Shortly after the events of “B” is for Burglar, Kinsey is just trying to get through her physical therapy and not scream too loudly from boredom. That all changes when she’s hired by twenty-three-year-old Bobby Callahan. He wants Kinsey to find out why someone tried to kill him by forcing his Porsche over a bridge and into a canyon; he knew at one time, but the accident has stripped the reasons from his memory.
Unfortunately, even if Bobby has forgotten the perpetrator hasn’t, and barely three days after he’s hired Kinsey, Bobby winds up dead.
But a contract is a contract, and even if her client is dead, Kinsey is going to get to the bottom of this. But the secret behind the accident could send Kinsey to join Bobby at the morgue.
This was another enjoyable case with Kinsey. I wonder if the entire series is going to be with very minor time jumps between books? (Two weeks between Alibi and Burglar, two months between Burglar and Corpse.) Interesting that the last two murderers were both not playing with full decks; though this one was in some ways crazier than last book’s. I’m glad we got more Rosie and Henry in this book; though I feel sorry for Henry with everything he goes through (and slightly terrified of Rosie and her meat cleaver and general “if she doesn’t like you, believe me, you’ll know” attitude.) Thankfully Kinsey managed to help Henry out of the financial pickle he wound up in; always good when someone completes their side quest stopping fraud during their main quest of solving a murder. I do have some lingering questions: can Glenn contest Bobby’s will, with what Kinsey finds out? Will Dolan crochet Kinsey that watch that she was promised because she solved the case? Why did she never get in contact with the drug dealer from the previous book for answers like she planned to? As much as Kinsey is written very realistically, I have to find it slightly incredulous that a woman with both an arm injury and a body pumped full of barbiturates can slam a 2×4 into someone’s face and then make it down a minimum of three flights of stairs. This book continues to prove I’m right that Toby Daye (from Seanan McGuire’s series) and Kinsey would get along like a house on fire; neither one of them cares who they make uncomfortable and what feathers they ruffle in pursuit of the truth and justice. Plus, they both have a real problem with upper-class snobs. What I continue to like about these books is just how real Kinsey is; she hates jogging (but does it anyway), doesn’t understand health food, loses her temper, is petty, and loves her alcohol and sex. May I say that once the reveal occurs, it becomes obvious in hindsight who the murderer was; they were just a little too placid. This book also gives you slightly more of Kinsey’s backstory, including information on one of her ex-husbands, and why it was guaranteed she’d be a private investigator since childhood.
I can’t wait to continue the series, and highly recommend it in general (and this book specifically). Even if it caused me to get “Accentuate the Positive” stuck in my head for a few days afterwards.
