We were introduced to a spunky private investigator whose parents had been killed in a wreck and her aunt Gin raised her. One of her favorite sandwiches was peanut butter and pickle sandwiches - all these years I've been tempted to make one, but so far not. Maybe in honor of Z is for____ will I try a Kinsey Millhone family sandwich or so.

Set in the time where there are no computers, cell phones, digital photography, Kinsey gets her clients results with her tenacity of ethic and spirit. She cares about the situations of her client and does the best she can to do right by them.

U is for Undertow is one of Grafton's better reads. Set in 1988 in St. Teresa CA, Kinsey is a few weeks shy of Kinsey's thirty-eighth birthday. A younger man enters her office and tells her he remembers seeing two men burying a large bag when he was six years old. Turns out that time a yonug girl Mary Claire Fitzhugh was kidnapped in 1967. ransom paid, but she never appeared. The young man, Sutton, feels he remembers this suppressed memory of the time he was playing in a friend's yard, the men burying the child. They said they were pirates and child Sutton forgot about it, until something triggered his memory, and goes to Kinsey for help.

Things get muddled up as Sutton's family tells Kinsey they've had problems with Sutton all their lives and she should disregard whatever he's trying to turn up and make up a story.

Also a letter comes from Kinsey's family to have her participate in her Grandmother's celebration. Kinsey had been estranged from her family all this time, and in the last few books the family has reached out to come to the family.

As Kinsey starts looking at Sutton's story, they find a dig site, where something was buried. Not human, but a dog's remains and its tags. Not the closure Kinsey wanted, but some kind of clue.

Unbeknownst to her, and the rest, someone looks onto the 'crime scene' and asks questions and starts getting nervous because the person was part of to the plot in the 1960's kidnapping and starts muddling the waters.

Grafton also keeps reminding us how complacent we are now, with our cells, computers, etc.
Kinsey marvels at only having to walk two blocks to the nearest Notary to use and pay for the use of their fax machine!

With some complications, the mystery is solved to a plausible conclusion. Also Kinsey's person decision to go to her family's celebration is also concluded causing tears to form.

Kinsey Millhone in Everywoman in her time. All these years she has mantained her professionalism, her friends, and remains true to herself.

While many authors of serial books have veered their  characters, Kinsey stays true to herself and we still love her and her work, friends, and ethical take on business.

An excellent read. The only down side, there are not that many books left. Maybe a relief for Grafton, but not for her fans.

ellen george

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton, ISBN 978-0-399-15597-0, Putnam and Sons, review by ellen george