Q is for Quarry (Grafton)

Q is for Quarry, Sue Grafton (2002)

Not a review, just reminding myself about some of the details of what I read ...

Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet, so this is the 17th novel in the series, making it the longest series I've read, by far. (I've read maybe a dozen Doc Savage novels, and I should get back to those.) This entry is a little different in that it deals with an actual unsolved murder, although he details were fictionalized, and in the book, the case gets solved. It does have information at the end in case anyone with information wants to come forward.

Kinsey Milhone gets hired by Con Dolan, an old cop from the series who is currently on medical, and Stacey Oliphant, a retired cop in ill health. Those two deserve each, and they each watch out for the other's bad habits. Years ago, they were the officers who found the body of a Jane Doe in a quarry in Lampoc in Santa Barbara County. Not only was the murderer never caught but the body was never identified, even after cross-checking with missing persons. They want to take one more pass at it. And they have a suspect in mind to start with, who was involved in another case which may or may not be related. A lot hinges on a stolen-then-abandoned red convertible in the small town of Quorum, and some abandoned real estate.

There's also more information about Kinsey's mother from another aunt. A little bit of soap opera to offset the hopelessness of the case. I don't know if it's leading to a future reconciliation with the family after decades on her own or not. It drags, but that's the pace that has been set, and to suddenly resolve it would be extremely odd, unless she were to investigate the murder of someone in the family she just met. (I have no idea if this is coming or not in a future book.)

I'll be reading "R" just as soon as I get rid of some of the printed material in my house. Plus other library books pop up occasionally.

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