Melanie (MELNELYNN) reviewed on 8/27/2010 + 669 more book reviews

Sue Grafton's "U is for Undertow" takes place in 1988, with flashbacks to 1967, the "Summer of Love." Kinsey Millhone, thirty-seven, is the veteran of two failed marriages. Most of her time is devoted to her work as a private investigator, and she occasionally socializes with a small group of friends, including her eighty-eight year old landlord, Henry Pitts. Kinsey's latest case involves Michael Sutton, who claims that he recently recalled an event that occurred when he was just six years old. In July of 1967, four-year-old Mary Claire Fitzhugh was abducted from her home in Horton Ravine, California. Although her parents agreed to pay the ransom demanded by Mary Claire's kidnappers, the money was not picked up and the child was never seen again. Sutton remembers playing in the woods when he saw two men digging a hole and burying a bundle in the ground, and he cannot help but wonder if the pair was burying the corpse of little Mary Claire. Michael hires Kinsey to reconstruct the past and find out if his memories are accurate.

Although Millhone is far from physically imposing, she has resources that may be more effective than brute force: Kinsey is smart, intensely curious, and reluctant to give up once she starts an investigation. When Kinsey is stymied, she shuffles the index cards on which she records her notes and tries to see matters from a different perspective. Sooner or later, she usually connects the dots. This mystery has many familiar elements, including long buried secrets, dysfunctional families, greed, stupidity, and selfishness. In addition, Grafton provides the reader with a poignant glimpse into Kinsey's early life that helps explain why she is a loner who is reluctant to trust anyone. In Grafton's world, the conflicts between relatives can sometimes resemble a mini-Civil War, with mutilated bodies littering the battlefield.

Grafton is a gifted storyteller whose solid descriptive writing, crisp dialogue, and well-constructed plot keep "U is for Undertow" moving along swiftly and satisfyingly. The author's flashbacks are not merely gimmicks to pad the story. They are essential elements that bring clarity to a tragic series of events whose roots lie in the past. Since Kinsey's inquiries pre-date the technological revolution, she does her research in the library, consulting yearbooks, telephone directories, and microfilms of old newspaper articles. Being a PI was much tougher in those days. "U is for Undertow" is another winner from an extremely talented author. It has memorable characters and thought-provoking psychological and historical themes that will resonate with Grafton's many devoted fans.

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