Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
The next in the series by bestselling author Sue Grafton.
"J" is for Jaffe: Wendell Jaffe, dead these past five years. Or so it seemed until his former insurance agent spotted him in the bar of a dusty little resort halfway between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz.

"In truth, the facts about Wendell Jaffe had nothing to do with my family history, but murder is seldom tidy and no one ever said revelations operate in a straight line. It was my investigation into the dead man's past that triggered the inquiry into my own, and in the end the two stories became difficult to separate."

Five years ago, when Jaffe's thirty-five-foot Fuji ketch was found drifting off the Baja coast, it seemed a sure thing he'd gone overboard. The note he left behind admitted he was flat broke, his business bankrupt, his real estate gambit nothing but a huge Ponzi scheme about to collapse, with criminal indictment certain to follow. When the authorities soon after descended on his banks and his books, there was nothing left: Jaffe had stripped the lot.

"Given my insatiable curiosity and my natural inclination to poke my nose in where it doesn't belong, it was odd to realize how little attention I'd paid to my own past. I'd simply accepted what I was told, constructing my personal mythology on the flimsiest of facts."

But Jaffe wasn't quite without assets. There was the $500,000 life insurance policy made out to his wife and underwritten by California Fidelity. With no corpse to prove death, however, the insurance company was in no hurry to pay the claim. Dana Jaffe had to wait out the statutory five years until her missing husband could be declared legally dead. Just two months before Wendell Jaffe was sighted in that dusty resort bar, California Fidelity finally paid in full. Now they wanted the truth. And they were willing to hire Kinsey Millhone to dig it up.

As Kinsey pushes deeper into the mystery surrounding Wendell Jaffe's pseudocide, she explores her own past, discovering that in family matters as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment.

"J" is for judgment: the kind we're quick to make and often quicker to regret.

"J" Is for Judgment: Kinsey Millhone's tenth excursion into the dark places of the heart where duplicity is the governing rule and murder the too-frequent result.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. A Kinsey Millhone Novel. St. Martin's Griffin, ISBN: 9781250035820 (October, 2013), 375 p., $14.99.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (UK 2012)

From the Publisher:
The tenth novel in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series, now with a stunning new look
'On the face of it, you wouldn't think there was any connection between the murder of a dead man and the events that changed my perceptions about my life...'

For Kinsey Millhone, the investigation started with a surprise visit from an ex-colleague at California Fidelity - the company that had fired her nine months previously.

Fives hours later she was on a plane to Mexico, hot on the trial of a suicide who'd allegedly just come back to life. After a five year wait, Wendell Jaffe's widow had finally succeeded in having the real estate swindler declared dead, collecting half a million dollars for her pains. Now it looks like a 'pseudocide' - and Kinsey's ready to risk everything to get to the truth...

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. A Kinsey Millhone Mystery. Pan, ISBN: 9781447212317 (August, 2012), 436 p., £7.99.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (USA 2008)

From the Publisher:
Wendell Jaffe looks great for a dead man! He's been six feet under for five years ago -- until his former insurance agent spots him at a dusty resort bar in Mexico. Now California Fidelity wants its insurance money back. Can P.I. Kinsey Millhone get on the case?

Just two months earlier, Jaffe's widow pocketed $500,000 in insurance benefits after Jaffe went overboard. Was his "pseudocide" a last-ditch effort to do right by his beloved wife? Perhaps. But how would that explain the new woman in Jaffe's second life?

Kinsey is in for the long haul as she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Jaffe's life and death... and discovers that, in family matters as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment...

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. A Kinsey Millhone Novel. St. Martin's Paperbacks, ISBN: 9780312945275 (December, 2008), 375 p., $7.99.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (UK 2008)

From the Publisher:
'On the face of it, you wouldn't think there was any connection between the murder of a dead man and the events that changed my perceptions about my life...'

For Kinsey Millhone, the investigation started with a surprise visit from an ex-colleague at California Fidelity - the company that had fired her nine months previously.

Fives hours later she was on a plane to Mexico, hot on the trial of a suicide who'd allegedly just come back to life. After a five year wait, Wendell Jaffe's widow had finally succeeded in having the real estate swindler declared dead, collecting half a million dollars for her pains. Now it looks like a 'pseudocide' - and Kinsey's ready to risk everything to get to the truth...

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. A Kinsey Millhone Mystery. Pan, ISBN: 9780330333405 (May, 2008), 435 p., £6.99.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (USA 2008)

From the Publisher:
Wendell Jaffe has been dead for five years - until his former insurance agent spots him in a dusty resort bar. Now California Fidelity wants Kinsey Millhone to track down the dead man. Just two months before, his widow collected on Jaffe's $500,000 life insurance policy - her only legacy since Jaffe went overboard, bankrupt and about to be indicted for his fraudulent real estate schemes. As Kinsey pushes deeper into the mystery surrounding Wendell Jaffe's pseudocide, she explores her own past, discovering that in family matters, as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment...

Ms. Grafton writes a smart story and wraps it up with a wry twist." THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. Ballantine Books, ISBN: 0345503120 (February, 2008), 376 p., $4.99.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (USA 1994)

From the Publisher:
Wendell Jaffe has been dead for five years - until his former insurance agent spots him in a dusty resort bar. Now California Fidelity wants Kinsey Millhone to track down the dead man. Just two months before, his widow collected on Jaffe's $500,000 life insurance policy - her only legacy since Jaffe went overboard, bankrupt and about to be indicted for his fraudulent real estate schemes. As Kinsey pushes deeper into the mystery surrounding Wendell Jaffe's pseudocide, she explores her own past, discovering that in family matters, as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment...

Ms. Grafton writes a smart story and wraps it up with a wry twist." THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. Fawcett Books, ISBN: 0449221482 (March, 1994), 376 p., $7.99.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
"J" is for Jaffe: Wendell Jaffe, dead these past five years. Or so it seemed until his former insurance agent spotted him in the bar of a dusty little resort halfway between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz.

"In truth, the facts about Wendell Jaffe had nothing to do with my family history, but murder is seldom tidy and no one ever said revelations operate in a straight line. It was my investigation into the dead man's past that triggered the inquiry into my own, and in the end the two stories became difficult to separate."

Five years ago, when Jaffe's thirty-five-foot Fuji ketch was found drifting off the Baja coast, it seemed a sure thing he'd gone overboard. The note he left behind admitted he was flat broke, his business bankrupt, his real estate gambit nothing but a huge Ponzi scheme about to collapse, with criminal indictment certain to follow. When the authorities soon after descended on his banks and his books, there was nothing left: Jaffe had stripped the lot.

"Given my insatiable curiosity and my natural inclination to poke my nose in where it doesn't belong, it was odd to realize how little attention I'd paid to my own past. I'd simply accepted what I was told, constructing my personal mythology on the flimsiest of facts."

But Jaffe wasn't quite without assets. There was the $500,000 life insurance policy made out to his wife and underwritten by California Fidelity. With no corpse to prove death, however, the insurance company was in no hurry to pay the claim. Dana Jaffe had to wait out the statutory five years until her missing husband could be declared legally dead. Just two months before Wendell Jaffe was sighted in that dusty resort bar, California Fidelity finally paid in full. Now they wanted the truth. And they were willing to hire Kinsey Millhone to dig it up.

As Kinsey pushes deeper into the mystery surrounding Wendell Jaffe's pseudocide, she explores her own past, discovering that in family matters as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment.

"J" is for judgment: the kind we're quick to make and often quicker to regret.

"J" Is for Judgment: Kinsey Millhone's tenth excursion into the dark places of the heart where duplicity is the governing rule and murder the too-frequent result.

Sue Grafton: J is for Judgment. Henry Holt and Co., ISBN: 0805019359 (May, 1993), 288 p., $21.95.