Q is for Quarry

A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

By: Sue Grafton

Narrated by: Judy Kaye

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the case remained unsolved.

That was 18 years ago. Now, the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to do the legwork for them, and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued by the challenge and agrees to work with them.

But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

©2002 Sue Grafton (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic Reviews

"An intriguing plot, fully drawn characters, and wry humor prove why Grafton's series is one of the best." (Library Journal)

Loved it!

Kindsy Millhone has become a comfortable, old friend. I can think of no reader other than Judy Kaye to portray her. Never boring. The sound person may have been asleep at the switch, but it wasn't bad. Certainly wasn't Judy Kaye's fault. Her reading, as always, was flawless. I loved the book.

the formula

Sue Grafton is a wonderful writer and her story lines always move right along. This book is no exception, but it is wearing a little thin now. Q is for Quarry is filled with the delights of Kinsey, however the details are getting to be to much and the plotline is a little over developed in my opinion.

A great friend

Kinsey has become an old friend and continues on her way with another submission that is better than the last. Sue Grafton continues to weave the history of Kinsey and friends which is getting pretty difficult while telling a different mystery in each book. Does anyone else catch the 1 to 3 unusual word choices that are in every book? She must do some real digging to come up with them.

My only regret is that we are getting close to "Z" and I don't think there will be an "AA". I have been re-reading her earlier works and they are just as much fun each time I read them. Sue Grafton is the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of our times.

Wow

As always with this series the book was incredible. To find out at the end it's based on a real Jane Doe and all that's been done to try to identify her is chilling and amazing all at once.

Slow moving

Especially as an audiobook the story gets tedious. I feel as dragged down by the slowness of finding out things as the police. I know the narrator is good and has to do many voices, but the gruff male police voices are grating. I feel I better read the rest of the series rather than listen to them.

not fast enough

these just don't come out fast enough for me, read or heard them all and i always eagerly await the next.

the stories are always solid and not so easy that you guess from the beginning.

Grafton doesn't disapoint in this one either. Judy kaye is my favorite reader, she meters out the lines like you would yourself.

Always A Great Simple Listen

It's such an easy listen. Perfect length for a trip. I can never wait for the next letter!

Compelling story based on real victim

Very good story that gains depth once you hear author's epilogue. Would like to see Kinsey evolve a bit after all my years of following her.

Judy Kaye IS Kinsey Millhone

What did you love best about Q is for Quarry?

All of Sue Grafton's books pull you in from the beginning. You feel everything Kinsey does. I love this series!

Have you listened to any of Judy Kaye’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to all of her narrations of Kinsey and she is the best one. She IS Kinsey Millhone.

Any additional comments?

She needs to be the ONLY narrator for the alphabet series.

Quarry ~ Based on a True Story

This is a new development in Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series: a Kinsey mystery based on a real life crime. Grafton recounts the details in an afternote. Wait for it following Kinsey's formulaic "Respectfully Submitted" sign-off. The Afternote is worth a listen. So is Quarry itself.

Grafton's mysteries are usually simple, diverting pleasures ~ especially with Judy Kaye narrating. Grafton delivers here, too, but there is also an interesting "deeper" theme. As she has done haltingly in earlier novels, Grafton touches on and explores the nature of family throughout this tale. For her, as for Kinsey, family is a broad notion, encompassing traditional families (functional and not) as well as the familial relationships that develop between friends and colleagues.

Kinsey is buffeted (gently) by this recurring theme, throughout Quarry. Keep an ear out for developments in her relationships with her estranged Aunts and Cousins, with Henry (and his new friends), with Stacy and Dolan (and even the 90+ year old Dentist she visits), and with her memories of her own parents (which are explored more deeply than in the past). It is all a nice counterpoint to the more formal plot which, in turn, has its own familial components.

Of course, as the comedian Dennis Miller observes: That's just my opinion. I could be wrong. About the family theme, that is. No worries about the novel itself ~ nothing wrong there ~ it's an easy, pleasant diversion.