Scan barcode
magicofthepages's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sams84's review against another edition
2.0
I found this really hard work to get through. There seemed to be a lot of words and description that served no real purpose in terms of progressing the story or introducing characters that the story just got lost. By about halfway through I cared so little about where the doctor had disappeared to, I considered stopping. It was only the secondary story of the Hevener brothers and their backstory that kept me vaguely interested, and even then that was hanging on by a bit of a thread. Overall not the most enjoyable read for me.
jakitcfw's review against another edition
Missed the epilogue on this one, I like the way she usually wraps it up.
raymond_murphy's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is my second time reading this one. I really worry what will happen if I google "Sue Grafton Republican," or whatever the Democratic equivalent is in Santa Barbara.
She uses Kinsey to talk too much about respect for law and order, not to mention always highlighting things like fraud (or shoplifting, or infidelity, or a ton of other super human fallibility) to suggest that humanity is just fundamentally flawed, and skewed toward selfishness.
In this case, there was a sort of tragic lesbian re-write kind of thing going on?
She uses Kinsey to talk too much about respect for law and order, not to mention always highlighting things like fraud (or shoplifting, or infidelity, or a ton of other super human fallibility) to suggest that humanity is just fundamentally flawed, and skewed toward selfishness.
In this case, there was a sort of tragic lesbian re-write kind of thing going on?
topdragon's review against another edition
2.0
I’ve enjoyed all of the Kinsey Millhone novels so far but this one was a bit of a letdown. I did some quick research after I finished it and “P” is almost always ranked near or at the bottom of all of the books in the series.
Unfortunately it is easy to see why. There are two mystery plots at work in this novel. The main one concerns a missing nursing home administrator. Kinsey is hired by his ex-wife and she proceeds to do her research from every angle imaginable. I always enjoy her methodical approach and this was no exception. But it grew frustrating for both Kinsey and me as she encountered one dead end after another. Meanwhile, the other subplot involves Kinsey trying to rent new office space and getting stuck in a dangerous situation with her future landlords. This part is more thriller than mystery and is what spawns the “Peril” part of the title.
Most of the novel was just fine, even if frustrating. I was confident that Kinsey would get to the end like she always does. But I thought the thriller plot just wasn’t realistic, especially at the end when Kinsey was in the most peril and the murderer just walked away instead of dealing with the loose end that Kinsey had become. Just not the way it would happen. In addition, Kinsey finds out she had been duped the entire time and that criminal gets away scot free. I had hopes that the follow-on novel, “Q is for Quarry” might be about the search for that criminal but alas, it doesn’t appear to be the case.
The mystery part of the plot suffered from too many characters and dead ends as well as several mistakes by Kinsey. She remarks on that herself, kicking herself for her poor performance on this case. The ending was rushed. Kinsey has a eureka moment and solves the mystery in about two sentences. The bigger problem is she doesn’t share the result with us. She implies the solution but we are left guessing at the end. None of the other books in the series has been like this and I wonder if the author was trying to “keep things fresh” and not succumb to formula. Whatever…it didn’t work well.
Having said all that, I generally enjoy reading about Kinsey’s day-to-day activities and I did this time as well. I like the simplicity of her life and the author’s easy flowing descriptions. Most readers think this one was an anomaly of the series and I am happy to keep on trucking with it.
Unfortunately it is easy to see why. There are two mystery plots at work in this novel. The main one concerns a missing nursing home administrator. Kinsey is hired by his ex-wife and she proceeds to do her research from every angle imaginable. I always enjoy her methodical approach and this was no exception. But it grew frustrating for both Kinsey and me as she encountered one dead end after another. Meanwhile, the other subplot involves Kinsey trying to rent new office space and getting stuck in a dangerous situation with her future landlords. This part is more thriller than mystery and is what spawns the “Peril” part of the title.
Most of the novel was just fine, even if frustrating. I was confident that Kinsey would get to the end like she always does. But I thought the thriller plot just wasn’t realistic, especially at the end when Kinsey was in the most peril and the murderer just walked away instead of dealing with the loose end that Kinsey had become. Just not the way it would happen. In addition, Kinsey finds out she had been duped the entire time and that criminal gets away scot free. I had hopes that the follow-on novel, “Q is for Quarry” might be about the search for that criminal but alas, it doesn’t appear to be the case.
The mystery part of the plot suffered from too many characters and dead ends as well as several mistakes by Kinsey. She remarks on that herself, kicking herself for her poor performance on this case. The ending was rushed. Kinsey has a eureka moment and solves the mystery in about two sentences. The bigger problem is she doesn’t share the result with us. She implies the solution but we are left guessing at the end. None of the other books in the series has been like this and I wonder if the author was trying to “keep things fresh” and not succumb to formula. Whatever…it didn’t work well.
Having said all that, I generally enjoy reading about Kinsey’s day-to-day activities and I did this time as well. I like the simplicity of her life and the author’s easy flowing descriptions. Most readers think this one was an anomaly of the series and I am happy to keep on trucking with it.
poorcate's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
princesscai08's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book because… it was the assigned book for the local library's book club.
I loved… that I found it hard to put down and that reading it was like listening to a noir film play in your head.
I disliked… it took forever to read and there was no wow factor. I have since read the first book and I now believe that her work may have gotten stale later on down the track. I disliked Kinsey. She was pretty boring for a lead.
This book reminded me of… The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.
I would recommend this book to… anyone who is into crime novels and likes a female lead.
I loved… that I found it hard to put down and that reading it was like listening to a noir film play in your head.
I disliked… it took forever to read and there was no wow factor. I have since read the first book and I now believe that her work may have gotten stale later on down the track. I disliked Kinsey. She was pretty boring for a lead.
This book reminded me of… The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.
I would recommend this book to… anyone who is into crime novels and likes a female lead.