I am glad Ms. Forrest came back with a new novel and am intrigued to see if this is a new beginning or a new end. I hope a new beginning for the Character Kate and longer books from Ms. Forrest. ( )

I never thought that there'd be another Kate Delafield novel, and so I was stoked when I saw there would be a ninth book in the series. And for the most part I really liked this addition to Kate's story.

I do have to say that it took a bit for me to get back into the series. It's been awhile since I read the previous stories, and so some of the characters weren't right at the tip of my brain.

As we get into the story Kate is five months retired, off again with Aimee, and some of her... liquid habits are not good for her. Maggie, her best friend, is dying and in Hospice, and Joe, her former partner is missing.

Carolina Walcott, a Captain in the LAPD and Kate's former boss asks Kate to look into Joe's disappearance. She also gives Kate the card of Calla, the therapist that Kate had seen as a police officer, and who is no longer on the LAPD payroll.

There was a lot going on, including all of the above as well as some interesting stuff with Kate's nephew Dylan too. I do sort of wish that the story had had more about Dylan and his family in it, but what was there was pretty cool.

It was mostly a mystery. I honestly wasn't sure whether or not Kate would find Joe and if she did if he'd be alive. but, near the end there was a bit of a suspense thriller too and that was cool.

I'd also love to see another book in the series, but if there's not another one I thought this one ended in a good place too. ( )

This is just a note, not a review: One of the things I keep coming across in the Delafield series, at least in the later books, is the idea that Kate knows that she needs to work on her relationship with Aimee, keeps hinting at this knowledge in the book and then . . . . oh look, books over, let's now repeat this in the next book while at the same time undoing what little had been promised in previous books.

If I remembered how to make spoiler tags, ah, it's in formatting tips. Note: not sure if this will work.
One of the books ends with Kate agreeing to go to couples counseling and thinking about how she will need to contact, wants to contact, that therapist who she meet when she got shot.

The book after this promise occurs indicates that Kate has not spoken with this therapist since her last session years ago related to the being shot incident.

And her relationship with Aimee is in even worse shape.

It's an interesting series in one specific way. The first book came out in 1984. And a few came out that decade, the '90s, one in the '00s, and then this one in the '10s. 29 years. Some series allow their characters to age and the like. Most, though, tend to stick to a certain range. Like, if a series started with a character at a specific age, somewhere along the line, they just become "an adult" without spending too much time indicating that the character started at roughly 29, and is now 58. Just keeping it at "youngish, middle-agish, still alive" type.

I mention all that because Kate does age. The book is filled with remembrances of her past. The various cases, various locations of her life. Buildings that meant a lot to her which are completely gone now. The book is deeply tied to past and its impact on the present. ( )