Book ~ "A is for Alibi" (1982) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ When Laurence Fife was murdered, few mourned his passing. A prominent divorce attorney with a reputation for single-minded ruthlessness on behalf of his clients, Fife was also rumored to be a dedicated philanderer. Plenty of people in the picturesque southern California town of Santa Teresa had a reason to want him dead. Including, thought the cops, his young and beautiful wife, Nikki. With motive, access, and opportunity, Nikki was their number-one suspect. The jury thought so, too.

Eight years later and out on parole, Niki Fife hires Kinsey Millhone to find out who really killed her late husband.

A trail that is eight years cold. A trail that reaches out to enfold a bitter, wealthy, and foul-mouthed old woman and a young boy, born deaf, whose memory cannot be trusted. A trail that leads to a lawyer defensively loyal to a dead partner - and disarmingly attractive to Millhone; to an ex-wife, brave, lucid, lovely - and still angry over Fife's betrayal of her; to a not-so-young secretary with too high a salary for too few skills - and too many debts left owing: The trail twists to include them all, with Millhone following every turn until it finally twists back on itself and she finds herself face-to-face with a killer cunning enough to get away with murder. 

It's 1982 and Niki Fife has just spent the last eight years in prison for killing her husband, Laurence, a divorce attorney.  She didn't do it so she hires Kinsey Millhone, a private detective, to figure out who is the real murderer.  A few days after Laurence had been killed, Libby, his law firm's accountant and Laurence's rumored affair, had died the same way (oleander poisoning).  How is it connected?  Laurence wasn't a nice guy so there are many suspects ... his ex-partner, his ex-wife, his adult children, former girlfriends, Libby's former boyfriend, etc.

As Kinsey is investigating, she is attracted to Laurence' former partner, Charlie, something she knows is a conflict of interest but she has a hard time fighting it.

A side case has Kinsey doing a job for an insurance company ... proving a woman who is off on disability doesn't deserve a pay out.

This is the first in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have been a fan since and have read them all.  Since the series will soon come to an end, I am starting at the beginning and rereading them.  They are all set in the 1980s before everyone had a computer, cell phone, etc.  We are introduced briefly to Henry and Rosie, who are prominent characters in the series.

I thought this book was good.  It's been about 20 years since I'd read it so I'd forgotten "whodunnit".   I like the writing style and thought it flowed well.  It is written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  It still held up for me considering I read it about 20 years ago and it was published about 35 years ago.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

Book ~ "Ceremony" (1982) Robert B. Parker

From Goodreads ~ Pretty teenager April Kyle is in grown-up-trouble, involved with people who'd beat her up for a dollar and kill her for five. Now she's disappeared, last seen in the Combat Zone, that side of Boston where nothing's proper, especially the sex for sale.

With Hawk, his sidekick, Spenser takes on the whole X-rated industry. From a specialty whorehouse in Providence to stylish Back Bay bordellos, he pits muscle and wit against bullets and brawn until he finds what he's looking for: April Kyle, little girl lost.

Spenser is a private detective in Boston and has been hired by the Kyles to find their missing teenage daughter, April, who they suspect is working as a prostitute.  Spenser finds April and she is indeed working as a prostitute.  Though Spenser isn't making her go home, she takes off from him.  As Spenser keeps digging, he discovers the person of influence behind providing teenage girls for prostitution and also the making of porno movies and he is determined to shut him down.

This is the ninth in the Spenser series (there are currently 46, with the last six written by Ace Atkins after Parker's death in 2010).  I've read many over the years (and have liked the series) and have started reading them from the beginning of the series.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  This book had an interesting but seedy premise and I didn't find the ending believable.

I liked the writing style ... I found it humorous at times.  Spenser is a tough guy with a wisecracking sense of humour.  Though this book was written and is set in 1982, it didn't seem that dated (there is reference to the "fuzz" and "bread", though).  It's written in first person perspective in Spenser's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.