Here are some customer reviews of
R is for Ricochet
: If you're a longtime Kinsey fan, you'll enjoy her latest exploit among people who are financially and socially above her but who have problems they can't cope with, without her help. Reba Lafferty presents Kinsey with some out-of-the-ordinary challenges, such as spilling the beans about the feds' plan to someone who could do a lot of harm. And, for a change, Kinsey doesn't single-handedly bring the bad guy to justice.
Some parts are a little lengthy, such as when the IRS agent explains to Kinsey exactly how money-laundering works. And some parts are a little hard to buy, such as when Kinsey keeps ineffectively trying to stop Reba from doing something dangerous and stupid and ends up in the mess with her. Common sense would say "Walk away!" But then, if she did, there would go the plot.
We Kinsey fans are also Henry fans, so even if his little subplot doesn't tie in with the main plot, so what? We'd be disappointed not to find out the latest on our favorite tough old bird.
There were a couple of omissions that I appreciated: one was that Kinsey didn't tell us again all about her parents' accident and her problems with her relatives. The other was that although Kinsey was having an affair, she left the details to our imagination.
Sue Grafton wraps us in Santa Teresa in most of her stories: a place that flowers by the ocean with hills above town for rich enclaves that harbor aberrations of the soul. History as a driver of plot: detective Kinsey Milhone could beep her VW's horn at Lew Archer as he, too, goes about knocking on doors of rich Californians to determine who did the nefarious deed. While babysitting a charming and eccentric Reba Lafferty, reckless daughter of her rich client, Kinsey and her 87 year-old next door neighbor Henry are in transition, looking for love. Each finds a possible partner in romance while the detective unravels what Reba has wrought because she fell in love. Grafton and Milhone partner for a good yarn, as the author clothes us in Kinsey's world with details of why we should care about new characters and old friends. Grafton's narrative grabs us as we see Santa Teresa through the eyes of the ulitmate overachiever-jogger. These well-written stories are an example of why interesting, continuing characters skirting danger have been a staple of mysteries for a century. But only a few over that time are as good as Grafton's series.
 ...because she's the likable criminal introduced here. Kinsey Millhone is hired merely to retrieve Reba from prison and deliver her charge to her wealthy father's home. But the two women connect, and Kinsey becomes an ally while Reba seeks to right personal wrongs. Perhaps it's about time Kinsey had a real female friend to hang with. The only other woman present in her daily life is Rosie, the Hungarian restauranteur who dismisses orders and instead shoves plates of her own chosen fare before customers. In spite of Kinsey's best judgment, she follows Reba. At the same time, our favorite private investigator is also beginning to date a cop named Cheney. Hurray! She needs both of these relationships. I hope they continue in future books. The details of an embezzlement and money-laundering scheme aren't as action-packed as other cases Kinsey has handled in the past, but they're still engaging. I welcome some of the descriptions because I've never been to California or Nevada to see the landscape for myself. Also refreshing is our return to the year 1987, when over-reliance on computers has not yet taken hold, and when Kinsey scarfs down Quarter Pounders with Cheese and Egg McMuffins with such intensity, it's as if someday someone would question their nutritional value and/or healthiness! You go, girl! At first I intended to give this title a 4-star rating. That was before I read the last 30 pages. Grafton need not apologize for this installment in the series.
 I have read all of the Grafton books, and this is by far the worst. It is not a mystery, it is not suspense, and it is not even a good "woman's book". There are endless descriptions of mundane activities like Kinsey folding her underwear and shopping for clothes. It's like watching the paint dry.
Although I have read all of Sue's "Kinsey Millhone" (Alphabet Mystery) novels, I hadn't written a review/critique until now. Overall, "R is for Ricochet" is commendable and worthy of being apart of Sue's body of work. However, I don't understand why Sue made Kinsey Millhone fans wait nearly two years between "Q is for Quarry" (published October 2002) and her latest. The reason I question her actions is because, sadly, by the time I got to read "R" (checked out from the library, read from 7/13 to 7/14), I had almost forgotten about Kinsey! Millhone is a great first-person POV female private-detective character, but perhaps if Sue had shortened the publishing time between "Q" and "R", I wouldn't have had to jog my memory so much while reading her latest. What's even more sad is that, I feel, Sue's series is gradually losing its steam--and she has eight more books to write.
"Kinsey Millhone" was created back in 1982, but the series' atmosphere is set still in the '80s ("R" is set in 1987). I think Sue should've begun the series earlier, but that's the way things went for her. Her series, having begun twenty-two years ago, was an ambitious accomplishment; had she started earlier, she may have been closer to "Z" about now.
Sue, considering the fact that she's getting older (64), must be getting tired of such an obligation as her series is, which is why she's been taking her time (according to information about the book, from her Website, "R" was a five-hundred-page double-spaced manuscript that took her twenty-three months to research and compose). I hope that Sue will be able to finish the series before she passes away or something happens to her.
In general, "R" is no different that the previous seventeen novels. I guess I was a little disappointed that I had to wait nearly two years for a Kinsey Millhone novel that could've had a little more substance. "R" is up to par with Sue's craftmanship, but I think Sue failed to realize that while her devoted fans may wait for her to put out each book, if she lingers too long between publication dates, more casual fans/mystery readers will not wait ("R" was originally slated to be published in October of 2004). Two years between books is, I feel, too long; but then tell that to Michael Crichton and Scott Turow, two mainstream authors who put out books about every three years. The longer the waiting period is (for anything), the greater the anticipation builds--and "R is for Ricochet" is a literary example of something that doesn't quite fulfill the climax of mounting anticipation.
The first review of "R", which is short and basic, written by a reader named Molly, claims: "Grafton offers up more of the same"--I have to agree.
Recommended? Yes--as part of the series. As a stand-alone novel? No. I would encourage newcomers to Sue's body of work to read the books in order, beginning with "A is for Alibi". "R" shouldn't be taken on its own, as "R" is simply a contiuation; if "A" through "Q" haven't already been read, the entire premise of Kinsey Millhone won't make sense. Nevertheless, with "R is for Ricochet" true "Kinsey Millhone" fans may come away feeling a bit short-changed, which is the way I felt when I closed the book and as the novel lingered in my mind.
Here's the series so far:
"A is for Alibi"
"B is for Burglar"
"C is for Corpse"
"D is for Deadbeat"
"E is for Evidence"
"F is for Fugitive"
"G is for Gumshoe"
"H is for Homicide"
"I is for Innocent"
"J is for Judgment"
"K is for Killer"
"L is for Lawless"
"M is for Malice"
"N is for Noose"
"O is for Outlaw"
"P is for Peril"
"Q is for Quarry"
"R is for Ricochet"
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