Sue Grafton has some great characters that you come to love and
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twisting story plots to go with it. And to top every book off she has a letter from Kinsey to the reader, detailing the specifics of who-done-it and what happened to them. This book is longer than the others and it just seems like she got tired of writing and said "Eh. They can figure it out for themselves." I swore to myself that I must have had a bad copy of the book. I scoured the bookstores in hopes of finding this missing ending and letter from Kinsey. All to no avail. There is no ending to this book. One could probably narrow it down to 2 people that killed the poor guy, but that just doesn't seem good enough for me. Skip this book.
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LibraryThing member nocto
The middle of a (proposed) 26 book series isn't the place to look for innovative fiction, or anything other than more of the same. So I wasn't particularly disappointed to find Kinsey Millhone on much the same form as ever. Nothing fabulous but a reasonable mystery for the most part and pretty much
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what I expected.
The thing that seemed odd: The only distinguishing factor between these books is their titles - why not have someone actually *in peril* in this one? If there was, it went over my head.
Also the ending seemed a bit unplanned, rushed, as if the author suddenly realised 5 pages from the end that having given the most likely party a get out clause meant that someone else needed to be implicated.
I'll probably go back for Q at some point anyway. (I know, not exactly a ringing endorsement!)
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LibraryThing member bluestar50
The ending stinks!! It left too much undone. Even reading it thru the second time knowing the ending it still didn't make sense! Maybe Sue got tired of it and didn't see fit to end it?
LibraryThing member readafew
P is for Peril is the 16th book in the Kinsey Millhone series. Kinsey is a private investigator who has a tendency to get herself into trouble, either though trying to do the right thing or just letting her curiosity get the better of her. This story is no different. This one was a quick read and I
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would say an average story as far as the series goes. This is one that had 2 separate cases going at the same time. One a missing Doctor who's Ex-wife hires Kinsey to find him and I won't spoil the other one. However she is thinking about finding an new office because Lonnie (her current landlord) is moving to a new building shortly and this does cause a few problems she doesn't want.
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LibraryThing member kd9
I love reading Sue Grafton books. Her descriptions are so dense I can always SMELL the fog and eucalyptus along the sandy shore. Her characters are quirky, but always consistent. I knew I had read this book before when I started it. But once I started it, I knew I was going to finish it before I
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put it down again. I was hooked by the first paragraph.

This time Kinsey is looking for a missing doctor, the head of a nursing facility who is being investigated for Medicare fraud. There are so many people who could have killed him; his ex-wife, his silent thieving partners or various fired employees. It could have been suicide. The mystery is solved -- completely and succinctly -- on the last page. Meanwhile Kinsey is the focus of a sociopath who killed his parents. This third of the book is a bit weak. The danger is resolved suddenly and not very convincingly. Anyone else in her situation would not have survived. But all in all, comparing this to all the other books I have read lately, it is the only one that I know I could read again with real enjoyment.
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LibraryThing member FMRox
Kinsey Millhone, private eye, investigates a missing man at the bequest of the ex-wife. Lots of possible suspects. And, the ending is left hanging. Can't tell who did it. In fact the ending is not a typical ending for Grafton at all, there's no wrap-up note by Kinsey explaining her findings. I
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actually thought pages/ chapter was missing, until I read others reviews with the same concern. Grafton does throw in another subplot, I guess to make the story longer? This one is frustrating and not Grafton's best.
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LibraryThing member jepeters333
A doctor disappears - ex-wife and wife suspected
LibraryThing member bosslady
I HATED the ending -- I actually thought there were surely pages MISSING at the end!
LibraryThing member kaulsu
Another good one from Sue Grafton. You may notice that I rate 'good' those that keep me guessing! This one was so 'wet' I ending up dreaming about unrelenting rain.

Interestingly, many reviewers felt there was no true ending. I suppose because she ended before the cops came and read anyone their
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Miranda rights. It is true it is not the neatest package...there were several side plots going on simultaneously....but I found the ending, with its "unexplained" motive clear as could be. To say more would be a spoiler.

This one featured her landlord, Henry, and past cop-'friend' Jonah, but none of her other particular friends. I must say she also seemed to wear fewer turtlenecks, took fewer showers, and exercised poor tooth hygiene....
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LibraryThing member ffortsa
domestic issues and a rather obvious story, alas.
LibraryThing member JosiKilpack
I love Sue Graphton's book, but I swear this one was missing the last two chapters. I looked for years to see a reprint with the whole thing, but it never came. My theory still holds, however, because none of her books end the way this one did.
LibraryThing member DocWalt10
Have read series A to F some years ago when I borrowed them from the library. Excellent short stories. Hope to acquire the entire series and read them again.
LibraryThing member JonathanAPSU
The one where it turns out their lesbians at the end.
LibraryThing member ChrisNorbury
Meh. Vague plot, modest stakes, MC doesn't stand out as extraordinary. My first Grafton novel, so I may have missed something by jumping in near the end of the series, but I struggled to get through the middle third of the book. Ending was abrupt, left some unanswered questions.
LibraryThing member dbhutch
Not the best book by Ms. Grafton. Its as if the ending is missing. It does get into some of the interesting small mob type crime that can go on when dealing with the government, in this case Medicare and Medicaid, and with the usual twists and turns of Kinsey's cases. In this case though, there is
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no definitive whodunnit. The reader seems to be left to pick thier own person.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Missing person. Not her best work, obviously contrived plots and less believable characters. Kinsey is hired to find the missing doctor by his ex-wife. It appears the doctor was involved in medical fraud. Is is suicide or murder. Who cares? none of the characters convince that well, the motives are
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poor, and the story tangled, but not resolved.

Random Subplot: Kinsey is kicked suddenly out of her office and tries to rent from two crooks. What is this storyline doing in this book? It is long, contrived and adds nothing.

Bonus Second random subplot: Rosie's sister's records, at least this almost fits in to the mainstoryline.
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LibraryThing member Mrsbaty
Kinsey is once again on a missing persons case. A well-respected doctor is missing and his ex-wife wants him found. Odd that it's his ex-wife and not his current wife but of course, that is just the beginning of the oddities in the case. As Kinsey begins to pursue the case, she learns that the
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doctor is being investigated for Medicare fraud at the nursing home he was running. She also learns that his current wife has a daughter from a previous relationship who devotes her time to finding ways to run away. The mystery takes twists and turns involving ownership of the nursing home and the current wife's ex-husband. The answer to the mystery was surprising and I like that.

The part of the story that was much more interesting to me, though, was Kinsey's own personal problem that develops over the course of the book. In pursuit of new office space, she meets two brothers who own what seems to be the perfect space for her. She is immediately attracted to one of the brothers and he reciprocates. She soon finds out that this relationship will be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

This entry into the series is satisfying and entertaining, one of my favorites.
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LibraryThing member sdramsey
I keep thinking I've read everything in this series and then finding another one I'd missed. I'm always happy to spend time with Kinsey!
LibraryThing member bakersfieldbarbara
The best of the best. Author Sue Grafton never lets us down as she travels through the alphabet with her look into the darker side of the human soul. I recommend every book written in this alphabet series and looking forward to the the next one. Grafton doesn't let a reader down as she takes us to
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the last page of her novels. Anticipation is always at the forefront of my impatience for her next book.
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LibraryThing member benfulton
I've made a sort of hobby out of reading lousy mysteries that I can get for a few pennies at a local booksale. I get into the habit as I read them of writing a review of the book in my head - "Oh, that character's not convincing at all", or "The language is a bit stilted here", or "Why exactly are
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they discussing the clown paintings of John Wayne Gacy again?"

I mention this because after reading those, It becomes kind of a relief to pick up a Grafton. The alphabet series is as gimmicky as any, but the fact is, there isn't any stilted language, unconvincing characters, or discussions of serial killer art in the books. You read them, get lost in the story, and enjoy yourself for a few hours. The fact that she's managed to punch twenty or so of these books out with no real loss in quality is remarkable. The prose isn't deathless, by any means; the books aren't ever going to win a Pulitzer. They're just good, solid, quality escapist detective fiction, and that is no bad thing.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
Kinsey is hired to find Dr. Dowan Purcell, a nursing home administrator and doctor. From his crazy ex-wife to his straight from the strip club new one, the suspicions pile up. At the same time, Kinsey tries to lease an office in a new building and gets to know the shady brothers that will be her
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new landlords.

For the first time I've started to notice some modern-day things creeping into the books. Even though they're technically still set in the 80s, (this one is set in 1986), there are a couple things that are reminiscent of modern day. At one point she refers to an organic carrot, at another point she talks about an office going paperless and everything being operated on computers. I could be wrong but I feel like it was too early in the timeline for offices to really be going paperless in the 80s.
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LibraryThing member susandennis
I found this series the year that D came out and I have eagerly awaited each new addition. I'm never disappointed and wasn't this time either. Kinsey is hired to find the ex-husband of her client. He's been missing and find him involves a wide variety of interesting characters. Now I have to wait a
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year and a half for Q. Sigh.
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LibraryThing member susan.wright
I have enjoyed all the Grafton alphabet novels I have read. I didn't start at the beginning of the alphabet, but Grafton gives a clear picture of Kinsey and her life. Look forward to reading more letters..
LibraryThing member polywogg
BOTTOM-LINE:
Decent mystery, too much other noise.
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PLOT OR PREMISE:
Kinsey is hired for a missing persons case, a retired family doctor, running a nursing home.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The mystery opens with a nice quirk -- it's the ex-wife who hires Kinsey, not the current wife. Like all Kinsey's cases, it
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gets complicated really fast -- cheating wives, messy divorced families, a search for new office space, Medicare fraud, kids who murdered their parents, etc.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The sub-story about kids murdering their parents and the convenience of some evidence that comes to her from Henry by coincidence really detracts from the story.
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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 roguehomebody
This is the first novel I've read by Sue Grafton, and it'll likely be the last.

Kinsey Millhone is supposedly a “rebel,” a solo private investigator, but this is the most boring rebel I've ever seen. Her dialogue is what you'd expect from a timid bookworm, not a tough, independent woman. The
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choices she makes throughout the story also baffled. For example, when she finds out the “truth” about the brothers, instead of running the other way as fast as she can, she worries about her rent deposit. And I say “truth,” because the truth Kinsey is fed turns out to be partially untrue, but she believes it hook, line, and sinker without verifying anything – you know, without acting like a private investigator.

Some of the characters are decent, but a large portion of their dialogue, like Kinsey's, is stilted. Dialogue is supposed to be the thing that draws the reader's attention, but here the descriptions of the ocean, roads, yards, and homes were actually more interesting.

The plot itself had potential, but Grafton seemed intent on bogging it down. While she strove for such a page count is beyond me. You could easily slice 200 pages from this novel and have a lean, understandable mystery without sacrificing subplots or character development.

And that ending...let's talk about the ending.

This is the worst ending to a novel I've ever read. Nothing is wrapped up, which is essential to a PI/mystery novel. I actually wondered if I had a defective copy, and kept flipping around seeing if I missed something. But now that I read other reviews on Amazon, I realize I didn't miss anything, though Grafton certainly did.

Seriously, I don't know how an editor let this slip through. I guess Grafton is so big she can do what she wants, but I hope the reader response to this novel teaches her something.

It sounds like this is an "off" novel for Grafton, but I don't know if I want to attempt another based on this one experience.
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Pages

352

ISBN

0399147195 / 9780399147197
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