Ok, I tried to comment, but it didn't work. I'm going to make the SPOILERS readable. If you have not read S is for Silence by Sue Grafton, do not read the purple text below.
I finished this a couple days ago and just didn't feel satisfied with the ending. Wanted to share a few of my observations. This will contain SPOILERS. I'm going to try the trick of turning the font color the same as the background color so if you want to read this, you'll have to highlight the text after the next paragraph.
I enjoyed the style of the book. The reader gets a bit more insight than Kinsey does. It was interesting to read what happened to several of the characters then see what they told Kinsey. Which led me to feel the end was rushed and that as a reader I was denied some critical information. So, writing this, I've gone back and double checked dates and things. I think I have a few things worked out.
Wed, July 1st Violet started her affair with Chet to get the car she wants. That evening she hooks up with Jake for what sounds like the first time. Tom's at the bar thinking about a counseling session he had with his wife back in april. Violet and Tom talk about how a woman should help a husband. Tom says he's not trying to get in her pants, because she'll leave him for some one else. Earlier, it was implied that he had a relationship with her before.
Thurs, July 2nd Chet told Violet he'd help her get the car. We found out Jake had been with Violet before - and at one point says he had not seen her since Sunday, was he so drunk Wed he did not remember? He dumps Violet stating she'd been pulling away for weeks. She's pissed. Tom discovers a bank account that belongs to his wife's deceased first husband that the wife doesn't know about. He also thinks he needs an additional quick influx of cash to make a bank payment Monday.
Fri, July 3rd Foley bought the car in the AM, then Violet dumped Chet that afternoon. When Jake got to the hospital that afternoon, his father-in-law was clutching a Bible and a pink sheet of notebook paper accusing him of having an affair with Violet. (on wed we learned Chet's daughter Kathy kept pink stationary that she saved for special occasion - was it really Kathy who tattled, did Violet steal some of the stationary when she was at the dealership, or did Violet also happen to have pink stationary?).
So at the end of the book we find out Tom bought the dog for Violet, and asked the lady to call if anyone should come asking about it. When did he ask her to call? when he bought the dog? Was he really planning something that far out?
So here's what I think: I don't think Tom and Violet had been lovers. When BW said to ask Tom what happens if you drive her home, I think Tom really drove her home and either tongues started wagging or Foley believed it meant they were lovers. I think Jake was way depressed and drunk Wednesday night and didn't remember it the next day and some one saw them and ratted out. Everyone heard about Violet's money. I think Tom wanted it, but wasn't sure how to get it, but cultivated a friendship with her to get in her head and learn how to work her. He bought the dog, again as a friend. By being Violet's friend instead of trying to get in her pants she trusted in him in way she hadn't trusted anyone before. When he received news of the bank account he became liberated from his need for his wife. A quiet conversation with Violet - you take your money and I have my own now, we can take off together, we don't need our spouses anymore... I think that could have lured her out, especially since Jake dropped her - she didn't have any ties.
So, after a couple hours of re-reading and taking careful time line notes, I've been able to construct a plausible motive and means for the murder of Violet. I don't like working this hard to read a book. I think a chapter at the end from either Tom's or Violet's point of view tying up loose ends would have made this a better read.
Ok, that's the end of my babbling about this book. I shall do my best to put it out of my mind.
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Goody! A book review! of one of my fave authors!! But did i miss something? i got lots of white space between paragraphs 2 and 3. gee...i'm hoping grafton holds out till zed! wonder what she's gonna use for that title? "Z is for Zapped? Z is for Zoned Out? no matter. I love her books, but the last one (not THIS one) I read seemed to be missing a spark or two. Eh?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for writing this because I was a bit confused as to why Tom would end up the killer. You brought up a number of good points which makes sense now. However, I totally agree that one should not work this hard to figure out/understand why that character had to end up being the killer. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your thoughts. I listened to the book on CDs, so it's too difficult to go back to "re-read" to look for specific passages. I agree that there should've been a nice summation at the end tying up the story. I thought that Chet was the murderer, being upset about being used by her to get the car. The quick rehiring of Winston, who had seen a car out where Chet liked to go, next to the burial site, seemed to all fit. Many thanks for taking the time to summarize your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching online for "spoilers" for this book because I'm still confused. I like your time line and summary, and I guess I can see why Tom would buy the dog for Violet now that I read this (to create a friendship). I have to say that as soon as I read the chapter where Tom realizes he needs a large influx of cash, I figured he'd end up being the killer, so the motive worked for me. What I'm still puzzled about, though, is how Kinsey would have put together that the man who bought the dog was also the killer? Why would she think that? It baffles me.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar problem understanding why it was Tom who killed Violet. There was so much going on in the book and Tom was presented so early on that by the end of the story I could not understand why he would have done it. Perhaps Sue could have added a few lines about the motive while she was being pursued by Tom at the end of the story - to help us poor unfortunate readers with short term memory loss.
ReplyDeleteWho is Phillip? Towards the end, after Kathy admits telling about Liza's relationship with Ty, Liza says she told Winston about Phillip. I have a Nook so I did a search on Phillip and found only that reference. What did I miss?
ReplyDeleteI assumed Phillip was a guy that present day Kathy was having an affair with, but that's just a total guess on my part.
DeleteThe ending confussed me....I thought it was Kathy who had killed her because she found out about her father. Also, what puzzeled me was why was Violet wrapped in the curtain? Did Tom hear Foley and Violet arguing? or did he just fallow Violet home? the author should of explained the connection at the end. I was really disappointed with the ending.
ReplyDeleteThis was the first Sue Grafton book that I've read, and I feel like I've wasted all the time I spent reading, because it felt unfinished. It's not like it was a piece of profound literature meant to leave you questioning ethical or moral dilemmas, it was a who-done-it book, and why bother reading a who-done-it if the loose ends are left dangling in the wind. I was reading for fun, not to formulate my on opinions to write an essay for a criminology class. I did like Grafton's writing style, but if she can't bother to finish her stories, then I won't bother to wast anymore time by reading the rest of her books. :'(
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Sue G's books, but with this book I was so happy I found your blog!
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ReplyDeleteI started at A for Alibi and am currently reading K for Killer. I thought, and was hoping (hey, A-Z, 26 detective-type novels, my favourite genre) that I was sorted for bedtime reading for the next year or so, but sadly it appears that this is not to be. In all the books there are pages of unnecessarily descriptive mish-mosh that totally distracts from the story that is sloooowly unfolding. Kinsey comes across as a sad wannabe who only gets through her trials & tribulations due to the indulgences of the friends she seems to have acquired, despite being a self-confessed loner... Oh and when she does have sex, it's with a totally awesome guy. Totally believable, after you've been told that she cuts her own hair with a nail scissors and only has one dress which is usually kept bundled up in the back of her VW Beetle.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see her character develop (hey, I'm up to K for Killer) but so far I haven't seen any development to speak of... After 10 books... Hey Kinsey fans, should I continue past Killer or should I just quit and never admit to reading a Kinsey Millhone story?
My post above - I didn't want to be Unknown'... My name is George
DeleteI'd quit. Also the fact that she's stuck in the 1980's makes a lot of this irrelevant. No cell phone, carrying around her typewriter, no DNA. She needs to be aged up. And needs therapy to get over her family issues. Her most significant relationship is with a man 50 years older that she is. I'm just waiting for Z to wrap it up but that's years off. Go to Stephanie Plum for some light reading. Janet Evanovich.
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DeleteI'm on P for Peril now. All a bit predictable sadly.
DeleteThe best books in the series are N P Q T U V W (YVW are awesome!)
DeleteThanks for the suggestion of Janet Evanovich... Will check that out
ReplyDeleteI just finished S is for Silence and was confused about the ending. So, I want to thank you for your blog - you helped a lot with the timeline. I really like Sue Grafton's books, but this one I was disappointed about the ending - it was unclear why Tom killed Violet. And why the lace curtians??? I have so many more questions! Thanks again :)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree regarding the confusion, but I think it's likely that the curtains were to frame Foley for the murder.
DeleteI tried to go back on the CDs and figure some of this out too. I thought it was great up until the last disc and then it became very confusing. She wrote it, so she knows who the killer was and why. We readers/listeners needed a little more from the ending!
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing about the dog was crazy. The entire ending made no sense to me. I saw that Grafton wrote on her FB page that even people who are rich think they need more money, but personally, I don't think they'd kill for it if they already have enough. Also, how was Tom going to cash the check made out to Cora's dead husband? Someone would have clued in about that eventually, and he would have been in prison for fraud. This is the first book by SG that I think was not plotted out correctly. Shame on the editor and proofreader for not pointing out these obvious flaws.
ReplyDeleteAll I can think off is Tom's big dog killed Violet's dog so Tom got her a new one. He probably had an "affair" then even tho there weren't enough hints.If the motive had to do with money maybe he thought he was the only lover and afraid she'd tell. Or he had to stay with Cora for awhile until the forged check went thru. Maybe he was just a killer and finally found someone to kill and get away with it. Everyone had a motive to kill him except Tom. Has anyone asked Sue what she meant by making Tom the killer?
DeleteAt the time of the murder, Tom had a financial motive to kill Violet. Also, she was pretty harsh when she told him she’d never give him a penny of her money, which may have angered him. Finally - it was Jake’s dog who killed Violet’s dog, not Tom‘s dog.
DeleteI've been reading all the Kinsey books, starting about 6 months ago, and just finished S is For Silence. I agree with the previous posters that this book was confusing and didn't have a good conclusion. There were so many characters that when the killer was revealed, I honestly couldn't even remember who he was and what his relationship to Violet had been. Then, when I figured out who he was, I couldn't figure out WHY he would kill Violet. Thanks for the timeline but it still doesn't make much sense to me. Also, although the flashbacks were well-written and intriguing, I didn't think they belonged in a Kinsey book. I really hope this book isn't a harbinger of what is to come in the later books.
ReplyDeleteA couple of issues I had with this story:
Delete1. There were more characters than in "War and Peace"; I totally lost tract of who was who.
2. If my math is correct, Tom P. was 41 at the time of Violet's murder and 34 years later at the age of 75 he is out and about slashing car tires at a motel and launching a complicated scheme to put an end to Kinsey M. involving more tire sabotage, a car chase and a bulldozer.
The timeline is helpful but I also still don't understand his motive for killing her
DeleteI enjoyed reading the comments on this site as I feel much the same way as other readers. Having read all her books I was not surprised at the abrupt ending but thought the epilogue would tie up loose ends. Thinking about the killer, his "motive" and the murder it made little sense that Tom would start digging a hole days prior, and why did he do so after arranging to cash in on his wife's first husband's account? Tom's desire to get Violet's money did not warrant the brutal way she was killed. The clues about the curtains and the person who purchased the dog made no sense either. Why would an elderly women remember to call Tom after 34 years to alert him about someone asking about the dog? Up until the end I enjoyed the book but was very frustrated with the abrupt ending. While I love reading Grafton's books the conclusion of this one made little sense.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to the dog Tom gave to Violet, that could have easily been explained as a gift to make up for the death of her first dog. Tom seemed to be the only one of the male suspects who did not have an affair with Violet. The violent manner in which she was killed suggests someone very angry not a man who simply needed extra cash to pay off a loan. Sadly Ms. Grafton missed the mark on this one!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I found this and I appreciate what some have read into this book & posted here. I too was a bit baffled that there was no wrap-up of Tom's motives. Just money? I agree, that doesn't justify the brutality. I get that Tom's a selfish guy and I suppose I can see him coldly planning days in advance (or months? with the dog as a gift & cultivating a friendship w/ Violet). Maybe he did intend to knock her out and not have her suffer, but still.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I want to clarify something about Jake and "Sunday" vs. "Wednesday." I too was really confused by that and actually went back to re-read parts. When it was "Wed. 1953" Jake was remembering back to **MAY**. That night in his truck when they had sex, it was "early May"; so Jake & Violet had an affair for about 2 months (early May to barely early July). I totally missed that bit on my 1st reading.
I think given these confusions and the abrupt ending, this was definitely not my favorite of hers, no way near as satisfying. I kept expecting it to be Jake w/ help from BW who kept silent all that time, knowing his buddy was fooling around w/ Violet. Anyway, thanks for the blog and the insights!
K is for Killer and S is for Silence were real puzzlers to me. Nonsensical endings that were real letdowns. Both sent me to the internet for other people's interpretations. I actually had to skip P is for Peril as it isn't on my ebook library site, but on I go through the alphabet...the rest I enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteGlad I found this blog. Totally disappointed by having no motive for Tom to be the killer. All other details of the actual killing, why Violet drove out there, why did he kill her, the dog....THE WHOLE THING! My first Grafton book so I won't read another, too many good authors to waste my time on this amateur junk.
ReplyDeleteMy first Sue Grafton novel, and my last. Agree with all the comments here...too ma y characters, no compelling rationale for who, why and how violet was killed. Poor wrap-up. A dud
ReplyDeleteNPQTUVW are awesome!
DeleteVery disappointed with the ending also. Kept wondering what had I missed. Have read other Sue Grafton books that I enjoyed, not this one.
ReplyDeleteS is for Silence is such an interesting book until the end. The conclusion is implausible and not explained whatsoever in the book. How did Tom know Violet's plan to leave, how did he know she had money with her, and where did they meet on her way out of town? There is no explanation whether or not Tom and Violet had an affair. When a dog kills another dog the owners are acrimonious thereafter. There is no explanation for who Philip is when Daisy tells Kathy she has told Winston about him. There are so many obvious errors that one wonders who the editor was and if they were completely asleep at the wheel. An author may have a difficult time seeing that they haven't written what's obvious in their head. This is unsatisfactory conclusion is entirely the editor's fault.
ReplyDeleteI thought Padgett was referred to as "Chet." so I was totally lost at the conclusion. This audiobook CD is not a "keeper."
ReplyDeleteSay what? Tom is the killer but we’re left to put the why, when, how of multiples unknowns together ourselves. Very frustrating/disappointing ending.
ReplyDeleteEven if Ms Grafton was so busy writing she failed to realize the ending was incomplete, how did her editor, agent, proofreaders, researchers, etc fail to notice?
I was waiting for a wrapup with an explanation, like everyone else. Since we're left to guess, perhaps Tom saw Violet as a copy of his wife in a way, and although he couldn't take out his anger on Cora (needing her financial support), he COULD take out his anger on Violet and get money at the same time--money that in his opinion she was being selfish about (she wouldn't share a cent with her husband, like Cora). Maybe he was watching for signs she would leave and took that as an opportunity? Or maybe Grafton had an entirely different idea about motive and how things happened. I wish we knew. I appreciate all the other posts so I could try to understand!
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