O is for Outlaw

A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

By: Sue Grafton

Narrated by: Judy Kaye

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. The weekend before, he'd bought a stack of cardboard boxes. In one, there was a collection of childhood memorabilia with Kinsey's name all over it.

Though she's never been one for personal possessions, curiosity is a powerful force. What she finds among the items is an old undelivered letter to her that will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of her first marriage...about the honor of her first husband...and about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril.

Through 14 books, listeners have been fed short rations when it comes to Kinsey Millhone's past: a morsel here, a dollop there. You know about the aunt who raised her, the second husband who left her, the long-lost family up the California coast. But husband number one has remained a blip on the screen. Until now. "O" Is for Outlaw is a revealing excursion into Kinsey's past.

©199 9 (P)1999 Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

• Romantic Times Award Winner - Best PI Novel, 1999

"Grafton works with a cinematic eye, possessing a keen visual sense of detail, color, and style. The pace is fast, the crime difficult to solve." (People)

Did not like the narrator

I have listened to the Millhone books starting with A and having just finished O. First let me tell you that if you are considering reading any book in this series, I highly recommend starting at the beginning of the alphabet. You will better understand the characters and events and how they are relate from A to B to C, etc.

I have truly enjoyed these books by Ms. Grafton. I however did not like this narrator. She makes Kinsey sound 50 years old! Mary Peiffer did an outstanding job with narrating in books A through N and I was quite disturbed at such a drastic change in narration. Also the recording quality was very poor on this book. Despite the above mentioned negatives: I am addicted to the series and have just downloaded P through T, the only remaining books in the series available from Audible.com at this time.

'Respectfully submitted,'

Switching in Midstream

I absolutely adore the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series; what I do not like is the change of narrators in midstream. I had a hard time initially with Mary Pfiefer as the narrator, but I had gotten used to her and enjoyed her voice. Judy Kaye, while competent, is really not believable as Kinsey; nor is she believable as Henry--she makes him sound feeble and old. I am very disappointed in this change and even more disappointed that there was no explanation as to why.

Liked the book, but not the recorded quality

The book is what you have come to expect with the ABC murders.

This is my first time with Judy Kaye reading the series. I am not sure I agree with her as a choice. While her characterizations are fine in general, she make Kinsey sound 50 years old and Henry sound feable.

My major gripe with this audio is the quality of the recording. The narrators pitch and voice level changed while "playing" Kinsey so much I thought there were multiple people narrating. I don't blame her, but the people who recorded the book. BAD WORK. I have grown accustom to practically unnoticed splices. I might notice a splice once or twice in a book. I noticed the splicing at least 4 or 5 times in each chapter.

This book is in a desparate need of re-recording. If this had been my first book with audible, I would probably not buy again. But there is always a bad apple in the bunch. I guess this was just one of them. Lets hope "P" is better.

"O"

What happened to the wonderful reader Mary Peifer? Sounds horrible! Sounds like a guy trying to sound like a woman. I bought all of Grafton's alphabet books and spent the summer listening to her books. If I had paid attention to the change of the narrator, I could have save $20 plus a book, so that adds up to $$$.

I would love the book, if I didn't have to listen to this woman!!!!

Unabridged? Nope -epilogue was mangled

Throughly the book there were minor changes by Judy Kaye as she was reading, which would not be a big deal except the fact that he ENTIRE second paragraph of the Epilogue was missing.

I buy unabridged because I want to read what the author wrote... In this case the information was important into the insight of Kinsey

Tried to keep an open mind

I knew is was not going to last forever having Mary Pifier read the alpha. series (I have listed to A-O). But the choice seems so strange. I tried very hard to keep an open mind about Judy Kaye as the narrator but it is driving me crazy listening to her. Kinsey sounds old and Henry sounds like he is ready a fible old man. At one point in the recording Judy changed the way Kinsey sounded. I thought "I can make it through the change" but then she changed back.

I have loved these books so much I have been paying for the next book before my credit comes available. But I think I am going to have to go to the library to actually read the rest of the series.

More Believable Kinsey ~ Jarring Narrator Change

Working through the Grafton alphabet ~ O ... Outlaw ... Observations ~

Kinsey is finally growing up. For many pages over many volumes, it seemed that Grafton's main character would never mature; would always remain commitment-averse, snarky, know-it-all. Grafton must have decided that realistic characters evolve and has finally starting evolving Kinsey. The evolution makes her a much more believable, understandable, compelling protagonist.

No spoilers, but in Outlaw we finally see Kinsey grappling with real emotion ~ regret and sadness and grief and more. This is not the heavy-handed treatment we have seen in the past where a difficult emotion is dismissed with a joke or platitude. The treatment here is much more sensitive and real-world and the series benefits for it.

We also learn a bit more about Kinsey's past ~ the time between childhood and "present day" that has been treated only briefly in previous volumes. Outlaw is the beginning of the pay-off for working through some of the less polished, earlier audios.

We also have a new narrator, which is a plus and a challenge. Challenge, first. When the audio begins, you can be forgiven if you believe we now have a male narrator. Over time, and with a peek at the credits, you will discover the narrator remains a woman but she has either a very manly or a very "mature" voice. This is particularly jarring for this series. Kinsey is neither manly nor elderly and the narration may throw you, at least initially.

Over time, though, the advantages of the new narration begin to show. Judy Kaye is a much more able narrator ~ her characterizations are massively better than the previous narrator's; she pronounces every word correctly; her pacing never slips. And, over time, it's not too hard to become accustomed to her voice and to settle into the "new Kinsey." Frankly, by the end of the audio, I am convinced this is a change for the better.

The Kinsey Millhone series has usually offered a pleasant escape without much heavy lifting. Outlaw goes a bit further and is a bit more rewarding. It is certainly worth the listen.

O is for Outlaw

This is the first book I have heard that was written by Grafton. The plot was good and kept me interested; however, I was bored to tears by the endless detailed minutia describing rooms, environments, locations, etc. These mindless details only served to increase the number of words in the book and bore the reader (listener) but I am sure it gave the author a bit more money from the publisher. I enjoyed the story line and liked the characters and plot - but was continually frustrated by the uneeded details always wanting to get on with the story

Outstanding

Another outstanding novel by Sue Grafton. The reader takes you into the story. I was as mesmerized by O is for Outlaw as every other book by Sue Grafton.

Intertaining but a little wordy

The book is entertaining but a little slow moving. The author is obviously a gifted writer; her descriptions and characterizations are very graphic but I found it hard to follow the narrative without getting bored. I wanted the storyline to move forward and was frustrated with the endless words.