C is for Corpse. Finished 4-6-16, rating 3.5/5, mystery, 212 pages, pub. 1986

Kinsey Millhone series (A) (B)

When I linked my reviews of the first two books of the series I realize that I’m reading these books 2 years apart.  If I continue at this speed I’ll finish up with Z when I’m 90.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that 🙂

How do you go about solving an attempted murder when the victim has lost a good part of his memory? It’s one of Kinsey’s toughest cases yet, but she never backs down from a challenge. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Callahan is lucky to be alive after a car forced his Porsche over a bridge and into a canyon. The crash left Bobby with a clouded memory. But he can’t shake the feeling it was no random accident and that he’s still in danger…

The only clues Kinsey has to go on are a little red address book and the name “Blackman.” Bobby can’t remember who he gave the address book to for safekeeping. And any chances of Bobby regaining his memory are dashed when he’s killed in another automobile accident just three days after he hires Kinsey.

As Kinsey digs deeper into her investigation, she discovers Bobby had a secret worth killing for–and unearthing that secret could send Kinsey to her own early death…

I like Kinsey. She’s tough and independent, but also caring and protective.  She developed a soft spot for Bobby in the few days they knew each other and she was going to finish the job even if it killed her (not a big spoiler to note that this series is currently on X so don’t worry about Kinsey too much).  Not only was she welcomed into Bobby’s very wealthy family, but she became a should to lean on for his mother.

Kinsey also showed how much she liked her landlord and friend, Henry, by smelling a sweet-talking, cunning, money-grubbing charmer in Lila.  Lila was up to know good and Henry was falling for it hook, line and sinker.  And this gave her a reason to contact an old crush, Jonah, to get some information.  Jonah was back with his wife, but the embers still burned between he and Kinsey.

This is a fun series.  I like Kinsey, the short length of the books, and the well-woven mysteries.  Maybe I’ll even pick up the pace and read D before 2018 🙂