N is for Noose

Sue Grafton

Kinsey Milhone is driving home after nursemaiding a friend back in Nevada. Because he just had knee surgery, he recommended her to a client of his who wanted some detective work.

Selma Newquist was recently widowed when her husband died of a heart attack. She knew something had been bothering Tom before he died. She wants Kinsey to discover what that something was. So Kinsey starts asking questions around Nota Lake, California.

Tom Newquist had been a Nota Lake police detective. Everyone who talked to Kinsey described Tom as an honest, special person. Everyone in the small community respected and admired him. A couple people agreed with Selma that something was bothering Tom before his death. Yet everyone warned Kinsey off. The people in the small town of Nota Lake are close knit and don't want Selma Newquist disrupting their lives any more.

Soon Kinsey is being followed. A man in a ski mask follows her around town. The next night someone breaks into her remote hotel cabin and attacks her. The attack was a warning to get off the case. The attacker could have killed her, instead injured her hand.

True to Kinsey's past experiences, this novel twists and turns. She returns briefly to Santa Theresa and picks up more clues. Kinsey Millhone has been well defined throughout her past books. She is rough, opinionated, and a loner. At times I am offended by her first person narrative. This book did not have as much of the "realism" that is often there.

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 Judgement
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
S is for Silence
T is for Trespass
U is for Undertow

Katapult by Kat Kijewski