W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton

I can’t believe I forgot to post this two months ago. Forgetful me. W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton is the latest in her alphabet mystery series. As always, it’s an enjoyable read. She mixes two disparate deaths into one cohesive story, adding additional members to her family tree as well.

The first body to appear was that of Pete Wolinsky, a fellow private eye, not known for a stellar reputation. He was gunned down near the parking lot of the Santa Teresa Bird Refuge.

The second body is that of a homeless man, found on the beach, who happened to have Kinsey Millhone’s name and phone number on a piece of paper in his pocket. The only problem is: she’s never met the man. Of course, Kinsey can’t pass up a mystery and tries to track down the man’s name and history.

Along the way, Kinsey befriends several homeless people, finds new relatives, works with several old flames. Of the ‘regulars’, her landlord and friend, Henry, is there. William is there briefly and Rosie just barely.  Of the three, I always liked Henry the best and if I make it to my nineties, I want Henry to be my role model. (I especially like the fact that he bakes…and I really want his cinnamon bun recipe.) Yikes! I almost forgot to mention the introduction of a major new character: a cat named Ed. Having recently been the recipient of my own feline, named Mama Boots, the fact that Henry has a cat thrust on him by William is something I can relate to…although I volunteered to take Mama, who is now sitting on the club chair keeping me company while I’m on the couch.

That’s all I’m going to say about the plot. I will say this about the writing, though. I found W is for Wasted a little more ‘literary’, a little more descriptive than I remember previous books to be. That’s a good thing, in my mind anyway. I like her descriptions of people, places and things.

So, W is for Wasted will meet and exceed all your expectations. If you want a real treat, however, I’ve written about Grafton’s book Kinsey and Me: Stories. While it does have some Kinsey Millhone short stories, by far the best part of the book is Part 2 where Grafton talks about her life.