D Is for Deadbeat
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It's rather a bitter sweet novel over all, there's one scene at a funeral which is brilliantly funny and had me laughing out loud. On the other hand, the final scene of the book is tragically depressing and ends the book on a little bit of a downer. The book has hardly a mention of the other regular characters Kinsey knows, so there is no appearance from Henry and Rosie pops up only the once. That said, Kinsey finally cements her relationship with Jonah Robb whose wife, to both his and Kinsey's delight, as decided she wants an open relationship! As I say this one isn't so light and "throwaway" as some of the other alphabet mysteries but is still very dramatic and very enjoyable.
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Not one of her best - yet still enjoyable
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Even when the story lets you down, which I felt this one did, there is always plenty of interest in where Grafton takes her protagonist, Kinsey Millhone. I didn't find the characters very sympathetic in this book and it was hard for me to care what happened to them. Having said that it was still an interesting read.
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Witty and cool
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'D' is for Deadbeat is an excellent mystery, with plenty of flip-flops and twists, and an unexpected though believable finale. But the appeal of this series, written in the first person, is beyond plot. In large part, what attracts me to these alphabetic whodunits is the protagonist's dry humor and tell-it-like-it-is attitude. There is no shortage of four-letter words and the witty comments have me giggling throughout each story. I have read several in the series, and I never doubt that Kinsey Millhone is indeed a real person: never too perfect, properly flawed, not at all a flimsy, flowery female; and so easy for women to identify with. Grafton's descriptions of other characters are vivid, juicy and realistic. I always have a sort of dejà vu feeling that I know what these people look like, how they move, even the timbre of their voices. What I find annoying, however, are the snotty remarks about smokers, as if the author had an ulterior motive of political correctness. Still, I've learned to take the intolerance for smoking with a grain of salt, and I always look forward to the next Kinsey Millhone installment.
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