Month: August 2015

REVIEW: X by SUE GRAFTON

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in 4 stars, mystery, Penguin, Review, Sue Grafton / 0 Comments


X by Sue Grafton
Published: August 25, 2015
Publisher: Marian Wood Books/Putnam
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Buy the book at Amazon
This book was provided by the Publisher in exchange
for an honest review.
NO monetary compensation for this review or time has been provided.
The opinions expressed in my reviews are my own
.




SYNOPSIS
X:  The number ten. An unknown quantity. A mistake. A cross. A kiss.
X:
 The shortest entry in Webster’s Unabridged. Derived from Greek and Latin and commonly found in science, medicine, and religion. The most graphically dramatic letter. Notoriously tricky to pronounce: think xylophone.
X:
 
The twenty-fourth letter in the English alphabet.
Sue Grafton’s
X: Perhaps her darkest and most chilling novel, it features a remorseless serial killer who leaves no trace of his crimes. Once again breaking the rules and establishing new paths, Grafton wastes little time identifying this sociopath. The test is whether Kinsey can prove her case against him before she becomes his next victim.

REVIEW

I was fascinated by the premise of this tale as such I was
happy when I was approved to receive a copy in exchange for an honest critique
.
  X by Sue Grafton is book
#24 in the Kinsey Millhone series; nevertheless it can be read as a stand-alone
. This is my first time reading her work and I must say I was
impressed with her writing style. It is evident that she is a skilled writer
.

X which was set in the
1980s
is different from any of the mysteries that I
have read before. Initially, when the story started there was not much
happening. This is not a fast paced read. I found it to be slow, but it was not
boring.
  This is not the type of story
that would have you biting your nails, so if you are the type of reader who
wants non-stop action and suspense then this book may not be for you.

The story follows the life of Kinsey Millhone a female
private investigator and the cases she sometimes inadvertently finds herself
involved in.  There was more than one
case to be solved in this installment. 
Kinsey was hired to locate a recently released bank robber and finds
herself embroiled in an unsolved case as a result. In addition, her decision to
assist her friend with her tax issues placed her in the midst of another
unsolved case.  In addition to that her
new neighbours appeared to be up to no good. 
Kinsey definitely has her work cut out for her when it came to
uncovering the truth.

There were aspects of the story that I believed at first was
not necessary, however, as it progressed I realized that it played an important
role in one of Kinsey’s cases. I am referring to the irrigation and plumbing
issues her friend and neighbour Henry was trying to deal with.

I must admit that it took me some time to get through the
story. I believe that the slow pace contributed to this and the fact that the
world championships were taking place at the same time did not help.
 I was rather disappointed with the ending. I
don’t want to say much as I don’t want to give away the plot lines. All I can
say is that I felt that not all the issues were adequately resolved.

Overall, I found X to be an interesting
story and I would definitely read more from this author.


4 Addictive Stars


Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading

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