X (Kinsey Millhone Series #24)

by Sue Grafton Narrated by Judy Kaye

Overview

Of #1 New York Times-bestselling author Sue Grafton, NPR's Maureen Corrigan said, “Makes me wish there were more than 26 letters.” With only two letters left, Grafton's many devoted readers will share that sentiment.

X:* The number ten. An unknown quantity. A mistake. A cross. A kiss.

X: *The shortest entry in Webster's Unabridged. Derived from Greek and Latin and commonly found in science, medicine, and religion. The most graphically dramatic letter. Notoriously tricky to pronounce: think xylophone.

X:* The twenty-fourth letter in the English alphabet.

Sue Grafton's X: Perhaps her darkest and most chilling novel, it features a remorseless serial killer who leaves no trace of his crimes. Once again breaking the rules and establishing new paths, Grafton wastes little time identifying this sociopath. The test is whether Kinsey can prove her case against him before she becomes his next victim.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for X

“Grafton’s endless resourcefulness in varying her pitches in this landmark series, graced by her trademark self-deprecating humor, is one of the seven wonders of the genre.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Excellent...pulse-pounding...Grafton has never been better.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Ratcheting up the heat as she heads toward the finish line of her alphabetically-framed series, Grafton has turned in a corker of a novel with X, upping her already high-level game.”—The Boston Globe

“X features a smashing ending that rivals that of her debut, A is for Alibi.”—The Washington Post

More Praise for Sue Grafton and the Alphabet Series

“I’m going to miss Kinsey Millhone. Ever since the first of Sue Grafton’s Alphabet mysteries, A Is For Alibi, came out in 1982, Kinsey has been a good friend and the very model of an independent woman, a gutsy Californian P.I. rocking a traditional man’s job...it’s Kinsey herself who keeps this series so warm and welcoming. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, and she’s tough enough to be sensitive on the right occasions.”—New York Times Book Review

“The consistent quality and skillful innovations in this alphabet series justify all the praise these books have received over the past 35 years.”—Wall Street Journal

“A superb storyteller.”—Publishers Weekly

“Grafton is a writer of many strengths—crisp characterizations, deft plotting, and eloquent dialogue among them—and she has kept her long-running alphabet mystery series fresh and each new release more welcome than the last.”—Louisville Courier-Journal

“[Grafton’s] ability to give equal weight to the story of the detective and the detective story sets her apart in the world of crime fiction.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2015-06-03
What does X stand for? Xanakis, XLNT, maybe even Father Xavier, all features of Kinsey Millhone's dense, meaty 24th case. The drought of 1989 is causing anxiety all over Santa Teresa, but money seems to have rained down on Kinsey's latest client, Hallie Bettancourt, who's seeking the current whereabouts of just-released robber Christian Satterfield, the son she had when she was only 15. Kinsey makes a few calls, rings a few bells, tracks down the address, and sends it on to the client, only to discover that everything Hallie told her, from her name to her relationship with Satterfield, was false. To add insult to injury, one of the $100 bills Hallie, or whoever she was, insisted on paying Kinsey is one of the same bills wealthy Ari Xanakis used two years ago to ransom a Turner painting back for $25,000 from his ex-wife, Teddy, who'd taken it upon herself to add it to the divorce settlement. Meanwhile, Kinsey's gotten involved in another equally messy case, driven by her unwelcome suspicion that her late colleague Pete Wolinsky—hired years ago by salesman Ned Lowe's attorney, Arnold Ruffner, to dig up dirt that would impeach the testimony of Taryn Sizemore, who'd accused him of harassment and stalking—had cast his net further and decided to blackmail either Lowe or someone else connected with the case. Showing as much initiative as Hallie or Pete and a lot more rectitude, Kinsey resolves to close the book on Pete's shadowy game and to return a pair of sentimental religious keepsakes she'd found hidden in Pete's files to their rightful owner. A droll drought-driven subplot revolving around Henry Pitts, Kinsey's ancient landlord, is the icing on the cake. Grafton's endless resourcefulness in varying her pitches in this landmark series (W Is for Wasted, 2013, etc.), graced by her trademark self-deprecating humor, is one of the seven wonders of the genre.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169467291
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/25/2015
Series:	Kinsey Millhone Series , #24
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

I never hear the word "Nevada" without thinking of Robert Dietz. This coming May, we would celebrate our sixth anniversary of barely ever seeing each other. Truly, in the time I'd known him, I don't think we'd been together two months at a stretch, and that was only once. But now I needed his Nevada smarts and I dialed his number in Carson City. Three rings and his machine picked up. I listened to his message, which was terse and to the point. I waited for the beep and said, "Hey, Dietz. This is Kinsey. I need a favor from you. I'm looking for a woman named Susan Telford in Henderson, Nevada, and I wondered if you'd see what you can find out. There are thirty-three Telfords listed, and it doesn't make sense for me to tackle the job from Santa Teresa. Pete Wolinsky put her name on a list of six women who are all connected in one way or another to a man named Ned Lowe. Before Pete was killed, he went to some lengths to do background on Lowe, who seems like an all-around bad egg. If you have questions, call me back, and if you don't want to do the job, that's fine. Just let me know."
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "X"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Sue Grafton.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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