T is for Trespass - Sue Grafton

I almost always given the Kinsey Millhone books 3 stars, but this is a 4-Star book. There are several things that Grafton does differently in T is for Trespass that she started playing around with in "S" (read that review here). First, she introduces a narrative perspective that is not Kinsey's. I enjoyed this change in the last book and in this interval, the other narrator is the "bad" guy. Second, Kinsey has not been hired to deal with the "bad" guy or anything related to that part of the story this time around. Third, we already know who the bad guy is from the beginning of the story, we're just waiting for Kinsey to figure it out.

All of the above elements leave T is for Trespass feeling really fresh despite being the 20th (!!) installment in the series. It's finally 1988 and Kinsey is still living in her little studio, still working as a PI for attorneys - tracking down missing witnesses, serving court documents and the like. Her neighbor, not Henry, but another Octogenarian, Gus, has taken a fall in his home and his recalcitrant niece doesn't have the time or the inclination to care for Gus. She swoops in from the East Coast, puts out an ad for an in-home caregiver and as soon as one is hired, she leaves, asking Kinsey to perform a preliminary background check. 

The caregiver we already know is bad news because the book started from her perspective. She was busy stealing the identity of a licensed nurse at a prior job. We know she's going to try to gain entry to the home of an elderly person and take advantage of them. Of course Kinsey isn't able to figure this out in the brief parameters she's given from the niece. But this is Kinsey and she becomes suspicious and starts to pick at the loose thread that is the caregiver, Solana's, story. 

Once Kinsey is on the hunt, she works tirelessly to rescue Gus from the situation. The story is actually pretty terrifying in the way that Solana is able to set Gus up, abusing him emotionally and physically. In the background of the story is a witness Kinsey is trying to serve on an unrelated matter who has a past as a child abuser. So this book is hitting both ends of the spectrum when it comes to abuse of vulnerable populations. At the end of the book, Kinsey warns us that we can all do something about elder abuse. That we are charged to look out for the members of our communities and take care to make sure they aren't being taken advantage of. 

It's chilling and horrible. Grafton has created a very vile and evil character in Solana, and it's a real delight as a reader to see how the whole situation plays out. On a sad note, Kinsey has broken up with Cheney Phillips. That girl can just not get her love life in order.

4/5 Stars.