T
is For Trespass ,
by Sue Grafton (Read by Judy Kaye)
Am I my neighbor's keeper? You are if you're
Kinsey Millhone, private investigator, and your neighbor is
the cantankerous Gus Vronsky. Although the simple background
check she's hired to run on Gus' caregiver, Solana Rojas,
uncovers no obvious problems, Kinsey has an unsettling feeling
that the caregiver is a dangerous woman. What she learns much
later is that the sociopath next door has assumed the identity
of the real Solana Rojas and is slowly killing Gus and robbing
him of his money and possessions. The more Kinsey tries to
help Gus, the more she is thwarted by the clever, murderous
Solana impersonator. Not only are Kinsey's reputation and
license in jeopardy, but her life almost becomes one more
notch on Solana's belt.
Sue Grafton employs an ingenious technique to
intensify the drama of the cat and mouse game between Kinsey
and Solana. Kinsey's story is told in the first person, while
Solana's is told from the third person point of view. The
effect is that the listener forms an alliance with Kinsey
and sees Solana as an outsider. Judy Kaye's narration effectively
portrays both Kinsey's straight forwardness and Solana's sinister
conniving.
Kinsey Millhone, like most successful actual
private investigators, is working several cases, and Sue Grafton
cleverly weaves them together in this thought-provoking thriller.
As she investigates the various cases, Kinsey exposes the
evils that are visited upon innocent people by unscrupulous
criminals. When a young woman refuses to quietly accept responsibility
and let her insurance pay for an accident in which she is
sited, Grafton is able to disclose some startling aspects
of insurance fraud. She shows how phony victims are abetted
by crooked doctors and lawyers to defraud innocent, gullible
drivers. One of her chilling observations shows how easy it
is for sex offenders to blend into communities and continue
their involvement with young children.
Elder abuse, child abuse, insurance fraud, theft,
murder, identity theft are just some of the dark issues that
are dealt with in this engrossing audio book. Even with the
seriousness of those issues, though, Grafton has created a
book that is entertaining and inspiring. Perhaps we can't
eliminate many of the evils of the world, but because of books
like this we can recognize them and remain vigilant in protecting
ourselves and our neighbors.
Ruth
Mormon
2/1/08
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