F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Southern California seasons are sometimes to subtle to discern [...] What's true, though, is that every day is a season in itself. The sea is changeable. The air is transformed. The landscape registers delicate alterations in color so that gradually the saturated green of winter bleaches out to the straw shades of summer grass, so quick to burn. Trees explode with color, fiery reds and flaming golds that can rival autumn anywhere [...]"

I am continuing the Sue Grafton re-read project with the sixth novel in her famous "Alphabet Series", F is for Fugitive (1989). Like in the previous installments I am more interested in Ms. Grafton's vivid depiction of California in the 1980s than in the plot. In fact, I am sure that even if there was no criminal intrigue in the novel at all, I would read it with the same level of interest and satisfaction of not wasting time with nice prose and always fascinating character of Kinsey Millhone, Mrs. Grafton's intrepid PI from the fictitious Santa Teresa (which is modeled on Santa Barbara.)

Yet, since F is a detective novel, at least the outline of the setup is required. Royce Fowler, a Floral Beach motel owner, hires Kinsey to help his son. Sixteen years ago Bailey was mistakenly arrested, then released, but re-arrested when his prints matched the prints that the police had. At that time, Bailey, accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, pleaded guilty of voluntary manslaughter, and later escaped from prison. Now he claims his innocence, explains that the guilty plea was a result of bad advice of his court-appointed public defender, and Mr. Fowler wants Kinsey to assist Bailey's current lawyer help clear his son.

Kinsey stays in Mr. Fowler's motel in Floral Beach, a (fictitious) California town, "six streets long, three streets wide." She meets Fowler's wife, the son's lawyer, and talks to Bailey himself at the prison. There is a spectacular and well-written scene in the courtroom in San Luis Obispo during Bailey's arraignment. I find the ending overly theatrical, and for readers who like the mystery aspect of Ms. Grafton's novels, I have a warning: I managed to figure out who the killer was quite some time before the denouement, even if I did not much care about the "mystery." Similarly to D I have a problem with the author having people too conveniently volunteering information to Kinsey. Come on! These were the 1980s - we weren't used then to the idiocy of baring our innermost secrets on Facebook and similar scams.

Anyway, F is a nice, pleasant read, and I will certainly continue with at least a few of the next installments.

Three stars.

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