Y is for Yesterday

Sue Grafton was such an incredible author. Her storytelling and attention to detail was perfection. It has taken me years to read this last book as this became the last Kinsey Millhone novel due to the loss of Ms. Grafton. I didn’t want to get to the end……but her books are forever so I can’t wait to read them again from the beginning.

Y is for Yesterday is the 25th and final novel in this series. It is a long, sometimes slow moving story with multiple storylines, one of the storylines is a sequel to the previous novel “X”. Various characters, of course are carry overs from previous novels. The novel is very readable. There are many characters. Hence on one hand the novel makes a good candidate for an audiobook in that it is very readable. On the other hand there are numerous characters and personality I needed a hard copy to check back on who was who. There were parts of the novel I liked very much.I have now read every novel within this series in order. Due to it sometimes moving slowly with multiple digressions, I cannot say that it is my favorite. However there were some very interesting twists. I was surprised and did not figure it out on my own. I do place it in the top tier of this series. I always read more than one book at a time. There were times I needed to take a break from this novel.If one has read other novels from this series, one will find this to be fairly typical. As much as I love Sue Grafton as a writer, I need time between novels. I also needed timeouts during this novel. I did enjoy the ending. There was a sense of relief that I had completed the novel and the series. After a period of time, I do intend to slowly, very slowly, reread “A”, as I recall a much shorter novel. I am extremely sorry about the passing of Sue Grafton.Thank You for taking the time to read this review.

This book is in good condition. Had been looking for a copy to add to our collection and this was the last one we needed. Sue Grafton was a fantastic writer and this series of books is an absolute delight to read. Of course, read it in order from A to Y since it is in chronological order.

This was a true Kinsey Millhone book when she was still in her 30's. I have read the entire series until her death. I was heartbroken.

Troy, in chapter 38 drives off in his truck and when they are trekking up the mountain, Bayard and Fritz complain that Austin let Troy go but won't let them. Then in the next chapter Troy is with them. Huh? And because she knew the AA ways to get to Marrakech, Kinsey didn't need to interfere with Bsyard getting on the plane. If he did the first leg it would have been to one of the hubs in the US that AA flies to and Kinsey heard about, like Philadelphia. Lt Phillips could have had him detained with a BOLO to those airports. Safer and less work. Phillips had told her to stay out at the airport, which she did until she got Bayard held at the gate. Huh? Disappointing.

A Sue Grafton novel is an event. Not only because she has almost completed the alphabet (only one more to go!), but because she continues to push herself and her readers with increasingly complex narratives and complicated subject matters. "Y" is a perfect example of how Grafton refuses to go rote and just churn out books for the paychecks.Advanced press releases announce this is one of Kinsey's darkest cases yet and they're not wrong. Not since "T is for Trespass" has Grafton dealt with such moral depravity. Here, she tackles the permissive world of adolescent privilege, in which everyone looks the other way to save their own reputation (such as it is) and advance their own interests. Most of these characters have no self awareness, because they're so consumed by a reality of their own making. (What makes it more frightening is that, while set in the 1980s, the same behaviors exist today. Just add in the smartphone and how we filter out anything we don't want to see/hear/deal with and how we treat others with indifference, at best, or disdain, at worst - especially in the comments feeds.)Toggling seamlessly back and forth in time, a narrative device Grafton has used since "S is for Silence," we see the backstory behind the infamous sex tape, how the death of Sloan Stevens came to be, and how, in present day, the surviving prep school kids are handling the aftermath (spoiler alert: not well). With chapter titles like "The Theft" and "The Execution," Grafton dials up the suspense of the past events. She captures the tragedy of it all, because the death is so senseless. Had any of those characters just used their brain, Sloan would still be alive. This may frustrate some readers because, I imagine, this storyline is almost too true to real life. (Though the infamous sex tape would've probably made one character famous with her own reality show in today's world, he thinks cynically.)Grafton is dealing with a big cast here, as Kinsey's world as grown over the course of the series, and the opening chapter feels slightly overwhelming as she introduces them all (Henry, Jonah, Cheney, Rosie, Henry, Anna from "W is for Wasted," Ruthie from "W" and "X," etc). Two side characters stand out: Pearl (also from "W") plays a pivotal role in this book (and in my head, is totally played by Kathy Bates). She has some of the best lines in the entire book. And the infamous Camilla (Jonah's controlling wife) is finally seen by readers and boy, are her scenes a doozy! Rounding out the cast is the reappearance of Ned Lowe, the psychopath from "X." Readers wanting more of him in the previous entry should be satisfied with the active role he plays here.But what about Kinsey, the star of the show? Kinsey remains as smart mouthed as ever, with some of her observations not only being laugh-out-loud funny but also right on point. She remains our little terrier, ferreting out clues and tugging at threads, and pursuing the problem to the end. Because of Ned's constant threat, Kinsey is doubling down on self-defense classes and is now licensed to carry concealed. She's not afraid to defend herself, or her friends, and her multiple stand offs with Ned show our hero still being the kickass, fearless private eye she's always been since "A is for Alibi."Another star entry in a landmark series.

The last but not the least, sad there will not be a Z. Read every one of this series and enjoyed every one of there over the decades.

Another good helping of Private Detection from Kinsey….Sue Grafton delivers another good Alphabet novel with twists right to the end!

Last of her Alphabet Mystery books...I have A to Y either on paperback, hard cover or now CD...it's too bad she passed away before finishing the alphabet with "Z". This is a great mystery story again, there are a lot of cd's to go through and we are only on the third one so far...but like i said, I love Sue Grafton...she can do no wrong.

Acompanho a série de Kinsey Milhone desde o A. Este não é dos melhores. Sempre prende a atenção, mas realmente é um dos livros menos interessantes da série.

Suspense et frissons garantis.... Sue Grafton at her best ! Malheureusement, l'alphabet se termine ici.. Pas de X pour clôturer la série : Kinsey Millhone est aujourd'hui orpheline mais ses enquêtes continueront au-delà des pages. Thanks Sue for all you wrote !