A solid entry in the series with a few interesting touches. Unfortunately most of those have to go behind the spoiler curtain. "This time it's personal." Kinsey's first husband Mickey Magruder has been shot and is in a coma. Unlike her second husband, Mickey has never been discussed until now, and the reasons why Kinsey has suppressed his memory are the connective tissue beneath what is otherwise a fairly standard Alphabet plot. Lots of interviews, lots of driving around, and the obligatory closing chapter where Kinsey yet again is alone and stalked by the murderer. Her baker landlord Henry appears just briefly but long enough to make her realize this case matters to her more than she thinks.

The final chapters where she faces death yet again are becoming increasingly contrived. Spoiler 1: In this one, pursued by the murderer, she drives right by two detectives from LAPD who know everything and local cops with no more explanation than "there was no way [they] could help me right now".

The epilogue though is quite nice, and I liked one touch in the story though it might frustrate others. Spoiler 2: Mickey never comes out of his coma. This remains Kinsey's story throughout. ( )

***This is a project of re-reading Grafton's series -- I started reading these back in the 1980s and would read each release as they came out over the years. To prevent spoilers, I will not attempt to summarize in detail. ***

In each of Sue Grafton's novels, Kinsey Millhone often introduced herself to the reader as being twice divorced but never went in detail about the past relationships. She did have a run-in with ex husband number two in "E" is for Evidence but continued to be mostly mum about ex number one. Until this installment, O is for Outlaw.

We learn here (early on in the story) that fifteen or so years previously, Kinsey had walked out on ex husband number one, Mickey Magruder, when he was suspected of murder and asked Kinsey to provide an alibi for him. She never saw him again after the divorce. Under unusual events, she learns that Magruder recently was shot and is in the hospital in a comatose stage. Kinsey uncovers information where she realizes he may have been innocent after all, and so she takes it on herself to figure out what really happened.

Of course, as is usual, she risks her life and bumps into a lot of characters along the way of solving this mystery and also unearths other hidden secrets. I found this unputdownable. ( )

Very good. Another winner about Kinsey's ex-husband shot over an old murder

I took a long hiatus before reading this book which is probably good. There were a lot of little things that were starting to bug me about this series. They didn't seem to bug me as much in this one. I enjoyed it. Although somewhat predictable and there was one spot I totally didn't buy. Still a old summer read. You know what you are getting when you pick up a Grafton. ( )

I just love the Kinsey Millhone series. In this installment, more layers of Kinsey’s life are peeled away as readers are introduced to her first husband…well, sort of. A random person contacts Kinsey after he finds some of her belongings in an abandoned storage unit. This discovery leads her to searching for her ex to make amends for her behavior when their relationship ended. When she finds him, he’s in quite a bit of trouble. Kinsey works really hard to help him. Typical of a Grafton novel, the story twists and turns with lots of characters. I liked this one very much and look forward to continuing with the alphabet. ( )