The Past Rises Up in U is for Undertow

Author:  Sue Grafton
Title:  U is for Undertow
Publisher:  Putnam Adult

"She got caught in the undertow. She must have used up all her strength trying to fight her way back." It is from this description of a minor character's demise that author Sue Grafton titles her twenty-first book in the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries. This quote also describes the power of the underlying fear and guilt that unexpectedly surfaces for the story's villains from a crime they had expertly covered up as teenagers over twenty years before.

Truth has a way of finding you out, especially if it has partnered with a gutsy, independent Private Investigator named Kinsey Millhone. In her twenty-first adventure since A is for Alibi, Kinsey finds herself with a story that has many threads and not enough material to quickly recognize a pattern. U is for Undertow switches back and forth from the days of the kidnapping of little Mary Clair Fitzhugh in 1967 to Kinsey's current day setting in 1988 when a man walks into her office believing he can lead her to where the little girl's body was buried. (Though Grafton has taken nearly three decades to write these twenty-one mystery novels, her character has only aged six years and is still living in the '80s. It is intriguing to watch Kinsey do research without the modern conveniences of Google and cell phones.)

The chapters from Kinsey's perspective are written in the first person, giving the reader access to the P.I.'s thought processes, judgments and feelings. The chapters written about other characters, or in the earlier setting, are written in third person, giving the reader a chance to see the big picture of what Kinsey is trying to piece together. As such, while Kinsey is wrestling with the "who" question, the reader, already knowing the perpetrators, is bent on figuring out the "why." It is a very clever way to write the book and Grafton pulls it off with flair.

Central to every story line is the issue of family brokenness. Kinsey wants to dodge hers, but circumstances continually draw her back to her pain. When dealing with her client's estranged family she is forced to come to terms with the duplicity of her feelings toward her own relatives. She has important choices to make along the way that will either help bring reconciliation, or harden her heart further. Other characters in the story use their family brokenness as an excuse for reckless and selfish behavior. And as the story shows, once swimming in those tumultuous waters it is very hard to make it back to shore.

Sensitive readers should note that although there are no descriptions of graphic violence there are a couple of raw sections and sentences which include adult themes and situations. Also, in the closure of this mystery while all the loose ends are accounted for, and justice is served, redemption is a value that is noticeably lacking.

Although there are some subplots about Kinsey and her family that will carry more meaning for those who have followed along since the beginning of the series, U is for Undertow easily stands alone for readers who love a good mystery and want to jump right into the middle of the alphabet.

**This review first published on January 5, 2010.