Lorna Kepler was beautiful and willful, a loner who couldn't resist flirting with danger. Maybe that's what killed her. Her death had raised a host of tough questions. The cops suspected homicide, but they could find neither motive nor suspect. Even the means were mysterious: Lorna's body was so badly decomposed when it was discovered that they couldn't be certain she hadn't died of natural causes. In the way of overworked cops everywhere, the case was gradually shifted to the back burner and became another unsolved file. Only Lorna's mother kept it alive, consumed by the certainty that somebody out there had gotten away with murder. In the ten months since her daughter's death, Janice Kepler had joined a support group, trying to come to terms with her loss and her anger. It wasn't helping. And so, leaving a session one evening and noticing a light on in the offices of Millhone Investigations, she knocked on the door. In answering that knock, Kinsey Millhone is pulled into the netherworld of unavenged murder, where only a pact with the devil will satisfy the restless ghosts of the victims and give release to the living they have left behind. Eleven books into the series that has won her readers around the world, Sue Grafton takes a darkside turn, pitching us into a shadow land of pain and grief where killers still walk free, unaccused, unpunished, unrepentant. With "K" is for Killer she offers a tale that is dark, complex, and deeply disturbing. "A" Is for Alibi "B" Is for Burglar "C" Is for Corpse "D" Is for Deadbeat "E" Is for Evidence "F" Is for Fugitive "G" Is for Gumshoe "H" Is for Homicide "I" Is for Innocent "J" Is for Judgment "K" Is for Killer "L" is for Lawless "M" Is for Malice "N" Is for Noose "O" Is for Outlaw "P" Is for Peril "Q" Is for Quarry "R" Is for Ricochet "S" Is for Silence "T" Is for Trespass "U" Is for Undertow "V" Is for Vengeance "W" Is for Wasted "X" YA-Asked to investigate the death of 25-year-old Lorna Kepler, which occurred 10 months earlier, P.I. Kinsey Millhone uncovers the young woman's secret life as a high-class call girl, her half a million dollars in blue-chip investments, but no clue as to the murderer. The main plot is strengthened by several subplots including the whereabouts of a $20,000 withdrawal made the day of Lorna's death; the misleading spying antics of her landlord's wife; and the greed and jealousy of the victim's overweight older sister. Grafton's writing is vivid when describing Kinsey's soul-searching about the evil some people commit and in the resultant powerful ending. Though the 11th in the series, "K" is neither weak nor repetitive, providing excitement, intrigue, and a fierce need to finish reading it in one sitting. Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. Grafton's latest is one of her best, with popular heroine Kinsey Millhone showing more humor and spunk than we've seen in her last few outings. Grieving mother Janice Kepler asks Kinsey to investigate the nearly year-old death of her daughter Lorna. Janice believes Lorna was murdered, even though there were no signs of violence and the police concluded the young woman died of natural causes. Kinsey, always keen for a challenge, agrees to take the case and winds up working one of the oddest mysteries of her career. It seems Lorna, a part-time secretary at the local water-treatment plant, died with investments and jewelry worth nearly half-a-million dollars--surely impossible on her part-time, minimum-wage job. The trail is cold, but Kinsey is determined to uncover Lorna's secrets and find out how and why she died. Grafton's in top form on this one, offering a spicy plot, some very funny lines, and a raft of intriguing characters. Readers will puzzle and ponder over motive, method, and possible perps right up until the surprising conclusion. After somewhat lukewarm "I" and "J" books, Grafton--thank goodness!--has brought back the warm wit, idiosyncratic charm, and high-speed energy that made Kinsey Millhone such a hit. Buy a bunch of copies; this one will generate requests on a par with Grisham and King. Emily Melton Spunky, ever more introspective Santa Teresa, California, PI Kinsey Millhone (``A'' Is for Alibi, 1982; etc.) has been hired to investigate the 10-month-old murder of Lorna Kepler, found two weeks after she died in her isolated cabin. The police case is going nowhere, and Lorna's inconsolable mother wants her daughter's killer found, although Lorna's sisters and surly father, Mace, seem resigned and almost indifferent. Facets of Lorna's many-sided existence surface quickly as Kinsey begins to probe. Part-time receptionist at a water purification plant run by Roger Bonney, Lorna led her real life at night--all dressed up for a generous customer or undressed for the making of a porn movie. She amassed and cannily invested a small fortune and acted as financial adviser to Danielle, an intimate friend also on the g