Without any pressing commitments Kinsey takes on the investigation and seeks out information to identify the alleged location of the burial. She is far from confident of the information given by her client who has recalled the incident as a repressed memory.
Patiently she assembles facts and eventually, with her help, Sutton comes up with a specific location. The police descend upon the site in the words of a wealthy neighbourhood. When the body of a dog is found police interest ceases.
Kinsey, one of the most dogged sleuths in crime fiction, refuses to close the file. She follows slender threads of information. Who else would work diligently to identify the buried dog?
The book has three interlocking stories. Foremost is Kinsey’s investigation. Second is the history of the events of 1967. Third is the story of the contemporary lives of the killers. Grafton does an excellent job of tying together the plot.
In her personal life Kinsey continues her wary re-connection with Grand, the matriarch, and other members of the Kinsey family.
While well plotted the book never took off for me. The investigation is a steady slog to the solution. I suspect I was influenced by a collection of characters who are unlikeable. Kinsey’s personal life had little sparkle. It is long series with “U” being the 21st book. The last really great book in the series for me was “P”. I will read “V” but it will mainly be because I have read the whole series. Paperback. (Oct. 1/11)
Bill - Thanks for this thoughtful review. I'm sorry to hear that U is for Undertow didn't really sparkle for you. You make an interesting point that unlikeable characters can really affect whether a reader becomes absorbed in a novel. I hope you'll find "V" more engaging.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. Because of all the good books in the series I remain hopeful for "V".
ReplyDeleteI read it in April and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteTeena: Thanks for commenting. I am glad you enjoyed the book. I have liked the series for 20 years.
ReplyDeleteI rather liked this one compared with the previous two (I've been reading the whole series as it comes out, it has had its ups and downs but is pretty reliable on the whole). However, I can't remember all the details now but I think the solution to the mystery did not in the end hang together properly - so in that sense it was not great for me but I did like those hippy retrospectives!
ReplyDeleteMaxine: Thanks for commenting. I found the solution satisfactory. The inevitability of the conclusion did not strengthen the plot. I was far far away from a hippy in the 1960's
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