Book Annotation-Mystery

Author: Sue Grafton

Title: N Is for Noose

Genre: Mystery

Publication Date: 1998

Number of Pages: 289

Geographical Setting: Southern California

Time Period: 1980s

Series: Alphabet Mysteries, Book 14

Subject Headings: Millhone, Kinsey (Fictitious character); Fiction; Women private investigators; California, Southern; Detective and mystery stories

Appeal Terms: Authentic character, Likeable character, Strong female, Plot-driven, Fast-paced, Suspenseful, Compelling, Conversational

Plot Summary:

Recently established as an independent P.I., Kinsey Millhone, is returning from a stint of nursing a friend back to health in Carson City when she stops to interview a potential client in the mountain community of Nota Lake, CA.  Told that money is no object by the client, Selma Newquist, Millhone reluctantly begins the research into what might have been bothering Selma’s recently deceased police detective husband enough to cause his normally passively silent demeanor to evolve into brooding, erratic habits, and his eventual heart attack.  As Millhone’s outsider status and inquiries around the close-knit community begin to build into animus she starts to see that there is more to the case than she at first thought was possible.

Grafton’s book with its central “puzzle” and P.I. character place it squarely in the genre of Mystery (Saricks, 2009).  Another aspect of the book that fulfills readers’ expectations of a Mystery are its level of detail in the setting and secondary characters (Saricks, 2009).  Finally, an aspect I found especially powerful was the likeability of the protagonist Kinsey Millhone and the serial nature of her stories.  As Saricks writes, “Mystery readers like series” and often “follow a series because they like the detective” (2009).  As I read Grafton’s book I found I felt could read the entire series just to listen to Kinsey Millhone talk some more.  The serial nature of the mysteries Millhone gets involved in provide the frame for that and Grafton did a thorough job of supplying personal details and backstory at various points throughout the story in order to keep the reader engaged with the character of Millhone.

Fiction Read-Alikes:

A Trouble of Fools by Linda Barnes, Carlotta Carlyle series, Book 1

As in Grafton’s book, another slightly reluctant female P.I., Carlotta Carlyle, takes on a case that seems fairly innocuous at first, but as events develop, Carlyle realizes there’s more than meets the eye to the unexplained disappearance of the aging, cab-driver brother of her grandmotherly client.  Like Grafton’s novel, Barnes’ novel is fast-paced, plot-driven, and has a strong sense of place similar to Grafton’s oft-detailed descriptions of Southern California mountain country.

Double Cross by Beverly Taylor Herald and Barbara Taylor McCafferty, Bert and Nan Tatum mysteries, Book 3

Although Herald and McCafferty’s book is about amateur detectives, twins Bert and Nan Tatum, and not a P.I., and from the naming of the characters to the included sub-plots of this murder mystery the whole novel is much more “cute” than Grafton’s book, Double Cross does share witty dialogue and likeable, strong female characterization with Grafton’s novel.  There is also a dash of local color in the descriptions of the city of Louisville, KY that should sit well with fans of Grafton’s characterization of Kinsey Millhone’s own towns of Santa Teresa and Nota Lake, CA.

Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr, Anna Pigeon mysteries, Book 1

Anna Pigeon is somewhere between a police detective and an amateur sleuth in her role as a newly-minted park ranger in West Texas.  With a strong sense of place and many ecological details this plot-driven, suspenseful mystery led by a strong female investigator mirrors many of the attributes of Grafton’s novel.

Nonfiction Read-Alike:

American Fire by Monica Hesse

Though a suspect for the multiple arsons perpetrated in 2012-13 in Accomack County, VA is in custody when journalist Monica Hesse arrives on the scene, she discovers that there is much more to the story than at first meets the eye.  With a strong sense of place and a detailed picture of a community reacting to unforeseen complexities, readers of Sue Grafton’s novel may appreciate puzzling out the mystery of human motivations under the influence of love, poverty, and addiction.

 

Work Cited:

Saricks, J. (2009). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.