Plot or Premise

Henry asks Kinsey to help some neighbours file a benefits claim for a deceased veteran…seems simple enough.

What I Liked

Kinsey tries to help out, and gets sucked into the mystery…was the vet really a vet? Who keeps breaking into his old apartment? Why was he so paranoid in life? Why is she helping people she doesn’t really like? It’s fun watching her incrementally get sucked in more and more, so natural. And then she’s off to Dallas, following a man and woman who robbed the apartment.

What I Didn’t Like

The story reads more like a treasure hunt than a mystery or a case. It’s not terrible, but it’s not really a mystery, and most of the main characters lie every time they open their mouth, with none of the stories being particularly interesting.

The Bottom Line

Okay story, not much of a case or mystery.

Plot or Premise

Kinsey’s old insurance partners hire her to find a guy who faked his suicide five years before to get out from under a Ponzi scheme indictment.

What I Liked

Kinsey heads off to Mexico to find the guy, spots him, comes back, and starts inserting herself over ten days into the life of his ex-family, all of whom thought he was dead. Add in a current girlfriend, an ex-cop, and an old business partner, and there are lots of things happening at the same time. And just for fun, Kinsey finds out she has family up around Lompoc.

What I Didn’t Like

There is an almost ridiculous story about one of the sub-characters — he’s introduced initially as a buffoon, and then later as an almost master-criminal, and in neither instance is he either. While Kinsey’s new family interactions are a bit of a distraction, the real challenge is with the banal ugliness of the ex-suicider’s family interactions, particularly a young pregnant girl with a baby.

The Bottom Line

Is it fraud? Is it murder? Is it suicide?

Plot or Premise

Kinsey has her hands full with a dead claims adjuster, a scam artist on the run from a dangerous ex, and an efficiency expert at the insurance company.

What I Liked

Kinsey goes undercover with the scam artist and her ex, with support from Dolan, and she really throws herself into the role. She shows up as the scam artist’s friend, and hangs out while the relationship with the crazy ex deteriorates even further.

What I Didn’t Like

The crazy ex is indeed crazy, but the ridiculous explanation for a lot of his behaviour is that he has Tourette’s. Not exactly a deep plot device nor very accurate portrayal.

The Bottom Line

H should be for huckster.