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S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone #19)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 10,349 ratings · 508 reviews

The nineteenth novel in Sue Grafton's ever popular 'alphabet' series featuring PI Kinsey Millhone.

Just after Independence Day in July 1953 Violet Sullivan, a local good time girl living in Serena Station Southern California, drives off in her brand new Chevy and is never seen again. Left behind is her young daughter, Daisy, and Violet's impetuous husband, Foley, who had be...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published November 28th 2006 by Berkley (first published December 6th 2005)

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Jun 13, 2007 LARRY rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: whodunit

As posted in [http://www.amazon.com]:

Ever since *A is for Alibi*, I've been hooked to the Kinsey Millhone series. Therefore, Sue Grafton became one of my favorite authors. Throughout the series, some were great and some were not so great. Nonetheless, I was extremely excited to get the paperback edition of *S is for Silence*. I read this book every opportunity I could take advantage of.

It's 1987. Kinsey has been hired by Daisy Sullivan to find out whatever happened to her mother, Violet, who di...more As posted in [http://www.amazon.com]:

Ever since *A is for Alibi*, I've been hooked to the Kinsey Millhone series. Therefore, Sue Grafton became one of my favorite authors. Throughout the series, some were great and some were not so great. Nonetheless, I was extremely excited to get the paperback edition of *S is for Silence*. I read this book every opportunity I could take advantage of.

It's 1987. Kinsey has been hired by Daisy Sullivan to find out whatever happened to her mother, Violet, who disappeared on 4th of July 1953.

4th of July 1953, Violet is getting herself ready for the festive night. In walks Liza Mellincamp, who has been hired to babysit Violet's 7 year old daughter, Daisy. Liza is in awe of Violet. Violet is ready and takes off with her new Pomeranian puppy, Baby, in her brand-new Bel Aire. She was never seen after this day.

34 years later, Daisy wants closure. She wants to know why if her mother left on her own volition. Kinsey returns to the little town where Violet lived before she disappeared. Just about 90% of the people who were there in '53 are still living there. Piece of cake, eh? Not quite so. However, Kinsey has been able to piece together the last days of Violet before she disappeared.

It was no secret that Violet was a flirt. Married men didn't stop her. It was also not a secret that she won a $50,000 lawsuit settlement. She wasn't afraid to brag about it.

The question is did she disappear on her own or was she killed? If she took off on her own, why? Was there a serious lover? If she was murdered, there are no shortage of suspects. Was it her abusive, now recovering alcoholic, husband? Was it the young salesman who sold her that car and was later fired? Was it one of the married men that she had an affair with and abruptly stopped the liasion? Was it one of the women, disgusted by Violet's absence of moral standards?

The book "toggles" between Kinsey's present time (1987), in one chapter, and the characters in 1953. *S* was an interesting change of routine. In the other series, she usually includes Henry, her landlord, Rosie, owner of a restaurant, and some lover. In *S*, they're barely mentioned. So, it was nice to see Kinsey interact more with her client and the people she interviewed.

Overall, a good book that I couldn't put down. Now, I'm just sad because I gotta wait forever before T comes out. Sue, hurry!(less)

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Oct 01, 2007 Jo Ann Sharkey rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who loves mysteries and Sue Grafton

Shelves: favorites

I love Sue Grafton! I bought this book a few weeks ago and have been saving it as my plane read for my trip to Scotland. Grafton never disappoints. The style of this book was different from her typical writing in that Grafton uses flashback techniques to tell her story. While many writers might reveal too much or give us clues to enable the reader to figure out "who did it," Grafton keeps us hanging with just enough information. I was in suspense until the very last chapter.

I will say that I mi...more

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Jan 04, 2009 Pris robichaud rated it 4 of 5 stars

"S" Is For Super, 6 Jan 2006

"When Liza Mellincamp thinks about the last time she saw Violet Sullivan, what comes most to mind is the color of Violet's Japanese silk kimono, a shade of blue that Liza later learned was called "cerulean" a word that wasn't even in her vocabulary when she was fourteen years old."
Kinsey Millhorne is asked to help solve a thirty-four year old mystery. "What happened to Violet? She just disappeared." by her daughter, Daisy. Daisy has been unable to get past this loss...more
"S" Is For Super, 6 Jan 2006

"When Liza Mellincamp thinks about the last time she saw Violet Sullivan, what comes most to mind is the color of Violet's Japanese silk kimono, a shade of blue that Liza later learned was called "cerulean" a word that wasn't even in her vocabulary when she was fourteen years old."
Kinsey Millhorne is asked to help solve a thirty-four year old mystery. "What happened to Violet? She just disappeared." by her daughter, Daisy. Daisy has been unable to get past this loss of her mother at a very young age. This loss has flavored her entire life, she drinks too much, she goes from man to man and her life is unhappy. Now she just has to know what happened, even if it involves her father.

Violet Sullivan was the town "TRAMP" according to many people. She had an abusive husband, she sported bumps and bruises and ended up at the town watering hole on a nightly basis. Liza Mellincamp babysat for Daisy and loved Violet. Violet became a
mother of sorts, someone who listened, someone who cared. And, then Violet went missing in her new Bel Air Coupe. Everyone in the small town of Serena Station thought she had run off with another man. A small town talks and everyone seems to know everyone else's business. However, this business was never solved. A fresh eye, a young detective, who was smart and adept at finding clues everyone else misses, Kinsey Millhone. She ruffles feathers, talks to everyone in town and learns their secrets. She put two plus two together and little by little she uncovers some interesting facts.

Sue Grafton is a grandmother and a writer of renown. She has piqued my interest in her mystery series with this new book. She has followed the alphabet with her novels, and we are now at "S". In my mind, this is one of the best. She has been able to deftly examine and disclose the behaviors and personalities of many of the people she meets. She aptly describes the scene, the food, the atmosphere and the sense of the time. She gradually uncovers one clue to find the next. And, she also does re-play. The character goes back thirty-four years and replays the scene that is important to the story. A fresh approach that helps to make this mystery so much more exciting. We try to guess " who done it" and it is not until the end of the book that we are shocked. The ending is a bit brief and the implication leaves a lot to wonder about it. All in all, well done. Recommended. prisrob 1-05-06

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Oct 06, 2012 mitchell Dwyer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, mystery

It’s been thirty-five years since Violet Sullivan, a California housewife, disappeared. Residents of her small agricultural town of Santa Maria have different theories about what happened: some believe her abusive husband finally did her in, while others believe she picked up and left with one of her many lovers. None of the speculation has been of help to Daisy, Violet’s now-middle-aged daughter whose personal life has been tumultuous largely as a result of her mother’s disappearance. She hires...more It’s been thirty-five years since Violet Sullivan, a California housewife, disappeared. Residents of her small agricultural town of Santa Maria have different theories about what happened: some believe her abusive husband finally did her in, while others believe she picked up and left with one of her many lovers. None of the speculation has been of help to Daisy, Violet’s now-middle-aged daughter whose personal life has been tumultuous largely as a result of her mother’s disappearance. She hires Kinsey Millhone to find out what she can, for Daisy’s own closure if for nothing else.

It happens that Violet was the kind of person everyone knew and everyone has an opinion about, and nobody seems reluctant to share opinions or memories with Kinsey. It has been thirty-five years, and while everyone has already repeated his or her version of the story to the local press multiple times, Kinsey hopes that a more rigorous questioning might shake loose a long-overlooked detail. She is warned by a police friend that if Violet was in fact murdered, the perpetrator has gotten away with it for a very long time and will not be pleased by any progress Kinsey might make. When Kinsey discovers the tires of her Volkswagen slashed one day, she takes it as an encouragement that she’s getting close to something.

This has been an interesting stretch of the alphabet for fans of Sue Grafton. This is the third time in recent memory that Kinsey has worked on a long-unsolved mystery, and the third where much of the action takes place outside Kinsey’s hometown of Santa Teresa. In one recent novel, Kinsey doesn’t end the novel with her recap. In another, Kinsey doesn’t even work on a mystery, but is sort of swept along in someone else’s pursuit of solving a problem. In S is for Silence, Grafton makes use for the first time of intercalary chapters, written in the third person (as opposed to her usual first-person Kinsey narration) from different characters’ points of view, and set in the time of Violet’s disappearance. The effect for the reader is more knowledge about what happened than Kinsey has, and an opportunity to form better-informed theories than Kinsey can form until she has a chance to uncover the information the reader is already privy to.

It’s an interesting approach, and Grafton uses it well, giving the reader a more intimate look at the events without giving away too much. In fact, I’m pretty sure that when Kinsey tells us what her conclusions are, she doesn’t tell us how she arrived at them, and we are left to go back to the intercalary material and figure it out ourselves. This is kind of a cool approach, like looking at the back of the math book for the answer to the problem but then tying to figure out how you’re supposed to get there.

S is for Silence is a great read; while I wouldn’t put it up there with the best of the series, it’s at least at the upper end of the middle of the pack, which for this devotee is pretty dang good.(less)

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May 06, 2012 E.M. Lynley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

2.5 but I'll round up to three stars.

It's been a few years since I read one of Grafton's books. I read R is for Ricochet when it came out, then nothing till last week.

I liked all the flashbacks, even though it felt a bit like whiplash moving between POV characters. But once I got used to it, I decided it was nicely done. I think Grafton managed to capture a lot of interesting characters and keep them fairly well defined. My favorite was Kathy, who starts off as a rich, selfish meddling teen and...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Carolyn Agosta rated it 4 of 5 stars

After a long break from Sue Grafton, I picked up two of her latest (well, I downloaded them to my Kindle) and read them back to back. S is for Silence is about the small silences maintained, the things not said, that might have solved a murder sooner. We readers get the chance to look at a character from many different points of view, all but her own, to see what happened to make this woman disappear and not be found. I found the different POVs interesting, but it seemed to take a long time to c...more

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Sep 20, 2009 Sandie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century-women, thrillers-and-mystery

If the weather is cold and the wind is howling outside, why not settle down with a cup of hot chocolate and Sue Grafton's S is for Silence, another clever contribution to the Kinsey Millhone series. This pleasant little romp has Kinsey investigating the 1953 disappearance of a woman, Violet Sullivan, local legend and "town harlot" who was loved by few and despised by many. Everyone in town, it seems, has had some sort of involvement with Violet........and has their tale to tell.

The story is set...more

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Apr 21, 2010 Persephone Jones added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 02, 2012 Karolyn Sherwood rated it 3 of 5 stars

On what basis do we "grade" books? Literary merit? Writing level, e.g., absence of unnecessary adverbs? Plot strength and suspense? Sympathetic character development?

If you're reading this review, I'm guessing you fall into one of two categories: Those who like Sue Grafton novels and want to know how this one compares to the rest, or my goodreads friends who follow my reviews because you think I'm brilliant. If you fall into the first group, I won't be of much help. In my previous life (about 15...more On what basis do we "grade" books? Literary merit? Writing level, e.g., absence of unnecessary adverbs? Plot strength and suspense? Sympathetic character development?

If you're reading this review, I'm guessing you fall into one of two categories: Those who like Sue Grafton novels and want to know how this one compares to the rest, or my goodreads friends who follow my reviews because you think I'm brilliant. If you fall into the first group, I won't be of much help. In my previous life (about 15 - 10 years ago), I read Grafton's early entries into the alphabet series. I liked them because they were fun, easy, mildly tense and suspenseful. Then my life changed, and I haven't read many since then.

I recently read and reviewed Bolaño's The Skating Rink. While that was my first Bolaño, that is certainly more similar to what I like to read today. I guess I've grown up and am looking for more of a literary challenge these days. But enough about me. A few months ago, I saw a quote from Tom Perotta (The Leftovers) in the NYTimes Book Review. Perotta is a highly respectable author, although I must say I have not read any of his books yet. But he had a quote that I remember and respect. He said—and I paraphrase–that while he's writing a book, he reads mysteries because they are typically so strong in plot. He notes that acclaimed literary fiction can often lose that page-turner quality, and he wants to avoid that in his work.

And that is why I read S is for Silence. I read it as research for my own work. How does Grafton maneuver her female detective? How does she handle character development for a new reader when most of her readers have probably read each novel in the series and know the main character so well? How does she handle the plot of her mystery? That is why I read this book. And I'm glad I did.

Grafton knows what she's doing (obviously by now), she's a very good writer (obviously), she has a flawed but intelligent and likable character. I was extremely interested in finding out whodunit. That being said, I thought the book was awfully long (maybe because I wasn't looking for a beach read, this was more like homework for me). There were so many characters involved, that when I found out who the bad guy was, I had to go back and remind myself about his background and involvement with the victim (which I thought was on the thin side). I certainly didn't guess him ahead of time.

I took copious notes on my iPad while I read this book in keeping with my 2012 reading goal (read fewer books, fill them with marginalia, and LEARN from them). (I love my iPad for that reason: so many highlighting color options, so easy to review!) Also, in keeping with my "grading" philosophy, I give S is for Silence 3 Stars because, while it's a very well written mystery, it holds little literary merit. You gotta save the 4 & 5 star reviews for works that might endure, don'tcha?

Three Stars.
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Nov 25, 2011 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fall-2011, thriller-mystery

4.5 Stars

Finally! Sue Grafton has her mojo back in S IS FOR SILENCE! I couldn’t put this lettered installment down and literally stayed up nights reading into to the wee hours. Kinsey Millhone has another cold case (Q IS FOR QUARRY) and consciously doesn’t want to find out what happened to the 28 year-old femme fatale, Violet Sullivan 34 years ago. The town she disappeared from is dilapidated and not friendly to outsiders. But she sees Daisy’s pain of not knowing why her mother left her in 1953....more

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Jan 20, 2013 Lynda Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another tremendous offering form Sue Grafton. I love this set of books !!
We didn't get to hear as much about Kinsey's personal life in this story but as they're set straight after the previous one I guess we don't need to. My only wish for her has always been a mobile phone and a laptop as her job would be so much easier !! However, she's back in the 80's and those things didn't come cheap then. Thinking about it, Kinsey would be in her 60's nowadays and possibly retired !!
I was looking back ove...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Kara Jorges rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kinsey tags her umpteenth cold case when an old friend asks her to look into the case of another friend’s missing mother, who disappeared over 30 years ago. The difference between this case and other cold cases Kinsey has worked, however, is that this time the author stepped outside the norm and wrote part of this story from a third-person viewpoint in the past, in the days before the crime occurred.

Violet Sullivan was living a tawdry life. A battered wife, she took revenge by having affairs wit...more Kinsey tags her umpteenth cold case when an old friend asks her to look into the case of another friend’s missing mother, who disappeared over 30 years ago. The difference between this case and other cold cases Kinsey has worked, however, is that this time the author stepped outside the norm and wrote part of this story from a third-person viewpoint in the past, in the days before the crime occurred.

Violet Sullivan was living a tawdry life. A battered wife, she took revenge by having affairs with nearly every man in the small town of Serena Station. Since neither Violet’s body nor her brand-new Chevy Bel Air were ever found, there are two camps as to what happened to her. Some believe she ran off and started a new life, leaving her daughter behind. Others believe she was murdered, and that her husband did it. Through the course of her investigation, Kinsey starts to believe Violet was murdered, but not necessarily that it was her husband who did her in. Glimpses into the past show that nearly everyone in town had a motive to murder Violet, as well as the fact that just about everyone in town seems to be lying about something. Their reasons for the lies come out throughout the course of the story, and of course, a lot of them have nothing to do with the disappearance of Violet Sullivan. Someone, however, doesn’t like all the questions Kinsey has been asking, and soon she is in danger.

While this series started with a bang, it suffered near the middle of the alphabet. With the past couple of books, it is obvious that the author is once again enjoying writing the books as much as she did in the beginning, and that comes across in an exciting, page-turning novel. I was glad to see that Kinsey’s annoyingly bossy new boyfriend was kept on the back burner this time out, while other recurring characters had their usual small parts. Kinsey’s wry observations, as usual, made me smile a lot. The suspects in this book are many and quite varied, as well, since nearly everyone in town had a reason to want Violet dead. Despite a few under par selections, this is an excellent series. I’m glad to see that Sue Grafton is back “on” and writing a book a year. They’re worth the read.
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Apr 10, 2011 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Grafton's mysteries are usually a fun bit of fluff, with a by-now predictable style of writing and formula. "S" is the first in the alphabet to switch things up a bit: The first paragraph is a retrospective from one girl's point of view in 1953. As a mystery reader, you don't quite know what you're looking for or what details will be especially germane to the situation, because you don't yet know why you're bouncing back so far. It really seems like a prologue.

Chapter 2 reveals that Kinsey Millh...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Marilyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another great read...altho they're not near as fun as they were in the beginning. Here is what the cover page says: (I read this a while back so I can't even remember myself!)

"Cases don't get much colder than that of Violet Sullivan, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven year old named Daisy. But PI Kinsey Millhone has promised Daisy she'll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. All signs point to a runaway wife - the clothes...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Sheila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyed this book. LIstened to it as we drove across country. Unfortunately we had listened to it before. Violet, a young mother with a young daughter, Daisy disappears. Violet is not your typical stay at home mother, she married young and hasn't settled down. She has numerous affairs and disappears never to be found again. One of the men she dated, owned a car dealership. Violet fell in love with a new Chevy Bel Air and persuaded the owner to give her a good deal. Now, 34 years later, Daisy is...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Vicki G rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Incidentally, and probably completely unsurprising, I identified most with Daisy, the victim's daughter. My former husband was murdered, and I was a little surprised that Sue Grafton's idea of what the victim's family actually goes through during this time is almost exactly right. Apart from adding things that ONLY a family member will think about, she included everything else. I don't expect someone who hasn't experienced it to know about the feelings the family member keeps hidden from the res...more Incidentally, and probably completely unsurprising, I identified most with Daisy, the victim's daughter. My former husband was murdered, and I was a little surprised that Sue Grafton's idea of what the victim's family actually goes through during this time is almost exactly right. Apart from adding things that ONLY a family member will think about, she included everything else. I don't expect someone who hasn't experienced it to know about the feelings the family member keeps hidden from the rest of the world for fear of appearing 'crazy' in their view. Things like automatically wishing you could have taken their place and feeling 'wrong' that you're alive while they're dead.
I greatly appreciate that she at least did research about what the victim's family goes through. I can't begin to describe how refreshing that is to read a book where the writer has actually asked someone what it's like.

That said, the story brought back a whole cascade of memories, but I'm only going to share a few:

Believe me, no matter how terrible the information, finding a body or seeing one after the murder is STILL better than not having one at all. We never found any physical remains of my former husband and no live witnesses could come forward to say they saw him actually go into work the morning of September 11, 2001. Given that information, it's damn near impossible for the family to find ANY closure.
There's something to be said for evidence that comes from the 5 senses. At least in terms of forcing that kernel of doubt out of your mind, it works the 8th wonder of the universe.

In 2001, they were still making you wait 72 hours before you could file a missing person's report, unless foul play was suspected. In our case, or the case of my daughter's dad, they didn't even have to ask. He was supposed to be at work in Tower 1 and suddenly he was no longer there and hadn't been seen since September 10, 2001. He was no longer there, or anywhere, for that matter. But they still had to list him as "confirmed missing," b/c technically, nobody had seen him go into work, and nobody who could have verified it was alive anymore.
It was like a gd nightmare set to play out during wake or sleep, and I really disliked that they had to harp on details so much that they technically confirmed him missing instead of dead, but then turned around 11 days later and did death certificates for those who had been confirmed missing. Which was totally unheard of at the time but was approved by whoever legally okays such a thing. At the time, I thought it was the president of the United States, but I realize I could be wrong. It was probably an official of New York City.
Anyway, this book is reminding me of that whole mess, b/c he was considered missing before they issued a death certificate for him.

I hope books on CD count as a "read" book. My friend, who can't get enough of Sue Grafton, dropped the CD Audio version of 'S Is For Silence' in my lap. She's enthused and encouraged and positively confidently I'll love it.
With her confidence level so high, it makes me curious to hear the first CD.(less)

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Dec 07, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks-read, favorite-series, suspense-mystery-thriller

My new favorite of all Kinsey Millhone series books I've read thus far! Unpredictable mystery, danger and Kinsey in all her glory!

I read this via audiobook, as I have all of the most recent in the alphabet series. The reader, I believe Judith Kaye (?hope that's correct!), is - as always - brilliant! I appreciate that the author chooses the same reader for each of her series books. It's a huge peeve of mine when an author switches narrators book to book in a series. I get to know the character,...more

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May 29, 2011 Rebekah (Silver Lily) James rated it 5 of 5 stars

S is for Silence

I make it no secret that I am a big fan of Sue Grafton. I think I may want to be Sue someday when I grow up. In the last couple of months, I have been revisiting her work, starting with the first in the series, and working my way through the alphabet. Over the course of the series, you get to know Kinsey Millhone, the practical, tough, and very human private investigator who lives in the idyllic town of Santa Theresa California. In her earlier books, Grafton worked very hard to d...more S is for Silence

I make it no secret that I am a big fan of Sue Grafton. I think I may want to be Sue someday when I grow up. In the last couple of months, I have been revisiting her work, starting with the first in the series, and working my way through the alphabet. Over the course of the series, you get to know Kinsey Millhone, the practical, tough, and very human private investigator who lives in the idyllic town of Santa Theresa California. In her earlier books, Grafton worked very hard to disguise the lovely Santa Barbara, surrounding towns, but apparently, the secret is out after 19 books, and this time the main action takes place in Santa Maria, further up the coast from Santa Theresa. As far as I know, there is no actual town of Serena Station.

S is for Silence is by far my favorite of the series. There is a film noir quality about the book as the action shifts not only from the “present” day of 1987, but 34 years earlier to 1953 and the disappearance of a woman who is widely believed to have run off. Kinsey is called on by Daisy, the woman’s daughter who was 7 years old when her mother disappeared. Daisy has decided it is time to answer a very simple, but profound question - Did her mother simply abandon her?

Unlike the previous books, in which the story is told strictly from Kinsey’s viewpoint, this time, we are treated to the events from the viewpoints of those who lived them. The contrasts between the past and present are drawn clearly, both underscoring how far we have come, and how little has really changed. (There are several lesbian characters in the book, which would have been shocking in 1953 but is never made an issue in the slightest in the 1987 scenes, while the promiscuity of the central figure and missing woman is still causing ripples of shock and dismay.) It is easy to picture the older, flashback scenes as if they were done in black and white, and the character of Violet as some Hollywood starlet, while the more modern scenes are clearly in color, with more up to date characters.

More than anything else, this book is about relationships: The relationship between parents and children here, the complexities of friendships, relationships between spouses, and looser relationships among long-standing acquaintances. It is about how our perceptions shape our reality. The pacing is fast, and even as a re-read, I found myself pushing through to the end. We weave in and out of the lives of the players in a relatively small town. Kinsey is her same self, though perhaps a gentler and as is appropriate, more mature Kinsey than we have seen before. We are still led on a merry chase of misdirection and frustration as she struggles to put the pieces together. I will say, in this case, while the endings to Grafton’s books always surprise me, this one really did catch me off guard.

My review – 5 of 5 stars this time.
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Dec 28, 2011 Denise rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Over the years I have listened to many of the Kinsey Millhone books and enjoyed them. Listening to the abridged version and struggling with the reader whose voice was dominated by frequent changes in volume made this more frustrating ... especially when accompanied by the natural changes in noise volume in a car. That said, the story, while released in 2004 takes place in 1986 and flashes back to the 50's. That bugged me some because I couldn't see a good reason why Grafton would do it (but mayb...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries, california, 1950s, 1980s, ficton

I think this is her best by far. There’s a minimal amount of her lead character’s private life, which is never very interesting to me because it’s so repetitive. And she seemed to break out of her comfort zone with third person flash backs; she always rights in first person otherwise. This made the book seem fresher and seemed to wake up her writing. This is a cold case story—the lead PI is hired to find a mother, missing for 30+ years. Many small town characters, interconnected in many ways, an...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Susy rated it 4 of 5 stars

My last Kinsey Milhone was read by the end of 2003. At the time I was a bit fed up with the PI roaming South California in the 80s. Some friend got this book for me and I was pleasurably surprised. In fact a cold case, S sports many characters in the search of a woman who disappeared with her dog and a new car in 1953. Characterization is excellent; the mystery unfolds easily, with some chapters being reminiscences of what everyone was doing at the time. As always, Grafton is heavy on details bu...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not one of Grafton's best, but an entertaining entry in the Kinsey Millhone series.

Kinsey is hired by the daughter of a woman who disappeared over thirty years before, after saying goodbye to her. As Kinsey looks into the case, she and the reader, discover that there were more than a few folks who might have had a reason to harm Violet Sullivan all those years before.

Grafton takes a break from her ususual format and we get to hear the 'voices' of some of the other characters and suspects from t...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Cathy Cole rated it 4 of 5 stars

First Line: When Liza Mellincamp thinks about the last time she ever saw Violet Sullivan, what comes most vividly to mind is the color of Violet's Japanese silk kimono, a shade of blue that Liza later learned was called "cerulean," a word that wasn't even in her vocabulary when she was fourteen years old.

On Saturday, July 4, 1953, most people in Serena Station, California, planned to spend at least part of their evening watching the fireworks display. Violet Sullivan was not one of them. She mad...more First Line: When Liza Mellincamp thinks about the last time she ever saw Violet Sullivan, what comes most vividly to mind is the color of Violet's Japanese silk kimono, a shade of blue that Liza later learned was called "cerulean," a word that wasn't even in her vocabulary when she was fourteen years old.

On Saturday, July 4, 1953, most people in Serena Station, California, planned to spend at least part of their evening watching the fireworks display. Violet Sullivan was not one of them. She made arrangements for her usual babysitter, got dressed up, loaded her three-month-old Pomeranian puppy into her purse, and drove off in a cloud of dust in her brand-new Bel Air. She never came back.

Although they did search for her, most people assumed that the vivacious Violet had run off with the latest man who'd caught her fancy. Trouble is, she left a young daughter behind who grew up with a lot of problems due to her mother's disappearance. Reluctantly, Kinsey Millhone agrees to work for Daisy, even though she privately thinks she's not going to get anywhere with the 34-year-old cold case.

Of course we know that once Kinsey starts investigating, she's going to get somewhere. Grafton veers away from Kinsey's usual first person narrative to intersperse flashbacks from the various people in town who knew the missing woman. As the story progresses, the reader begins to understand that all these people have their own reasons for wanting Violet dead.

Hopefully I won't be tarred and feathered by the legions of Millhone fans when I say that previously the only book in the series I'd read was A is for Alibi. For some reason that I can't remember, Kinsey and I didn't really hit it off, but I'm happy to say that I appreciate her a lot more now that I've read S is for Silence. Did I feel as though I was missing a lot of detail, not having read B through R? No. I fell right in step with her as she began digging away at the facts in this case.

The flashbacks populated the town for me and gave me a real sense of the way Violet interacted with everyone. Without those glimpses into 1953, the story would have been skeletal indeed. As it was, I became quite caught up in the book and its characters. I was able to narrow down the field of those who wished Violet ill, but never got around to choosing my chief suspect.

Many times in reading crime fiction, it's not just about whodunit. Sometimes the how and the why are even more important, and once in a while the characters make a reader forget everything else. Where S is for Silence is concerned, the who led to the how and then to the why, and then I just concentrated on a private investigator who doesn't know how to quit... and the daughter, abandoned so long ago, who deserved truth and justice.(less)

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Nov 12, 2010 Julianne rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is another really fun Kinsey Millhone romp! You might want to start by taking notes as you go. The action takes place in the 1980's, but the mystery takes place in 1953. They keep flashing back. You would do well to keep your own timeline of what happened then, who was where and who had a connection with whom. That part can be confusing.

Violet is a flamboyant character who is attractive but manipulative and self-centered. Many people adore her and want to gain her approval. Others deem her...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Felicity Crabtree rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well, S is for Splendid as well as Silence: the author certainly did her research in terms of creating a old murder mystery in a town which she made entirely from stratch, all the way down to the last detail.

The flashbacks I believe were absolutely essential to me, it was a marvellous idea, what she did to set the scene at the time of the murder was genius. When I got to the end, I didn't feel surprised when I solved the "whodunnit" question, the character was never entirely explained in terms o...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Empress5150 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's been a long while since I've read Grafton. I believe I got through "C" in her series "starring" Kinsey Millhone back in the early 90s. I enjoyed them; mostly due to the character of Kinsey; a very no-nonsense practical woman with some interesting personality quirks.

Not much has changed in Kinsey's life at "S"; even though in "real" life, it's been over 10 years, in hers, barely a few years have passed (still in 1989, I think). This fact made listening to "S" quite fun; no cell phones in her...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Michelle (meshe) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, kindle

I forget how much I enjoy these books and then I read another and remember why I like them. I enjoy the setting. They are not set in present day, yet they are set in recent times. It's like just going back a few years and enjoying the time all over again. They're modern but not today. Takes me back to my 'good ole days'.

This book takes Kinsey to a small town to find a woman who disappeared about 30 or so years ago. Her daughter hires Kinsey to find her or find out what happened to her. The books...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, crime-thriller

I couldn't put this down and hoped I wouldn't find the ending a let-down like TM. I didn't at all which was a relief. it's quite cleverly constructed so that there are any number of potential endings and badies. It was hard to guess; I went through loads of options as I read. I always like books that jump from past to present (and even future as The TT Wife does) and thought that generally Sue G's writing has evolved from the very simple formulaic approach of the earlier books.I was surprised to...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Beverley Rochford rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've read this mystery series over the years and am catching up on them. I like the character - a female investigator who is hired to solve various mysteries- she applies the basics of her trade, connecting the dots to a resolution. Aside from that she leads a very orderly life which is repeated in each book- you know she'll go for her oceanside jog even after a raunchy night before, that she'll touch bases with her elderly landlord next door, go for dinner at her local diner and eat an awful co...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Although I had trouble keeping track of the characters at first, about a third of the way through I started to really enjoy this book and get intrigued by the characters, especially the flashbacks to the 1950s. That said, I found the ending quite disappointing. We get the obligatory murderer-tries-to-murder-Kinsey scene, but the villain chose such an unlikely means of homicide that all I could think was--really?? Then we never got a Poirot-style wrapup of how and why the murderer lured Violet to...more

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About Sue Grafton

Connect with Sue herself on Facebook! www.facebook.com/suegrafton

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 2003.

Family History:

Father: C.W. Grafton, born 1909, third son of Presbyterian Missionaries, born and raised in China, educated Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina; practicing attorney in Louisville, Kentucky with a 40-year specialty in municipal bonds. Au...more

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“He might be a man without character, but she was a woman without courage. Of the two, which was worse?” — 10 people liked it

“She was the type who went to bars intent on conversation, while he was the type who went in hopes of being left alone.” — 1 person liked it

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S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone #19)

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