Reba Lafferty was a daughter of privilege, the only child
of an adoring father. Nord Lafferty was already in his
fifties when Reba was born, and he could deny her nothing.
Over the years, he quietly settled her many scrapes with
the law, but he wasn't there for her when she was convicted
of embezzlement and sent to the California Institute for
Women. Now, at thirty-two, she is about to be paroled,
having served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence.
Nord Lafferty wants to be sure she stays straight, stays at
home and away from the drugs, the booze, the gamblers.
It seems a straightforward assignment for Kinsey: babysit
Reba until she settles in, make sure she follows all the
rules of her parole. Maybe a week's work. Nothing untoward -
- the woman seems remorseful and friendly. And the money is
good.
But life is never that simple, and Reba is out of prison
less than twenty-four hours when one of her old crowd comes
circling round.
Readers have come to expect the unexpected from Sue
Grafton, and "R" is for Ricochet is no exception. In
it, a complex and clever money-laundering scheme is just a
cover for a novel that is all about love: love gone wrong,
love betrayed, love denied. And love avenged. For Reba
Lafferty, its moral is clear; Sometimes what you hand out
in life comes back to bite you in the ass. Sometimes the
good guys win, even when they lose.