Product Description

Sometimes I think about how odd it would be to catch a glimpse of the future, a quick view of events lying in store for us. Some moments we saw would make no sense at all and some, I suspect, would frighten us beyond our endurance . . .

Early spring in the Sierra Nevada, bringing the usual driving sleet and snow. PI Kinsey Millhone is on her way west when she detours into Nota Lake (pop. 2356) to check out a new client. And encounters a chill she can scarcely believe.

Only six weeks have passed since sheriff’s detective Tom Newquist died of a heart attack. His widow is sure he was keeping secrets from her just before he died – and she hires Kinsey to find out exactly what.

But all Kinsey can uncover is that Newquist led an exemplary life, so what could he possibly have to conceal? And why has the town, to the last threatening redneck, closed ranks on her?

Kinsey’s on the point of giving up. Until she discovers a chilling new clue: a childish drawing of a thick length of rope – fashioned into a hangman’s noose . . .

'I love Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone novels . . . you are never disappointed' Guardian

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58290 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Suppose we could peer through a tiny peephole in time and chance upon a flash of what was coming up in the years ahead?" The questioner is Kinsey Millhone, middle-aged, two-time divorcee detective and junk food junkie star of Sue Grafton's popular "alphabet" mysteries; the book is 'N' Is for Noose. If Kinsey had had just a smidgen of foresight, she would never have taken her current case, handed down to her from her on-again, off-again flame and comrade in arms, Robert Dietz. We encounter the two this time out after Deitz's knee surgery, as Kinsey drives his "snazzy little red Porsche" back to Carson City, where she checks out his digs for the first time. To her surprise, he lives in a palatial penthouse, which-- under the unspoken bylaws of investigative etiquette--she qualmlessly snoops through. They sit around for a fortnight playing gin rummy and eating peanut butter and pickle sandwiches together, but perennially single Kinsey grows wary: "It was time to hit the road before our togetherness began to chafe."

She heads off to meet Dietz's former client, Mrs Selma Newquist, a devastated widow whose make-up tips seem to come from Tammy Faye Baker. Her husband Tom Newquist, a detective himself, had been working on a mysterious case when he abruptly died of a heart attack. Selma suspects foul play, but bless her, she isn't the brightest star in the sky and can't figure out what Tom was working on even though he's left behind enough paper to fill a recycling truck. Kinsey digs right in and roams the sleepy, one-horse town of Nota Lake for clues, interviewing a colourful cast of in-laws and locals. Beneath the quaint, quiet, country veneer, she unearths a bubbling hotbed of internal strife and familial double-dealing. Was Tom covering up for his partner? Is Selma protecting someone? Grafton's knack for gritty details and realistic characters, coupled with the fast-paced, believable story line, makes for another delightfully entertaining read. --Rebekah Warren

From the Publisher
A KINSEY MILLHONE MYSTERY
Early spring in the Sierra Nevada, bringing the usual driving sleet and snow. PI Kinsey Millhone is on her way west when she detours into Nota Lake (pop.2356) to check out a new client. And encounters a chill she can scarcely believe.

Only six weeks have passed since sheriff's detective Tom Newquist died of a heart attack. His widow is sure he was keeping secrets from her just before he died - and she hires Kinsey to find out exactly what.

But all Kinsey can uncover is that Newquist led an exemplary life, so what could he possibly have to conceal? And why has the town, to the last threatening redneck, closed ranks on her?

Kinsey's on the point of giving up. Until she discovers a chilling new clue: a childish drawing of a thick length of rope - fashioned into a hangman's noose ...

'Grafton is now halfway through her crime alphabet. And the books get better and better' Literary Review

About the Author

Sue Grafton has become one of the most popular mystery writers, both here and in the US. Born in Kentucky in 1940, the daughter of the mystery writer C.W. Grafton, she began her career as a TV scriptwriter before Kinsey Millhone and the ‘alphabet’ series took off. She lives and writes in Montecito, California, and Louisville, Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

One Woman Takes on the Whole Town!
If you are like me, you will see N Is for Noose as the ultimate development of the theme, "I am woman . . . hear me roar."

One of my favorite detective story lines is the one where the whole community turns against the protagonist. Despite this, the detective solves the crime. N Is for Noose follows that plot, and is well done. In fact, the book borders on the genre of the Western in many ways. Read it that way, and you'll like it better.

The book has one uncharacteristic quality for this series, Kinsey is quite slow to solve the mystery. I found that intriguing. Most problem-solving in reality is slow and ineffective. To me, it made the story more realistic and interesting to follow. Others will call it slow plot development.

The resolution in the final 40 pages or so is extremely unusual. It combines elements that are found in many other stories, but never in combination. It literally took my breath away. I could not read it fast enough, even though it is over quickly. Such a powerful coda after so many lento sections is an astonishing surprise, and one that worked well for me. Think of this book as having three long, slow movements followed by one allegro one done fortissimo!

Although this is certainly not the best book in the series, it is a very fine one. I urge you to read it, and appreciate its strengths.

Also, think about whether you really want your novels (and especially mysteries) to be too predictable. What kind of unpredictability is good? What kind isn't?

Stand up for what you believe in, too!

Familiar territory
I find it very easy to fall straight into these books.Good descriptive writing about the weather which makes you feel cold too.It slowed down a little halfway through but still lightly gripping.I love Graftons style of writing although I do have one gripe - does she have to describe every place/room etc that she goes into? Leave a bit to the imagination.I've read 10 of the alphabet books so far and love them.I find myself having withdrawal symptoms if I don't read one for couple of months.The plots are sometimes predictable,sometimes not.

Scary but slight
In this book, Kinsey is out of her home town and like a fish out of water. Grafton captures her sense of unease and the feeling that she is out of her depth perfectly. I also thought the episodes with the stalker character were really well done, very menacing. However, I thought the story line was weak and unbelievable, although the denouement was tense and exciting. A great read for atmosphere and suspense.