"M" is for Malice: A Kinsey Millhone Novel

I've read over half of the books in this series and, while "M" has the character development and plot twists I've come to expect from Ms. Grafton, it also has twice the padding. The action is too sparse here. Grafton wastes pages and time with superfluous descriptions and conversations that lead the reader no close to a conclusion and do nothing to forward the plot.

BOTTOM-LINE: Great novel, good characters, let-down for the ending. . PLOT OR PREMISE: Kinsey is hired by her cousin Tasha, the lawyer, to track down the long-lost fourth son of a recently deceased construction company owner so they can file the will for probate. . WHAT I LIKED: Kinsey does a quick short-cut on finding the missing heir, and sets in motion a series of interactions with the rest of the family that results in death. Add in an old fraud, the return of Dietz to her life, and some emerging feelings for the prodigal son, and it is a full novel. . WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: A couple of the final pieces to the puzzle are completely hidden until the last chapter, and it's not even Kinsey who finds them. I didn't feel it was playing fair with the reader, holding back some key elements until the end that no one had a chance to see being uncovered so much as like working on a puzzle for several days only to have someone spoil the ending by just telling you the solution. . DISCLOSURE: I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.