R is for Ricochet by
Sue Grafton
Kinsey is employed by a wealthy philanthropist to meet his daughter on her release from
the California Institute for Women, and to bring her home. So far, so simple, and indeed at
first Reba Lafferty poses no problems. Although predictably feisty, she is pleasant enough
and certainly not hostile to Kinsey - in fact quite the reverse, she latches onto her rather
like a somewhat bolshie gosling. But a seemingly chance meeting with Reba's lover and
ex-boss Alan Beckwith turns out to have been engineered, and it is soon obvious that
much else is not what it appears on the surface. The local police need Reba's help to
finish the oily Beck's dubious career for good, so will Kinsey be able to persuade her? The
answer, eventually, is yes - and then Reba is rapidly out-manoeuvring Kinsey, the local
cops and even (or perhaps especially) the feds as the uncontrollable missile of revenge is
launched. R is for ricochet indeed!
Kinsey's own behaviour is, perhaps, becoming tempered with maturity and her love life
takes a turn for the better. Enlivened as ever by Kinsey's elderly neighbour Henry and his
interfering siblings, this is a narrative well up to the Millhone standard. And now we can
start wondering what S, T and the rest are going to stand for...
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