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Title: J Is for Judgment by Sue Grafton ISBN: 0-449-22148-2 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 02 April, 1994 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.59 (22 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Kinsey shines, but other characters fall flat
Comment: "J is for Judgment," Sue Grafton's 10th Kinsey Millhone mystery, left me with a bit of what I call the cotton candy syndrome. I started with "A is for Alibi" less than a year ago, and the relative proximity in time between my reading each of the others through "J" has given me a panoramic perspective over them. I have enjoyed Grafton's series more than any other, largely because of the edgy heroine, but I found this installment to be one of the weaker links in an otherwise outstanding series.
I found the first quarter of the book to be highly promising. Kinsey is hired to identify a man spotted in Mexico who may be Wendell Jaffe, recently proclaimed dead years after an apparent boating accident where the body was never found. This section of the book contains one of the funniest moments I've encountered in the series, showing Kinsey as she's never been before.
As Kinsey returns to Santa Teresa for the last three quarters of the book, she encounters the people in Jaffe's life--most of whom are excrutiatingly boring. The primary mystery question posed at the beginning is solved fairy early on, leaving not much left to answer and Jaffe's sniveling family to play out their soap opera.
There is a side story that I found much more interesting than the main plot in the second half. We find out something crucial about Kinsey's mysterious family background. Readers of other books in the series are reminded each book that Kinsey's folks died when she was very young leaving her to be raised by a maiden aunt. In "J is for Judgment," Grafton gives us a deeper look into the tragedy of Kinsey's early years.
For that, if nothing else, I recommend this book to anyone who is a Sue Grafton fan (or more specifically, of Kinsey). However, starting with "J" would be a mistake and would misrepresent that which Grafton is capable of writing--smooth plotting with side characters that make all the difference. "J" was a worthwhile read in the moment, but like cotton candy, I soon felt empty and unfulfilled afterwards.
Rating: 4
Summary: Missing person
Comment: Wendell Jaffe swindled a lot of people out of money and then conveniently disappeared from his boat. The verdict was suicide, but the insurance company that had sold him a half-million dollar insurance policy is not convinced. When 5 years passed, the company was forced to pay the premium to Jaffe's wife. Two months later, a man looking very much like Jaffe is spotted in Mexico. The insurance company hires private investigator Kinsey Millhone to investigate and she does spot a man who appears to be Jaffe, along with his girlfriend Renata. They escape Kinsey's surveillance and she returns to California. Jaffe's son Brian is in big trouble with the police and Kinsey concludes that Jaffe will return to help his son. As she continues her investigation she becomes acquainted with Jaffe's supposed widow and his two troubled sons. She also comes in contact with some of her long-lost family, and agonizes over whether she wants to establish a relationship with them, and open up old wounds. Sue Grafton can be relied on to provide a good read, and this book, although not the best in the series, is no exception.
Rating: 4
Summary: "J" is for Judgment and Jaffe
Comment: "Wendell Jaffe is about six four, weight maybe 230. He's in his late 50's, but is in good shape," for a dead guy. Around this man and his infamous disappearing acts, Sue Grafton opens the files to a once closed case about money fraud and alleged suicides. Narrator, Kinsey Milhone, along with the Jaffe family paves the way for this suspense filled and invigorating novel. Through Grafton's use of setting, characterization, language and plot she ties this story into a well-written piece of literature. For any aspiring investigator or just a fan of a good mystery, this book along with the rest of the Grafton alphabet series would be appropriate.
Kinsey, ex-California Fidelity Insurance Agency employee, just received a call to open a case from about five years before involving millions of dollars said to be stolen. The suspect's, Jaffe, boat was found off the Californian coast with a suicide note alongside soon after the news of his business' failure. Kinsey immediately launches a tracking excursion and follows him to Mexico. While there, they receive news of Jaffe's youngest boy being arrested and charged with murder. Suddenly, Jaffe disappears, yet again. While Jaffe runs from the cops and searches for the love of his family left behind, Kinsey gets involved with a little family exploration as well.
To get the full affect, go back in time about ten years ago. Take a trip west to the southern part of California and there Ms. Milhone and the Jaffe family's story will take place. Grafton uses so much descriptive language that one feels they are surfing the waves as Kinsey "...drives down Highway 10 with the salty air from the ocean rushing by." In everything Grafton masters imagery, by telling just enough and then letting each imagination complete the picture as it sees fit.
Just as well as Grafton uses the setting to draw the reader into this realistic, yet make-believe world, she takes the reader into Kinsey's head as well. Throughout the story, Kinsey is the omniscient narrator and therefore can only tell us x-number of details. However each character has been used accordingly and created purposefully for every detail in the book. Characters bring not only their actions, but their individual lives and stories to help devise this mystery of love, lose, and revenge.
Each specific character is a unique individual as well as there dialogue should be, too. Grafton uses very likely and everyday language for each specific character and circumstance. Since they live in southern California, quite close to Mexico, Kinsey enrolls in a Spanish class to help further her knowledge of the language and it actually helps her to gain information about the Jaffe case while in Mexico. Another instance, the Jaffe boys receive news of their fathers doings and are outraged. As young adults growing up in this era, both express some extreme and foul language to show their emotions.
Since the main purpose, stereotypically, of a mystery should represent suspense and misleading, Grafton does not leave anything out. She does an excellent job of keeping the book snappy and going, making each chapter significant and exposing new evidence or yet another twist. She tends to lead you to believe one thing, letting the imagination soar, and then veers off course with new facts that turn the whole lot around. The conflicts seem to be mostly external are and easy to pick out. The dénouement and resolution do not appear until the end, making it harder and harder to wait for those last unraveling details.
Putting this all, the setting, characterization, language, and plot, plus everything not mentioned composes quite the tale. With Kinsey's high spirits and Jaffe's well-known disappearing acts, this book is full of apprehension and a shocking ending. Kinsey said, "Put me close to an interesting proposition and my pulse accelerates," and for readers, that is captured.
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Title: I Is for Innocent by Sue Grafton ISBN: 0449221512 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 22 March, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: L Is for Lawless by Sue Grafton ISBN: 0449221490 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 31 July, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: H Is for Homicide by Sue Grafton ISBN: 0449219461 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 22 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: M Is for Malice by Sue Grafton ISBN: 0449223604 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 26 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: G Is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton ISBN: 0449219364 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 29 April, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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