by Sue Grafton
There's too little peril and too much plodding in this 16th installment of Grafton's much-loved alphabet mystery series. Dr. Dowan Purcell has been missing for nine weeks when his ex-wife Fiona engages PI Kinsey Millhone to find him. Discovering that the not-so-good doctor was under investigation for Medicare fraud, Millhone wonders whether he committed suicide—until a lawyer pal assures her the doc could win such a case with a good attorney. "First thing you do," he says, "is bore the hell out of a jury."
At least jurors get paid a few bucks a day for their boredom. Fans of the spunky Millhone will enjoy catching up with their well-drawn heroine. And the subplot that emerges when she begins dating one of a set of dangerous twins injects some needed suspense. But despite an array of suspects that includes the pretentious Fiona and the doctor's latest wife, Crystal, a former stripper, the mystery of his disappearance is less than enthralling. And Grafton delves into so much health care minutiae that portions read like Medicare, She Wrote. (Putnam, $26.95)
Bottom Line: O is for Ordinary
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