Books › B is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone, #2)
B is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone, #2)
First published 1986 · 496 pages
A sun-drenched, sharply observed dive into the deceptive lives of the California wealthy, led by a fiercely pragmatic private eye.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like riding shotgun in a beat-up VW bug along the sun-drenched, winding roads of 1980s Southern California. The experience is grounded and deeply atmospheric, anchored by a narrator whose wry, no-nonsense voice makes even routine detective legwork feel compelling. It perfectly balances the gritty edge of hardboiled noir with the comforting familiarity of a protagonist who worries about paying rent and eating decent meals. As the layers of deception peel back, the mood shifts from a breezy coastal mystery to something much more suspenseful and dangerous. It will delight readers who crave a smart, fiercely independent female sleuth, crisp prose, and a mystery that relies on sharp observation rather than cheap thrills.
- Mood
- sun-drenched
- suspenseful
- gritty
- nostalgic
- Tone
- wry
- pragmatic
- observant
- no-nonsense
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- deceptive appearances · wealth and corruption · female independence · family dysfunction
- The writing
- Crisp, unadorned, and sharply observant, grounded in the sensory details of 1980s California.
- The arc
- Begins with the mild curiosity of a routine job and steadily tightens into a tense, high-stakes fight for survival.
- Who it's for
- Fans of classic, hardboiled detective fiction who appreciate a fiercely independent, relatable female protagonist.
Content notes
- murder
- physical assault
- domestic dysfunction
About the book
Beverly Danziger looked like an expensive, carefully wrapped package from a good but conservative shop. Only her compulsive chatter hinted at the nervousness beneath her cool surface. It was a nervousness out of all proportion to the problem she placed before Kinsey Millhone.
Still business was slow, and even a private investigator has bills to pay. Millhone took the job. It looked routine.
Elaine Boldt's wrappings were a good deal flashier than her sister's, but they signaled the same thing: The lady had money. According to the manager of her California building, the wealthy widow was last seen draped in her $12,000 lynx coat heading for Boca Raton. According to the manager of her Florida building, she never got there. But someone else had, and she was camping out illegally in Mrs. Boldt's apartment. The job was beginning to seem a bit less routine.
It turned tricky when Beverly Danziger ordered Millhone to drop the case, and it took on an ominous quality when Aubrey Danziger surfaced, making all kinds of wild accusations about his wife. But it only became sinister when Millhone learned that just days before Elaine Boldt went missing, her next-door neighbor and bridge partner had been murdered, and the killer was still at large.
As Millhone digs deeper into the case, she finds herself in a nightmarish hall of mirrors in which reality is distorted by illusion and nothing--except danger--is quite what it seems.
Description from Open Library.
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