"M" is for money. Lots of it. "M" is for Malek Construction, the $40 million company that grew out of modest soil to become one of the big three in California construction, one of the few still in family hands."M" is for the Malek family: four sons now nearing middle age who stand to inherit a fortune--four men with very different outlooks, temperaments, and needs, linked only by blood and money. Eighteen years ago, one of them--angry, troubled, and in trouble--went missing."M" is for Millhone, hired to trace that missing black sheep brother."M" is for memories, none of them happy. The bitter memories of an embattled family. This prodigal son will find no welcome at his family's table. "M" is for malice.And in brutal consequence, "M" is for murder, the all-too-common outcome of familial hatreds."M" is for malice . . . and malice kills.
The 13th book in the Kinsey Millhone series. I think I can say she is my favorite novel protagonist. It’s a hard competition between her and Lindsay Boxer. I think it switches back and forth depending on the series I’m reading.
The alphabet series just has a way of making me chuckle at least a few times during every book while also somehow going into really deep topics and hitting and emotional spot within me.
‘M’ is for Malice hit that spot harder than most of the series except for maybe ‘D’. There was just something about the way that Kinsey related to Guy and their banter that made me emotional. Seeing how the story played out made me even almost tear up at one point.
It was kind of a nice change of pace. I love when books can make me feel something like that. The last one to make me full on sob was The Book Thief. I’m not sure another one will make me cry like that, but I can’t rule that out for sure. It’s possible that I will when I get to the end of this series just because it’ll be over.
Aside from the emotional aspect, ‘M’ is for Malice was a solid addition to the series. It was interesting because Kinsey didn’t really have to be her typical physical badass self, it was more about her intelligence and mental skills than her physical ones. She had to deal with a pretty ridiculous family and still came out on top.
Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. I got through it very quickly. I look forward to N. It was nice to see the return of Dietz as well.
5/5 Stars
Memorable Quotes: “My caution was like a wall I’d built to keep me safe. But safety is an illusion and the danger of feeling too much is no worse than the danger of being numb.”
“I could feel my eyes cross while I tried controlling my impatience. I knew I’d be smarter to keep my mouth shut, but I’ve never been good at keeping my opinions to myself.“
“The tears I wept for him then were the same tears I’d wept for everyone I’d ever loved. My parents, my aunt. I had never said good-bye to them, either, but it was time to take care of it. I said a prayer for the dead, opening the door so all the ghosts could move on. I gathered them up like the petals of a flower and released them in the wind. What’s done is done. What is written is written. Their work is finished. Ours is yet to do.”
