My first thought as I finished “M is for Malice” was, sure, the mystery solved, but I’m still not a big fan of the genre. That fact is a good thing because, holy Toledo, she wrote A LOT of these, and I just don’t have the time to add that much fiction to my must read dream list.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. It was not a bad book, and I don’t mean that in a “not good, either” kind of way. It was great! It felt classic with a twist. And a strong female protagonist, that isn’t one of those “I hate men” kind? Yes, please.

Kinsey is a down-to-earth, intelligent, independent (and vulnerable) woman that I really connected with. She jumped off the page as someone I could be great friends with. And the more I read, the more I loved her. We had a lot of common.

Like I said in my first post about this book, my cousin introduced me to it as something her and her mother (one of my favorite “instant like” people) used to read a lot of. I was hesitant to pick it up at first. I’m not a fan of mysteries and most modern novels leave me wishing I had spent the time in a classic. “Hold the phone,” I thought. If this is a character one that my (much loved) aunt and cousin loved, wouldn’t it be likely that I’d love them too?

Now I’m sitting here wishing I could ask my aunt what she loved about the books so much. Stupid mortality.

My final thoughts on this book are these: great book, loved Kinsey, loved the progression of the story (although I immediately knew who really did it when that character entered, I was just reading on to find out how and why). Loved that it was set in Southern California, along with all the description of the weather and beaches, etc. I loved Kinsey’s complicated relationship with Dietz and wanted to know more, hoping it would grow and mature.

There were parts of the book that felt superfluous, descriptions of things that I didn’t feel made the story move forward or give me insight. They were colorful and enjoyable, but extra. And the story and characters are simple and straightforward. I craved more depth, more twist, more discovery of their souls. This felt like tv, which I love, but I wanted more.

I liked it. I’m glad I read it. And I’m looking forward to reading some of the fan fiction my cousin is dreaming up. Maybe I’ll post some here if she’ll let me!

If you missed my first thoughts on this book, click back to “M is for Malice: New Read.”