U is for Undertow

I have been waiting for Sue Grafton's latest book, U is for Undertow, for two years.

When Ms. Grafton first began her Kinsey Milhone series (back in the early 1980s?) she wrote a book a year - or faster. Then she slowed down. Way down. Now I'm afraid I won't live to see "Z."

I've enjoyed seeing Kinsey's character mellow and mature a bit over the years. And I think the subject matter for each book has gotten more complex over the years, too. I still find it refreshing to read a book set in the '80's with no personal computers, no internet, no debit cards, no GPS, and (would that I were there again) no cell-phones.

This most recent book in the series deals with family relationships - both those of Kinsey and those of her client. Along with untangling the family mysteries, Kinsey tries to solve a decades-old kidnapping case involving a young child.

Of course, in the end she does solve the case (that's what makes Grafton's books so perfect for a weekend read - no ambiguous endings) and, having found another piece of the puzzle that is her personal history, is a little closer to being at peace with her extended family.