V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
There’s nothing I enjoy more (okay, a few things, but this isn’t the place for that kind of talk) than a Kinsey Millhone mystery/crime/romance. This one had everything.
Kinsey is hired by a widower to look into the alleged suicide of his fiancé who was recently arrested for shoplifting when Kinsey caught her stuffing a lace teddy and two pair of silk pajamas in her bag at Nordstrom’s. What Kinsey uncovers about the woman’s past leads her to more than she ever thought and pulls the reader through a delicately woven plot of organized crime, dirty cops, blackmail, deceit, and romance.
The story opens on a spoiled college graduate, Phillip, with a penchant for gambling. Can he beat the system and pay back what he borrowed from a “financier” named Dante? Can he go to his parents for help?
Nora is an upscale housewife. When she discovers her husband cheating, she sets out to be prepared for the inevitable. While trying to sell an expensive ring, she meets an intriguing man. But is he a crime boss?
Dante runs his family business with an unusual moral code not common in the crime world. But, he’s under investigation and it looks like they might have him this time. Will Dante throw in the towel for a married women with a wandering husband? Will he leave the family business to Cappi, his bumbling thug of a brother?
How are all these lives tied together? It’s a mammoth web of intertwined lives with a full line-up of characters. Sue Grafton has outdone herself. I’ve loved all of the alphabet mysteries, but this one is by far my favorite.