THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510190587
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY SANDRA M. LOUDEN
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
``L'' IS FOR LAWLESS
SUE GRAFTON
Henry Holt. 290 pp. $24.
Kindergarten posters show that ``A'' is for Apple and ``C'' is for Cat, but Sue Grafton decided long ago this approach needed a bit of revision. Grafton's excursion down the alphabet path of crime now brings readers ``L'' Is For Lawless, the 12th book in her unique abecedarian series. Her other titles have included such pernicious words as Corpse, Fugitive, Homicide and Killer.
As Grafton fans already know, the star of these novels is private investigator Kinsey Millhone. Millhone, in her mid-30s, twice married, twice divorced, is a loner who lives in a converted garage, without kids, pets or even houseplants. She thrives on junk food and seriously entertains, from time to time, having an affair with her 85-year-old landlord and friend, Henry Pitts. Kinsey's brassy-dame-with-a-heart-of-gold personality is the force behind Grafton's novels.
Lawless is no exception. Like such classics as The Maltese Falcon and Treasure of Sierra Madre, Lawless is about a collection of disparate people desperately searching for something - in this case, seven canvas bags filled with bounty from a 1941 bank heist. Of course, Kinsey knows none of this going into the case. She's merely doing a favor for Henry, who has asked her to look into a matter concerning his deceased friend, Johnny Lee.
Johnny's family wants the government to pay for a military funeral, since he served in the Pacific theater during World War II. But the Veterans Administration cannot find a Johnny Lee in its records, and Johnny's son, Chester, thinks he's being stonewalled. What Kinsey chalks up as a mundane paperwork glitch that will take a few minutes of her time soon turns into a chase across the country, beginning in her native Santa Teresa, Calif., and ending in a mausoleum in Louisville, Ky.
Lawless moves along at an impressive pace, only occasionally bogging down, most notably in hotel surveillance scenes. But even there, Kinsey aficionados will see her at her deceptive, sneaky best. Donning a custodial uniform, while fervently stating that ``even in Texas I don't think impersonating a maid would be classified as a crime,'' she vacuums and dusts her way toward the room she's staking out. After receiving a $5 tip for her ``work,'' she considers knocking on every door in the corridor to supplement her PI pay.
This, of course, is vintage Kinsey Millhone. The most endearing part of her charm is not that she's a snoop, a liar and a cheapskate - which she is - but rather that she cherishes these qualities in herself and constantly strives to maintain them. Sue Grafton once commented that ``Kinsey sounds just like me,'' which is undoubtedly the reason author and creation speak with such vivid clarity. Even if there is more than a little tongue-in-cheek involved, we still appreciate Kinsey for the vibrant character she is and Grafton for continually feeding our Millhone habit.
A favorite pastime of die-hard Grafton fans is guessing the next letter. M is For . . . Mayhem? Mischief? Malice? Or the obvious . . . Murder? We can't wait to find out. MEMO: Sandra M. Louden is a greeting-card writer and mystery reviewer who
lives in Pittsburgh, Pa. by CNB