Kathy's right, Sue Grafton's T Is for Trespass is "darker" than the rest of the alphabet—and I loved it. A villain you can hate. Grafton's usual collection of colorful friends and neighbors. What's not to like? Perhaps that IMHO she's way too descriptive. I still don't need or want to know every piece of furniture that's in a room.
Granted the villain in T being an opportunist who takes care and advantage of the sick and elderly hit a little close to home, but I still liked it. I even dog-eared three pages.
1) Kinsey is describing childhood as an only child. "I could also play with my teddy bear, whose mouth would lever open if you pressed a button under his chin. I'd feed the bear hard candy and then turn him over and undo the zipper in his back. I'd remove the candy from the little metal box that passed for a tummy and eat it myself. The bear never complained. This is still my notion of a perfect relationship." (page 186) I can't disagree.
2) "Between Melvin Downs's disappearance and the Guffeys' vandalism, I didn't see how things could get worse. Which just goes to show how little I know about life." (page 252) I love foreshadowing.
3) "I was happy to introduce her (Peggy, a stay-at-home mom) to the joy of telling fibs. She'd been worried she couldn't pull it off, but I told her anyone who lied to little kids about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny could surely manage this." (page 344) Cool sentence. Brings up all sorts of issues—IMHO.
Bottom line? Read it. It's fun.
