Review - A is for Alibi

[wilderthan]

I wasn't greatly impressed with this one. In terms of my course, it's nice to have female writers like Sue Grafton on it, and nice to have a book with a female main character, too -- no march of the dead white men here -- but this didn't blow me away like Raymond Chandler, and nor did I have the compulsion to keep reading that I had with Agatha Christie and Ian Rankin. Obviously, the quality doesn't matter in terms of my course, but damned if I know what points are to be made, at this stage!

I never really believed in any of the characters, not even Kinsey. It was nice that she was given some background detail -- the running, etc -- but at the same time, I didn't feel her to be that much of a character, and didn't really buy the relationship between her and Charlie, that a professional would get involved in that without being able to strike him off as a suspect. Honestly, that a professional would get involved with him at all while on a case that involves him. I thought the characters of Nikki and her son were interesting, and kinda wished there'd been more of her.

Didn't find the plot that shocking or difficult to guess, and if it wasn't for my course, and for the fact that I needed something mindless and easy today, I might've skim-read the rest and not really bothered, once I got about a third of the way through without any real interest.

Comments

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

I have attempted to read this before, too, but I have to agree: It did not pull me at all.