Product Description

Readers of Sue Grafton's fiction know she never writes the same book twice, and "I" Is For Innocent is no exception. Her most intricately plotted novel to date, it is layered in enough complexity to baffle even the cleverest among us. Lonnie Kingman is in a bind. He's smack in the middle of assembling a civil suit, and the private investigator who was doing his pretrial legwork has just dropped dead of a heart attack. In a matter of weeks the court's statute of limitations will put paid to his case. Five years ago David Barney walked when a jury acquitted him of the murder of his rich wife, Isabelle. Now Kingman, acting as attorney for the dead woman's ex-husband and their child (and sure that the jury made a serious mistake), is trying to divest David Barney of the profits of that murder. But time is running out, and David Barney still swears he's innocent. Patterned along the lines of a legal case, "I" Is For Innocent is seamlessly divided into thirds: one-third of the novel is devoted to the prosecution, one-third to the defense, and a final third to cross-examination and rebuttal. The result is a trial novel without a trial and a crime novel that resists solution right to the end. When Kinsey Millhone agrees to take over Morley Shine's investigation, she thinks it is a simple matter of tying up the loose ends. Morley might have been careless about his health, but he was an old pro at the business. So it comes as a real shock when she finds his files in disarray, his key informant less than credible, and his witnesses denying ever having spoken with him. It comes as a bigger shock when she finds that every claim David Barney has made checks out. But if Barney didn't murder his wife, who did? It would seem the list of candidates is a long one. In life, Isabelle Barney had stepped on a lot of toes. In "I" Is For Innocent , Sue Grafton once again demonstrates her mastery of those telling details that reveal our most intimate and conflicted relationships. As Kinsey comments on the give-and-take by which we humans deal with each other, for better and sometimes for worse, the reader is struck yet again by how acute a social observer Ms. Grafton can be. Frequently funny and sometimes caustic, she is also surprisingly compassionate-- understanding how little in life is purely black and white. Except for murder. Somewhere out there, a killer waits to see just what Kinsey will find out. Somewhere out there, someone's been getting away with murder, and this time it just might turn out to be Kinsey's. "I" Is For Innocent is Sue Grafton in peak form. Fast-paced. Funny. And very, very devious.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #356691 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
After the pace and invention of "H" Is for Homicide, Grafton sets Kinsey Milhone on a quieter, more cerebral path in the ever-appealing PI's newest abecedarian adventure, again set in Santa Teresa, Calif. When fellow PI Morley Shine dies of a heart attack, Kinsey takes over the task of gathering evidence for a local lawyer who is prosecuting architect David Barney. Six years earlier, Barney was acquitted of murder charges in the still-unsolved death of his wealthy estranged wife Isabel, killed by a bullet fired through the peephole of her front door. Now Isabel's first husband, Ken Voigt, hoping to strip the architect of the fortune he inherited, is charging Barney with Isabel's wrongful death in a civil court, where less stringent evidence is required for conviction. Quickly finding holes in Shine's investigation, Kinsey uncovers a slew of suspects in Isabel's murder, including Voigt's second wife, Barney's first wife, Isabel's less attractive twin sister and even her best friend. Kinsey determines that Shine's death was not straightforward, solves the mystery of another years-old death and comes under direct fire herself before she finally, nearly too late, figures out who is the threat. There's much to enjoy here as Kinsey's octogenarian landlord Henry endures a visit from his fastidious older brother and romance blooms for neighborhood tavern owner Rose. But Kinsey may be voicing fans' hopes for "J" when she reflects midway through this case: "I wanted to feel like the old Kinsey again . . . talkin' trash and kickin' butt." 300,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Mystery Guild main selections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
California's formidable p.i. Kinsey Millhone (``A'' Is for Alibi, etc.), fired from her comfortable berth with Fidelity Insurance, now rents office space from busy Santa Teresa lawyer Lonnie Kingman. His usual outside investigator Morley Shine has died of a heart attack, and he hires Kinsey to take over the case that Morley was working on. It involves the upcoming trial of David Barney, acquitted of the six-year-old murder of his wife, Isabelle, but now being sued for wrongful death in civil court by Isabelle's first husband, Ken Voigt. Voigt, represented by Lonnie Kingman, is sure that Barney killed Isabelle and wants to keep her considerable fortune out of his hands. Lonnie thinks he has a strong case, buoyed by damning new evidence from drifter Curtis McIntyre. But what Kinsey finds as she begins to probe is a surprising number of people with reasons to hate Isabelle--among them Voigt's second wife, Francesca, and Isabelle's business mentor Peter Weidmann and his overprotective wife, Yolanda. She also uncovers curious gaps in Morley's files and begins to question his ``heart attack,'' as Lonnie's seemingly solid case collapses bit by bit, with her own life on the line in the gritty finale. A sober, resolute Kinsey, romanceless at the moment, and a clever, meaty puzzle--for which the publisher plans a 300,000 first printing. Rack up another winner for Grafton. (Literary Guild Split Dual Selection for July) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ingram
Kinsey Milhone agrees to take over a case left unsolved by her private eye friend when he died and finds that she has to start from square one and defend her life while she is at it. 300,000 first printing. Major ad/promo. Tour. Lit Guild & Mystery Guild Main. Doubleday Alt.

Customer Reviews

Kinsey Always Finds the Right Answers!
In this Kinsey Millhone mystery, Kinsey solves yet another puzzle. This time she has to tie up the loose ends of a murder investigation. Is David Barney REALLY guilty? Or did someone else really kill Isabella? Kinsey takes every shred of evidence that there possibly is to solve this strange puzzle. David seems innocent enough, and there seems to be other suspects involved. But as Grafton ties up the story, the answer will surprise you!
A great book, and one of Grafton's very best!

Best of Show!
There are no bad books in Sue Grafton's alphabet series, only varying degrees of good. That said, the series, to date, reached its peak somewhere around "F" or "G" and held its top form at least through "L." This one is my pick for best of the lot-which is saying a good deal. The book features a temporarily subdued Kinsey (still smarting under a career setback encountered in a prior book), the usual cast of rich snobs, an unusually intriguing puzzle whose vital clues I spotted but nevertheless failed to piece together, some unusually likeable supporting characters, and a lot of Santa Barbara (oops Theresa) atmosphere.

Next time I point friends at the series, this is where I'll tell them to start. Highly recommended.

Really not much here.
Sue Grafton has written many good books but this one is weak, weak, weak. Try 'A is for Alibi' or 'J is for Judgement'. They show off Grafton's writing talents much better.