I read a lot of mystery stories, and right now I'm listening to a Sue Grafton novel in the form of an audio book on my iPod. I used to like Sue Grafton a lot, but she wore me out - every book we hear about Ms. Kinsey's life - her cozy converted-garage apartment, her 88 year-old landlord Henry Pitt who is a retired baker, and designs crossword puzzles. Nothing ever changes with her. How long is that Henry going to live? And how long is wrinkle-resistant black dress she keeps wadded up in the backseat of her VW bug going to hold up?

Anyhow, I got to thinking about these fictional people who are self-employed as private detectives. So many times their clients don't have much money, can barely scrape together the first day's fees and expenses, but the good-hearted private eye gets caught up in the case and never mind the money, they throw themselves into it and risk life and limb in the name of justice.

This particular Sue Grafton is "U is for Undertow" - the last one I read was "F is for Fugitive" so you can see that I've taken quite a breather. It's not horrible, I'll enjoy this one and take another break.