T Is For Trespass

Kinsey Millhone #20

by Sue Grafton

BOOK IN GOOD CONDITION. SMALL POCKET BOOK. FAST SERVICE. 3-A

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Detective, Suspense

Paperback

First published December 4, 2007

About the author

Sue Grafton was a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She is best known for her “alphabet series” featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. Prior to success with this series, she wrote screenplays for television movies. Her earlier novels include Keziah Dane (1967) and The Lolly-Madonna War (1969), both out of print. In the book Kinsey and Me she gave us stories that revealed Kinsey's origins and Sue's past.

Grafton never wanted her novels to be turned into movies or TV shows. According to her family she would never allow a ghost writer to write in her name. Because of these things, and out of respect for Sue’s wishes, the family announced the alphabet now ends at “Y”

Grafton was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, the Ross Macdonald Literary Award, three Shamus Awards, and many other honors and awards.

Grafton had three children from previous marriages and several grandchildren, including a granddaughter named Kinsey. She and her husband lived in Montecito, California, and Louisville, Kentucky.

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review
4 of 5 stars to T is for Trespass, the 20th book in the "Kinsey Millhone Alphabet" mystery series, written in 2007 by Sue Grafton. A great addition to the thriller series with this release. And a few things begin to change. Grafton introduces some updates to the format, including a different perspective and point of view by introducing the thoughts of the villain. A very timely book too, focusing on elder care and the abuse that happens once people start to need assistance in order to live or survive. I was pleasantly surprised with this book and enjoyed reading it from beginning to end. It was the last book in the series I've read, and once I finish catching up on a few reviews of the older ones, I plan to dive back into this series. I'm hoping the voice change is here to stay... not in an overwhelming capacity, but enough to carry us thru the final 6 books in the series. Kinsey is an amazing character. You rarely tire of her as she grows a bit with each book, shows up how her job impacts her life, but it's never too drastic. I'm curious how it will all end...

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

[Jilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could meet the person who talked Sue Grafton into writing multiple POV's in the latest books, I would totally buy them drinks. Then we would talk about how much better every other POV than Kinsey's is, and how I liked the psychopath's POV more than Kinsey, and we would laugh and laugh. Then, we'd probably be drunk enough to sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" during Karaoke and we would totally kill it. I would do all of the sound effects and back-up Mama Mias and Galileos , and my new best friend would sing as well as Freddy Mercury. Oh, the times we would have together.



Okay. Back to reality.
So, in this book we have an elderly neighbor being abused by a psychopathic "nurse". This woman made Kathy Bates in "Misery" look like Florence Nightingale. It was pretty scary. But, I did have one thing in common with the Naughty Nurse (Not that kind of "naughty", you pervert. She was just bad. Regular naughty. Shit, Halloween costumes have really screwed us women, haven't they?). Anyway, we both hate Kinsey. Naughty Nurse wants to kill her as much as I do. So.... she's not that crazy.


Crocs? Um, never mind. Definitely a psychopath.

But, at least the parts of the story that were about N.N. were straightforward and to the point. Kinsey's POV was the same old rambling bullshit that I've learned how to skim through brilliantly. I'm going to get through the rest of these books so fast. Yay me!



On the boyfriend front: guess who doesn't have one anymore? That's right, Kinsey is so unbearable that she can't keep a guy's attention for more than a couple of months. None of her relationships have made it longer. Let's see... Her first husband cheated on her and they lasted a couple of months. Her second husband cheated on her - with another man. Her married-man/affair-guy went back to his horrible wife. Another guy left the country to get away from her. And, now she lost the cute guy that was actually nice and a good character. She is using the old "I broke up with him." routine, but she's clearly depressed in this book and pines over him. I would feel bad for her and totally offer her ice cream and vodka if I knew I wouldn't have to read this kind of thing:

Jilly brought me ice cream and vodka to cheer me up. I immediately became suspicious and was bitchy to her. Then, I went to my cupboard and picked up the two wine glasses I own and the two bowls. I went to the drawer for spoons. Then, I poured the vodka, which got me thinking about Russia. I remembered that Russia is the largest country in the word and has a population of 144.5 million people. The capital is Moscow. I noticed the ice cream Jilly picked out was Ben and Jerry's Fudge Brownie. Brownies made me think of the maiden aunt who raised me. She never let me eat brownies because she said that brownies are too girly and for the weak. I wasn't allowed to be weak, although I was the weakest child in school. Have I mentioned that I ate paste in Kindergarten? Because I totally did. Also, I cried every day in school and wet my pants on a regular basis. This must be why I am so obsessed with clean underpants. Yes, I say underpants instead of panties or underwear like a normal person. Oh no, are my underpants sufficiently clean right now? I had better go to the bathroom and check. I was going to go to the bathroom anyway because I have to take a whiz. Yes, I say "take a whiz" like a gross man in a bar might say. This is perfectly normal speech for a female from Southern California. Now, where is that product that I am about to call by its East Coast name instead of the correct California name?????

And on it would go. Did you notice she didn't even give me a drink yet? Because I sure did.

yeah, so not doing that.

On I go. Forward! My skimming powers are ready!

That about sums it up.

On to the next trainwreck!! Bring on the letter "U". And, some vodka. Now, I need vodka.

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the best in the series so far and also one of the saddest since I know I only have a few left to go and, not only is the series over, but the author has died. So sad.

In T is for Trespass we meet one of Grafton's best ever baddies, Solana Rojas. Really this should be made into a movie, a horror movie even! Rojas is the creepiest nurse ever. She keeps her elderly patient sedated so he causes her no trouble and at the same time steals his money and his assets and presumably plans for his death. Kinsey becomes an obstacle which Rojas plans to remove and not in a nice way.

I am pretty sure this is the first time I have seen Kinsey quite so scared for her own life and not surprisingly so! Rojas has an adult son with a few mental problems and when he is in the mix things get very scary. The scene with the arm is gross - again it would make a brilliant scene in a movie!

This was a fast moving and very gripping story with two POV's and lots and lots of action. I enjoyed it very much.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this series since the early nineties because I love female detective mysteries and I especially enjoy this character. I continue to read it despite my disappointment, as the series has become more and more thin and tedious. "S" was the most disappointing with a confusing and improbable ending.

However, "T" has redeemed the series for me. It offers a fresh perspective (viewing from the villain’s point of view as well) and two separate mysteries to keep the reader engaged. Grafton's overuse of descriptive detail is meaningful and not superfluous here, adding instead of distracting from the story. (Normally I find myself skipping paragraphs wondering if she's trying desperately to fill the book on her way to "Z".) Kinsey's nemesis in this story is truly creepy, and she's fleshed out in a way that makes her more believable (and even creepier).

Grafton is also making a worthwhile statement about the lackluster care of the elderly in our country, juxtaposing Kinsey's vital friend Henry to their ailing next door neighbor.

I hope Grafton keeps the series as fresh and engaging as “T” for the last six books.

[Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So not only did I buy this book in hardcover, but also via Kindle. Because apparently I am that person that buys different editions of a book without checking my physical shelves. I have to say that this one was really good. I stopped after "T is for Trespass" and decided to finish up my re-review of the series for next weekend. "T" is a good place to leave Kinsey for a while. We have Kinsey going up against someone like she has never done before. Someone dark and ready and willing to kill Kinsey and those around her. And I have to say that since this was the second book that Grafton wrote showing other points of view, that this one actually worked much better than "S is for Silence." Probably because we follow the villain in this one and we get a description of Kinsey that I enjoyed. A definite must-read if you want a mystery/thriller that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out with nonsensical twists.

In "T is for Trespass" Kinsey and Henry find their next door neighbor Gus Vronsky after he has fallen. Kinsey and Henry realize that the house has gotten away from Gus and he is going to need that cleaned up and at home help. When Kinsey reaches out to Gus's next of kin, they come out and agree to pay for things and they ask Kinsey to do a background check on potential home care workers. From there things take a turn for sinister when the neighbors realize the at home care worker, Solana Rojas is not what she seems. And it seems Solana has her eyes on Kinsey and plans on making her pay if she gets in her way.

So this book ticks off a lot of great boxes with me. We get a really cool thriller with this. We know that Solana is up to no good, but it takes a bit for Kinsey to realize it too. But Kinsey is playing with someone that is not the usual criminal she goes after. Solana knows what she can and cannot legally do with regards to Gus and she's going to take advantage. She also even uses the police to keep Kinsey on the ropes. You have a really nice tension throughout the book and a few scenes that I think are going to go down in Kinsey Millhone history (the windshield...dun dun dun).

As I said above, Grafton utilizes the different narration she did in "S is for Silence" only this time instead of multiple characters, we just follow Kinsey and Solana. Solana's points of view show you who she is, and who that is, is not someone you want to mess with.

The flow worked I thought throughout the book.

The ending hits you with a bang. This one is definitely a favorite re-read of mine.
Kinsey's neighbor's relative can only be in town a few days and asks for help with hiring someone after Kinsey and Henry respond to the home and find him hurt and his home filthy.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

T is for Trespass is most likely Grafton's best work to date. I have been enamored with this series since A is for Alibi, and consider her books easy and enjoyable reads. Ms. Grafton creates a diverse assortment of colorful characters surrounding her main protagonist/ private investigator. Kinsey Millhone. However, this novel grapples with issues far more serious than the dangers of a quarter pounder or falling in love with the wrong man. Grafton plunges the reader into the dark world of identity theft, insurance fraud, pedophilia, and elder abuse ---- for the purpose of self-gain and committed with no remorse; my comfy reads turned into dangerous territory, and Grafton peppers this book with elements of suspenseful twists, turns and more than a little violence and danger. I found it to be a page turner and remarkably well written.
Addendum:
Grafton's writing style has improved over the years; oftentimes I follow specific authors and experience disappointment when they begin to lack a special spark; not so with Ms. Grafton. This particular novel adds several new dimensions: we are introduced to a diabolical character and reminded that the world is currently filled with similar socio/psychopaths. A technique I found interesting is that for the first time throughout this series, Grafton gives us a glimpse of Kinsey through another character's eyes. First person is Grafton's chosen point of view, but she is also masterful in shifting personas with ease. We know about Millhone through Millhone, but now we are given another perspective.
Malevolence is presented along with the eternal theme-"man's inhumanity to man.' Kinsey juggles three separate cases at once and it becomes clear her inborn altruism shines throughout as well as her wit.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been years since I read a Grafton novel. I found T good even with the plot holes. The subject was good and the nurse reminded me of Misery’s Annie Wilkes minus the axe. The story is about an elderly neighbor who is cranky and no one likes that has a fall and requires care. Enter Solanas the psychopathic fake nurse.

Kinsey Milhone a flawed PI neighbor becomes suspicious and with the aid of Henry her 89 year landlord investigates. There is a lot of procedural and way too much detail about how insurance companies work.

The plot also has some huge holes such as Tiny the giant son of Solanas who is intellectually challenged and how he suddenly attacks Kinsey minus his mother. The ending was exciting if completely unrealistic. Two other weaknesses stood out such as when Kinsey finds out definitively that Solanas has is a fake why not ring the police and Vronsky’s niece? If she has friends in the police surely they will believe her version when Solanas car is vandalized?

Too many holes but still strangely an enjoyable read. One of the few authors I know that gives octogenarians key roles and positive ones. Kudos.

[Marlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinsey Millhone is back. It seems a long time since I've last seen her. I looked up the pub date of S is for Silence,
and found it was released in December 2005, so I guess I was right.

It's 1987, and Kinsey's elderly neighbour Gus Vronsky has had a fall and been hospitalized. Kinsey manages to track down his great-great-niece who lives in New York. She flies out to Santa Teresa and hires a home-aide, charging Kinsey with the responsibility of checking her references, telling her that only a basic check is necessary.

Busy with other cases, Kinsey does as she's asked. But Solana, the woman they've hired, turns out not to be as expected.

Great characterization here. Kinsey's life, while never boring, is particularly action-packed in this installment. I was a little disappointed with the ending, but that may just have been because I read the whole book in one day, and it was so enjoyable that having to stop was a let-down.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts innocently enough when Kinsey and her landlord, William Pitts, discover their elderly neighbor, Gus Vronsky, lying on the floor in his house one morning after falling and injuring himself. Gus only has one relative left, a great-niece who lives on the other side of the country, so she is intent on hiring someone to help Gus recover. The great-niece asks Kinsey to do a background check on Solana Rojas, the woman that she has hired, and nothing jumps out at Kinsey. Still, something seems off about Solana. Will Kinsey figure out what it is in time?

Because we get some chapters from Solana’s point of view, we know early on that she is bad news. It gets a little frustrating waiting for Kinsey to catch up, but the end result is worth it. As we got into the final quarter, I had a very hard time putting the book down thanks to several thrilling scenes. We get to see plenty of William, which is fantastic since he is my second favorite character in the series, second only to Kinsey, who continues to entertain. Solana is evil, and she makes a great villain for Kinsey to track down. There are a couple of sub-plots that I enjoyed, although they could have been a little stronger. There’s also a plot hole late in the book – something we know but Kinsey couldn’t possibly know about. This isn’t one of my typical cozies, but as long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine. Still, overall, this is another great entry in a beloved series. Even at twenty books in, it is easy to see why it is has so many fans.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An elderly neighbor of Kinsey's has a fall and needs in-home care. Kinsey is tasked with running a background check on the woman hired. The woman seems like the perfect fit to care for the elderly man, but Kinsey senses something is not right.

The 20th book in the Kinsey Millhone series. This one was a little different than others in the series because we get some chapters from the villain's viewpoint. A good, quick read, but a little dark. The topic of elderly care was a central theme.

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

"T" is for Tiresome. "T" is for Tedious. "T" is for Tried to finish it, but just couldn't. I have read all of Sue Grafton's mysteries and, while I can't remember all of them, I've always had a general feeling of satisfaction upon completing her books. I hated this one. One-third of the way through, no discernible action had yet occurred. I skipped the entire middle, read the last part of the book, and didn't feel like I'd missed a thing. The book was loaded with unnecessary detail. Do we really need to know every appliance on every counter space in every room she ever enters?? This was so disappointing.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is your average Kinsey. It's rather long. For me the pace was a bit plodding. Every third or fourth chapter was done in the mind/narrator of the perp who with identity theft entry was also taking a housebound Senior's wealth and property. Crabby and mean Gus, who lives next-door to Henry. Quite quickly were the profits moving out, at that. On a whole, the ending portions went over the top, IMHO.

There was an accident case quite separate as well, and lots of nosy neighbor work by Kinsey amid investigative searching for different witness testimony. Henry had Christmas and a quarrel with his maybe Charlotte. And because of this real estate slant she brings into the group, a bunch of CA equity issues became noted and approached here. A decent read and quite a window into fraud that is committed each and every day against those aged invalids or people with other conditions who need home help care and are virtually housebound without that help.

[Jacqie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Originally I was going to give it two stars,but let's be honest. I didn't like this book at ALL.

The only other Grafton book I've tried was A is for Alibi, so I am not a fan. And I think you have to be a fan to forgive all the silliness that went on in this book. I was not charmed by Kinsey. She seems to want to be alone in the world except for her two almost-ninety year old friends, even though she's only 37. And although she's all of 37, she still only likes to eat quarter pounders with cheese or artery-clogging Hungarian food with lots of sour cream and starch. Although at least she does try to run three miles per day- what is that, a little more than half an hour of running?

So, her quirks did not charm me. Neither did the dialogue. At one point Kinsey says "Wasn't it a hoot?" about breaking into a house and stealing back one of her geriatric friends. That phrase makes her sound about 90 years old herself. Does anyone talk like that? Who's not 90 years old? Then, in the climactic scene of the book, the bad guy (or girl) speechifies in a way that is great for exposition, but not at all how any real person would talk. And you guessed it, Kinsey's OTHER 90 year old friend is being held hostage by this woman. The evil temptress lured him to a hotel room by claiming that she had Kinsey hostage and claimed that if he called the police, she had a tap on his phone, so she would know. Did I mention this book takes place in 1987? How the hell is a random criminal (on the run, yet) going to get a tap on your phone? Well, I guess senior scamming works well enough, because then Kinsey has to save the old guy. She has a fight with a 52 year old woman who almost kicks her ass. Probably Kinsey needs to run more than 3 miles a day and eat more veggies if she wants to hold her own. But all's well that ends well, I guess.

No mystery, except why the author makes the choices she does. The book is far too wordy. In one paragraph, Kinsey tells you that she got up, had cold cereal for breakfast, washed her bowl and spoon and put them away, and then went running. Do we really need all these mundane details about her life? I don't care if she washes her silverware immediately after use or not. There are many, many of these paragraphs detailing mundanity that don't further the plot, character development, or anything except word count.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

After an elderly neighbor falls and injures himself, Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone is hired by his niece to check the background of the nurse she has hired to take care of him. Kinsey checks out Solana Rojas' certification and interviews her previous employers. Everything checks out. But what Kinsey doesn't know is this woman is not Solana Rojas. She has stolen Solana's identity. She is a con artist who nurses the elderly while stealing their life savings. Kinsey becomes suspicious over the nurse's behavior and wonders if she missed something in her background check.

This is the twentieth book in the Alphabet Mysteries series. Usually these stories are told from Kinsey's point-of-view. In this book, there are a few chapters told by Solana. We get to know what she is thinking and exactly what she plans to do with poor old Gus. This was effective storytelling. I worried that Solana would kill Gus before Kinsey figured out what was going on.

As usual, Kinsey is also working several other cases. I found each of these cases interesting. It made for a great story overall. My rating: 4.5 Stars.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that I mostly enjoy this series because I love the character of Henry Pitts so much. He's never got as big a part as I'd like, but he's in each book enough that I get my "Henry fix." (He turns 88 in this book.)

This book felt a bit darker than most in the series, with topics such as identity theft, elder abuse, etc. But I always find this series and its characters a comforting read. Maybe this one slightly less comforting, but it was interesting and I really liked it. Intend to read the entire series. 20 down, 6 to go.

[Jaksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got to admit, only a satisfactory read.

I should know that when it takes me a week to ten days to forever to finish a book, it's just not my kind of book. But I love the characters in this series: Kinsey Millhone, Henry, Henry's many elderly brothers. They are so vividly-written, described and then described again. And that's one of the things about this book: they are so so so over-described!

What people wear. What their kitchens look like. What they drive and the streets they drive on. Is it excessive? Sometimes, yes. I do like to have a writer paint a picture for me in my head - I am that kind of reader. I really do see it and sometimes when a series is brought to television I am: omg, just like I imagined!!

But sometimes it makes what could be a five-star read (in my opinion) into a dreary, tedious one.

The story is told from two points of view, which IS unusual for Ms. Grafton. First off, we meet Solana Rojas, a con-woman, grifter, not-so-nice woman who's determined to milk Kinsey's elderly, crabby neighbor Gus for all he's worth. Acting as Gus' caregiver, we see Rojas' POV in some of the chapters as she goes about her nasty, grifty maneuvers. Has she killed (in the past) to get what she wants? Well, there are hints about that and I do no want to enter Spoilersville, so..

Kinsey, on the other hand, is working on a tricky case, trying to hunt down the witness to a traffic accident who might have secrets of his own. It's as if this book is on two separate paths: we have this story, and then we bounce back to the grifter and what she's doing. You just know that Kinsey and Sonja are going to meet head-to-headed at some point and wow, when they do:

FIREWORKS! Action. Suspense. It just piles on...

But there's also that over-descriptiveness which deflects too much from the story. Plus there's so much about insurance and inheritance and conservatorships and so on and so on... It's a monotonous read in places unless you ARE interested in this kind of thing.

Anyhow, three stars, and I will continue with the series.

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Really good and a Kinsey Millhone highlight. I'd recommend it. One of the many enjoyable sections is Kinsey talking to herself. After her adversary, Solana Rojas, has had Kinsey served with a restraining order forbidding our intrepid P.I. to harass, follow, or keep under surveillance the complainant, Kinsey mutters, "The bitch of it was she outmaneuvered me again. I was so smart and she was one step ahead of me." She even has to turn in her gun. Not once, or twice, but several times does Kinsey find herself eating the dust behind this Rojas woman's heels. The novel is partly about identity theft, and partly about elder abuse. Rojas fakes her I.D. as an elder care nurse to demonstrate better credentials in order to get hired as support for Kinsey's next door neighbour, Gus Vronsky. Gus is in his late 80s and has recently fallen. His only relative is back east and then Solana opportunely shows up. Soon she's depleting Gus's bank account, and selling his valuables, even his house. The ending is tense. At 436 pages, a little longer than necessary; I am not sure we needed the tarantula in the mail scene for example! But I enjoyed it all. (No2025)

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinsey Millhone mystery No. 20: Kinsey is worried after an elderly neighbour looks like he is in need of day care, so she gets is one and only, but New York based relative to arrange it… and that's where the trouble starts. A seriously gripping Grafton tale as Kinsey goes head-2-head with the day care nurse from hell! The last in the series as of September 2010.

[Alexw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instead of T for Trespass a better name would have been T for Trouble Writing a Story. A large part of the novel deals with a fender bender(yawn) and the rest a battle of (nit)wits on identity theft.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was quite thrilling to me in that Kinsey was almost outsmarted against a very cunning adversary. The usual crew are in the background: William, Rosa, Henry and his new love interest. The book also highlights the extreme vulnerability for older people who have no one to protect their interests.

[Alondra Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Another good case. This time a home health aide that does anything but render aide. I think it is an elder persons worse fear, to be at the mercy of an angel of death. To be at the mercy of a predator and be all alone. *shudders*

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite quote: "In my experience, the urge to rescue generates aggravation for the poor would-be heroine without any discernable effect on the person in need of help. You can't save others from themselves because those who make a perpetual muddle of their lives don't appreciate your interfering with the drama they've created. They want your poor-sweet-baby sympathy, but don't want to change."

AMEN!

Sue Grafton is in my standard cannon of authors. I enjoy her books but not so much that I have to buy them. (Maybe that should be the rating system -- would you buy this? Borrow this? Check it out from the library?) Anyhow, I read her books, but they are "check out from the library" caliber, not "buy them."

This one was quite good. I could hardly put it down, the last 50 or so pages. We readers know from the very beginning who the "bad guy" is, and Grafton does an exceptional job (I think) with painting the picture of what a sociopath is truly like, not just the more typically written "Hollywood" type of sociopath. Slowly, very slowly, Grafton amped up the anxiety levels until I couldn’t put it down and had to finish it, even though it was well past midnight. I thought it was great.

On a personal note: I used to know a person just like “Solana” and, other than not being homicidal (not to my knowledge) I totally recognized her in this character. I’m sure my own experiences made “T is for Trespass” all the more alarming.

(Also, as a side note, I really recommend reading "The Sociopath Next Door" which is not fiction, and not by Sue Grafton, but a book on how you can recognize these conscious-deprived aberrations that all too often walk among us, making the lives of those around them a confusing misery. It is also a good read.)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Yes, there are some dark themes here, ranging from elder abuse and identity theft to a bit of pedophilia. Thankfully, because it's Kinsey, there is also plenty of well-placed comic relief. I'd resisted reading this one for years, but I'm glad I finally pressed through, as I found this one of the best in the series so far.

By the way, if you're looking for a fast-paced mystery series in which the PI is someone most any reader can identify with, slightly more than slightly badass who prefers peanut butter and pickle sandwiches and a novel to most any social event, this is a wonderful series to try. It's already 24 volumes long, following the alphabet in order, and it's got several recurring characters you will love from the start, beginning with Kinsey's landlord, Henry, a man old enough to be her father (who is much younger than his 80-something years).

This woman can make me laugh no matter what. And she doesn't really age in the series. None of them do. I believe Kinsey will be 40 at the end, and she was around 30 at the beginning. Also, these books take place in the 80's, before cell phones and the Internet, making it more interesting, as she is a private investigator.

This is another series that I will reread once I am caught up to the end. I've already reread several of them. I may just spring for the series in paperback. A is for Alibi is the first one. B is for Burglar is one of my favorites.

[Zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy all the Kinsey Millhone stories, but I think this one is definitely one of the better ones (at least for a while)
In T is for Trespass, Kinsey gets caught up in a case of Elder Abuse when her crabby old neighbour (No, not the amazing Henry) takes a fall & is in need of an in-home carer & we meet Solana Rojas (or that’s who Kinsey thinks she is, even after doing a light background check on her). Not your usual criminal/bad guy but certainly evil. Will Kinsey be able to prove her suspicions or has she actually met her match this time around with this cold & cunning sociopath.
I loved that Henry played a big role in this book, he is a great character & I missed him from S is for Silence, but a bit disappointed her & Cheney seem to have fizzled out. But you never know what may happen in the next Kinsey instalment, maybe he will be back. Looking forward to V is for Vengeance

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been enjoying the Kinsey Millhone mystery series since I discovered it early 2000s. They are one of my comfort reads. The 20th book in the series, T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton has to be one of the best so far. This story had great tension and a palpable feeling of menace.

The story follows Kinsey as she works on a number of cases; an eviction, trying to help solve a traffic accident for an insurance investigator and helping her elderly neighbour, Gus Vronsky. The story also follows Solara Rojas, the woman hired to care for Gus. Kinsey runs an check on Solara for Gus's niece, who lives in New York, and finds that there are no red flags on her. (This was a quick check as the niece is impatient and needs to find someone quickly. Solara is not who she seems and over the course of this story, Kinsey and her friend and landlord Henry Pitts begin to suspect that she is mistreating Gus.

It's a scary story and Solara is a sociopath who will do anything to get what she wants and in this case what she wants is Gus's money. We begin to find our more about her as the story progresses. Kinsey is unfortunately distracted by her other cases but she keeps coming back to Gus's case and she begins to realize that Solara is more than a match for her. Read the story to see how this is all resolved.

The story is especially terrifying for people who have elderly parents or relatives, I think, especially if they need extra help. The way Solara gains control is frightening and makes the story especially dark. It's not graphic but the implications give you cause for uneasiness. Yes, an excellent story and an excellent Kinsey mystery. (4.5 stars)

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really loving the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series. I love mysteries in general, and I was fortunate enough to stumble across Sue Grafton's amazing contract deal (seriously, 26 books guaranteed!) at about L or M. I zoomed through A to there, and now I'm with the rest of the world, waiting painfully for each new installment. I had trouble with S in that I couldn't jump right back into that world. I kept confusing Kinsey's life with elements from other mysteries I'd read, and I worried that would happen again. Fortunately, I was able to launch myself headlong into her world this time and scream through this thriller of a story. It was kind of almost too scary at times, but Grafton's often are. Anyway, not sure if my difficulties with S were due to the quality of S or my attention span at the time, but I really enjoyed T...and now just have to get back in line for U. Unemployed? Umbrella? Umbilicus? Underwear? Oh, please, let it be Underwear.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the only thing that disturbed me about this book is that I read too many reviews before starting that warned that I would be reading Grafton's "most disturbing" novel to date -- I therefore kept waiting, worriedly, for something to horrible and awful to happen. Many bad things happen, but nothing quite to the magnitude I thought... perhaps I've read worse. But that's certainly not Grafton's fault. This book departs from Grafton's usual style of letting her protagonist, Kinsey, tell the entire story and goes back and forth between Kinsey and the other main character. It's an interesting, thoughtful, page-turner, as most Grafton novels are. I certainly recommend it and am sad at the thought of waiting another year, or more, to read the next installment.

[Linda Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Kinsey book, this time Kinsey ran across a lady who kept her on her toes, and of course Kinsey prevailed!

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best book in the series.
Once again as with the previous book this one had a different style which freshened things up and I preferred it to the split timeline approach of the last book.
Kinsey was at her best here even with the numerous mistakes she made throughout the story. Also, for maybe the first time in the series there was a sense of tense during multiple parts of the story.
I would highly recommend reading this book even if this is the only book in the series you read.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! How does Sue Grafton do it? I am in love with the character Kinsey Millhone all over again.

The Millhone series begins with A is for Alibi and each book thereafter is titled after a letter of the alphabet. ’T is for Trespass’ is definitely one of the best of the series.

Once again we are reading about Kinsey’s 1987 life in Santa Teresa, 95 miles north of Los Angeles, California. She is a 37-year-old private detective, living in a building behind her landlord, 87-year-old Henry Pitt. Her parents died when Kinsey was a young child, so she was raised by a diffident aunt whose childrearing taught the child Kinsey independence and toughness. Her aunt is dead now, too, but Kinsey has more or less adopted Henry as a surrogate grandfather, and he thinks of her as an independent granddaughter. Henry used to be a baker, although he now is retired, but he still is dating and getting into soap opera mischief.

Down the street is the restaurant and pub called Rosie’s, owned by the before-mentioned Rosie and her husband William. William happens to be Henry’s brother. Kinsey and Henry often stop for dinner. These three characters often have Kinsey’s back, which is a good thing. She is cautious and well-trained, having once been a cop; however, she also finds danger exciting, so sometimes she leaps before looking. Despite a taste for pushing the envelope, she avoids violence as much as possible. She has a fantastic memory for detail, but she seems to have one fault - an incredibly nosy nature.

Currently, she has three cases - two paying jobs: one from a local insurance company and another from a lawyer, but one job is personal when her elderly neighbor Gus, always irascible, has a fall. He is one of the most cranky and difficult of her neighbors, but his injuries and age brings Henry and Kinsey to his rescue despite the fact Gus did not want it. Kinsey discovers who his only living relative is, and after she contacts his niece, the two arrange for a nurse to help Gus around his home.

When Kinsey meets Solana Rojas, she realizes there is something wrong with Rojas despite her stellar nursing references. Kinsey doubts her own senses because she personally investigated the woman. The nurse has had much experience working with the elderly, and there are no complaints of elder abuse. There was nothing to indicate the 64-year-old woman standing in front of her has any issues. But Kinsey’s spider sense is tingling…..

I loved ’T is for Trespass’. It starts off slow, but soon suspense builds up from increasingly dangerous confrontations. Grafton’s mysteries are almost cozies because there are charming characters and filing, but there are killers and near-death action as well.