‘H’ is For Homicide by Sue Grafton

Synopsis:

After a three-week-long investigation, Kinsey couldn't wait to get home. What she needed most was a few quiet days by herself--but two things happened to change all her plans.

First, she ran into a murder case. Then Kinsey met Bibianna Diaz, and before the night was over they were sharing a prison cell..

This book was. . . different. I didn’t feel like I was reading a Kinsey book because she was undercover for the majority of it. She wasn’t leading her usual bad-ass private investigator life. She was undercover in a life of crime.

It was strange to read, and I didn’t like it. But even though I didn’t like that aspect, I liked the book. The book hooked me and I kept turning the page. I couldn’t put the book down. Because she was around the people she was investigation so much, they became humanized. Usually you can just see them as the bad guy, but there was a human side to them in this book which added more depth.

I was hoping that Kinsey would be able to bust out more of her badass self, but aside from playing her undercover role well, we didn’t get to see it as much.

I am so conflicted on it, but I can say that I did enjoy it. The characters were very well developed and the story was different.

I am excited to read the next book, though. I am hoping it is more of a normal book for her.

4/5 stars

Memorable Quotes: “Life was good. I was female, single, with money in my pocket and enough gas to get home. I had nobody to answer to and no ties to speak of. I was healthy, physically fit, filled with energy.”

“I tried to look like an especially law-abiding citizen instead of the free-lance private investigator with a tendency to fib.”

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The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

Synopsis:

Confessions are Rose Baker’s job. A typist for the New York City Police Department, she sits in judgment like a high priestess. Criminals come before her to admit their transgressions, and, with a few strokes of the keys before her, she seals their fate. But while she may hear about shootings, knifings, and crimes of passion, as soon as she leaves the room, she reverts to a dignified and proper lady. Until Odalie joins the typing pool.

As Rose quickly falls under the stylish, coquettish Odalie’s spell, she is lured into a sparkling underworld of speakeasies and jazz. And what starts as simple fascination turns into an obsession from which she may never recover.

This book is so frustrating, yet so intriguing and mysterious. It is hard to keep in mind that this book takes place in the 20’s. The main character, Rose, speaks a lot about femininity and what a woman is supposed to be. It is so wildly different from the culture we live in now.

Part of me wants to smack her at times. Other parts of me just feel bad for her.

Then you think about her fascination with Odalie, and it is all very mysterious. Half way through the book and you still don’t really understand how deep her fascination goes.

It is also hard to figure out whether Rose is into women platonically or whether she is into them in a romantic sense.

This book follows the two of them and then it reaches a peak at the end. All I can say about that is, I am confused.

I was still confused after I read the last line of the book. Yes, it threw a twist at us, but I am not really sure what they twist was.

Maybe I am just being dumb with this one.

I did like the book overall, Rose was a very frustrating character to read about, but it was mysterious and kept me hanging on.

3.5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “A good typist knows her place. She is simply happy, as a woman, to be paid a reasonable income.”

“I am quite skilled at watching people, and I believe this habit has given me something of a true education in the world – perhaps in more ways than one.”

“I wasn’t as sure as Odalie seemed to be about the prospect of my falling in love with what promised to be a group of derelicts posing as intellectuals, but I was becoming increasingly sure I was about to allow myself to be charmed by Odalie herself.”

“There is something darkly thrilling about standing on the balcony of a very tall building and looking over the edge with the silent knowledge that is in one’s own power to jump.”

“You see, doubt is magnificently difficult pest of which to try to rid oneself, and is worse than any other kind of infestation. It can creep in quietly and through the tiniest of cracks, and once inside, it is almost impossible to ever completely remove.” 

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Behind Closed Doors by Elizabeth Haynes

Synopsis:

Ten years ago, fifteen-year-old Scarlett Rainsford vanished while on a family holiday in Greece. Was she abducted, or did she run away? Lou Smith worked the case as a police constable, and failing to find Scarlett has been one of the biggest regrets of her career. No one is more shocked than Lou to learn that Scarlett has unexpectedly been found during a Special Branch raid of a brothel in Briarstone.

Lou and her Major Crimes team are already stretched working two troubling cases: nineteen-year-old Ian Palmer was found badly beaten; soon after, bar owner Carl McVey was found half-buried in the woods, his Rolex and money gone. While Lou tries to establish the links between the two cases, DS Sam Hollands works with Special Branch to question Scarlett. What happened to her? Where has she been until now? And why is her family—with the exception of her emotionally fragile younger sister, Juliette—less than enthusiastic about her return?

When another brutal assault and homicide are linked to the McVey murder, Lou's cases collide, and the clues all point in one terrifying direction. As the pressure and the danger mount, it becomes clear that the silent, secretive Scarlett holds the key to everything.

Man, this book seemed to never end. It wasn’t a bad book, but it felt like the more I read – the longer it got.

This was more of a story-driven novel than a character driven novel. I didn’t really care much about any specific character, but they all got sort of interesting as the book went on.

The telling of the book was interesting. It switched between present day and flashbacks. If it is hard for you to keep up with things like that, then maybe skip this one, but I found it easy to follow along with.

This was book #2 with Louisa Smith in it. Admittedly, I did not know that when I started the book, so I haven’t read the first one. But she didn’t seem to be a big part of the book or the story. I would have liked it a bit more if she had played a larger role. She almost seemed pointless in this one.

The story was interesting, but there wasn’t really much of a twist. I expected it to take more of a Gone Girl turn, and it never did. The mystery of it kept me interested until the end, but I expected there to be more twists and turns. It was really odd to me that there wasn’t.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. It is very long, though, and wasn’t one of my favorites.

3/5 Stars

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