by Sue Grafton
Part of Kinsey Millhone, book 20
First published 2007
Private investigator Kinsey Millhone starts with routine cases in her 1980s Santa Barbara world. Then Sue Grafton shifts perspective to Solana Rojas, a woman operating under a stolen identity. Rojas has assumed another person's credentials to gain access to elderly clients as a private caregiver. She represents pure malevolence, a sociopath who preys on the vulnerable. The novel builds tension as readers witness Rojas's manipulations while Millhone remains unaware of the danger unfolding nearby. The central question becomes whether Kinsey will discover the truth before Rojas can complete her destructive plans. Grafton explores identity theft and elder abuse through this confrontation between her detective and a calculating predator. The story exposes failures in systems meant to protect society's most defenseless members. This marks Grafton's most direct examination of evil within her alphabet mystery series.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: confrontation, predator-prey, sociopath
Setting: Santa Barbara
Period: 1980s
387 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: abuse, violence