X by Sue Grafton

Wow! 24 books in and Sue Grafton still manages to make each new installment feel fresh and new. Readers there are a lot of long running series that have fallen by my reading wayside but the Kinsey Millhone series has never been one of them.

Kinsey is flush with cash for probably the first time in her career. Not only does this mean she can stress less about new clients, but it means she can spend some time on some lesser and pro bono investigations as well.

Two decades ago Hallie Bettancourt put her son up for adoption. She followed his story when he was busted for bank robbery and now that he's being released she wants Kinsey to find contact information for him. Hallie claims she wants to help in any way she can - if he's interested. The case is pretty cut and dry and Kinsey files her report just a few days later. But it doesn't end there. 

Hallie Bettancourt doesn't exist. Not only that, the money she paid Kinsey with is marked. The loss isn't great but Kinsey is determined to find out who hired her and why. 

Meanwhile, Pete Wolinsky's widow is facing an audit and IRS claims that the former PI hadn't filed returns for years. It's her hope that Kinsey may have come across something in her search through Pete's files after his death. Unfortunately for Ruthie no financials are in evidence, but something rather odd does pop up. Kinsey is certain it's another of Pete's schemes but soon learns this may not be the case at all. Could she have been wrong about Pete? 

We are nearing the end, folks, and just the thought makes me want to cry. Honestly, reading these last few is somewhat bittersweet. I adore the series but I almost want to hold onto these last few indefinitely so that it doesn't really end! It's true I sat on W is for Wasted for a ridiculous amount of time, too. I just couldn't wait with X, though, and that won out over my hoarding tendencies with later series titles.

I nerd out about these books big time. Grafton is one of my favorite authors to recommend to readers looking for a great mystery and one of the reasons for that is exactly what I mentioned above - each new installment is fresh and new. Kinsey still grows as a character, the cases never feel like repeats, and while I feel like it has to be a massive effort on Grafton's part to ensure that this is the case with each new book, the finished product is always a smooth and effortless read.

Because of my fondness for this series and all of the characters, I do recommend starting from the very beginning. I have to admit, though, that X wouldn't make a bad diving in point if you you absolutely must go with the latest.

(X is officially out on shelves tomorrow.)

Rating: 5/5