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Q is for Quarry

Audiobook
1 of 2 copies available
1 of 2 copies available
A Kinsey Millhone mystery. . .
She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were mulitple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the case remained unsolved.
That was eighteen years ago. Now, the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to do the legwork for them, and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued by the challenge and agrees to work with them.
But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what beings with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.
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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Grafton's seventeenth Kinsey Millhone adventure is based on an actual 1969 unsolved murder. Kinsey's old friend, retired police Lieutenant Con Dolan, and his ailing partner, Stacey Oliphant, have never solved the case of a Jane Doe found stabbed nearly twenty years ago. The two aging cops enlist Kinsey's assistance to investigate the ice-cold case. Kinsey begins an intense journey into the past, uncovering clues to the homicide and, in a strange twist, to her own lost childhood. Judy Kaye performs with a confidence that comes of knowing her characters well. Her rendition of Kinsey is smart-alecky as ever, locals are appropriately small-town, while the two old men's raspy voices sound tobacco- and whiskey-stained. Another knockout performance by Kaye makes for one of the most entertaining alphabet mysteries yet. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 4, 2002
      Although this latest Kinsey Millhone novel features all of Grafton's tried and true elements of suspense and humor, there's something unusual here: the story—of an unsolved homicide that occurred in 1969—is based on a real event. Grafton became interested in this case, of an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a California quarry. While Grafton was writing the novel, Jane Doe's body was exhumed and a forensic artist did the facial reconstruction, in the hopes that seeing the victim's image might trigger someone's memory. Kinsey is pulled into working on the case when her old friend Con Dolan asks for her help as a favor, to help Stacey Oliphant, an aging, ailing policeman, fulfill his dream of solving the mystery of Jane Doe's murder. There's not much to go on, as the case has been cold for years, yet the trio—Kinsey, Dolan and Stacey—persevere; slowly, leads begin to turn up. Kaye gives a fine performance. While she's well accustomed to reading Kinsey (she's been the audiobook reader for the entire series) and performs that part with gusto here, she also deftly handles the craggy old voices of Dolan and Stacey (although at times it's hard to distinguish between them). By turns sassy, professional and heartbreaking, her portrayal of Grafton's beloved heroine will delight fans. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Forecasts, Sept. 16).

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 16, 2002
      While Kinsey Millhone is as energetic and tenacious as ever, and the plot hustles along at a gratifying pace, her 17th adventure is a little slow getting underway with all the initial accumulated biographical data. Two policemen out hunting discover a teenage girl's body near a quarry off California's Highway 1. Eighteen years later, the two recruit Millhone to help them try to identify the victim. Stacey Oliphant, now retired from the force, and Con Dolan, unwillingly sidelined by heart trouble, are as quarrelsome as an old married couple, but they both desperately want to find the killer in the quarry case. Their inquiries lead the trio from Santa Teresa to Quorum, a town in the desert near the Arizona border. At the time of the murder, a wrecked red convertible was found near the crime scene—stolen from an auto shop in Quorum. When Millhone and her cohorts talk to the grumpy shop owner, Ruel McPhee, and his charming son, Cornell, they get little information. Visits around town and probing conversations reveal various family secrets and covert liaisons, until the somewhat precipitous unmasking of the killer. Grafton briefly shoehorns in Millhone's interactions with her lost family, but that subject continues to feel as artificially imposed as it did in earlier books. A marvelously successful addition, however, is the twosome of Dolan and Oliphant. Their deftly rendered relationship is a delight; with any luck, the duo will appear in future Millhone mysteries. A main selection of the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club and Mystery Guild, and a BOMC featured selection. (Oct. 14)FYI:
      Based on an actual unsolved murder that occurred in California in 1969, the book will include on the last page a recent forensic reconstruction of the real victim's face, in the hope this will help solve the crime.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The 18-year-old murder of an unidentified young woman has never been solved by the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department. Two of the original detectives, now elderly and ill, decide to try once more to identify the "Jane Doe" and discover who killed her. Kinsey Millhone agrees to help, little knowing that the old murder will touch on her own past and put her life in danger. Lynn Lauber's abridgment flows smoothly. It's plot-driven, as all abridgments must be, but includes enough descriptive passages to enable listeners to imagine their favorite Kinsey Millhone settings. Within a few minutes of listening to Judy Kaye, a listener simply believes he or she is listening to Kinsey Millhone. True, the story's first-person narration makes impersonation easier, but Kaye's remarkable performance comes from understanding Kinsey's character. The straightforward, shoot-from-the-hip attitude with a sense of humor and endearing humility is delivered in a gently raspy voice. Kaye likes Kinsey Millhone just as much as Grafton's fans do. This is a listen you won't want to end. A.C.S. 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Text Difficulty:9-12

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