My mother-in-law sent some books home with me the other day including S is for Silence written by Sue Grafton. I hadn’t had the opportunity to read any of her novels until now and let me tell you I enjoyed the storyline the Author composed a lot. If you enjoy mysteries then I believe you will also enjoy this novel.
When I was a young child, I would read Mysteries like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Then I grew up and only read Romance Novels. Until we moved into our apartment, and I found Hallmark Mysteries and Drama channel. David and I began watching the mystery shows on the tv which has lead to me looking into mysteries to read. Which is why I was excited when David’s mom Sherry gave me her copy S For Silence of the Alphabet Novels.
Even though these novels are written based on the alphabet I don’t have to read them in ABC order. Which for me is wonderful because I haven’t had the opportunity to purchase more of the novels. I will be watching Half Price Books and clearance sales for them. Or ask David and Charlie to purchase the books for me as gifts.
S is for Silence shifts time from present to past which keeps you on your toes when reading the novel. There is a shifting of narrator from first person, Kinsey Millhone, for the present, to the anonymous third person for the past which I found interesting. Here is a spoiler alert for you but I felt you should be warned S is for Silence is significantly more graphic sexually.
This might bother some people so please take this into consideration before reading the novel and makes me leery of sharing the book with anyone and also surprised me that my mother n law would share something like this with me. Other than that the novel reads more like a modern light fiction I’ve read in the past.
S is for Silence is different than any of the previous books in the Alphabet series. The story is told alternately in chapters about Kinsey’s investigation, and chapters that flash back into the lives of various community members in the days up to Violet’s disappearance. It turns out Violet was playing the field, jumping into bed with lots of men, many of whom were married. Many of them needed money, and many people had reasons for wanting Violet to disappear. It is apparent that people are not telling Kinsey the entire truth, and she has to put things together from small pieces. But Kinsey is rocking the boat, and somebody wants Kinsey gone.
Kinsey has a final, almost fatal, confrontation when she brings things out into the open. This was before the days of cell phones, which made it hard to call for help, but Kinsey is carrying a gun. The story has some side issues, like the relationship between Liza and Kathy and we see what goes around comes around. A woman who feels she was wronged may take her revenge years later.
Meet the Author Sue Grafton
New York Times-bestselling author Sue Grafton is published in twenty-eight Countries and twenty-six languages–including Estonian, Bulgarian, and Indonesian. Books in her alphabet series, begun in 1982, are international bestsellers with readership in the millions. And like Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald, Grafton has earned new respect for the mystery form.
Readers appreciate her buoyant style, her eye for detail, her deft hand with character, her acute Social observances, and her abundant storytelling prowess. She has been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America (2009) and is a recipient of the Ross Macdonald Literary Award (2004).
Sue Grafton has been married to Steve Humphrey for more than thirty years, and they divide their time between Montecito, California, and Louisville, Kentucky, where she was born and raised. Grafton, who has three children and four grandchildren, loves Cats, gardens, and good cuisine.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
