I feel compelled to report that at the moment of death, my entire life did not pass before my eyes in a flash ...What I experienced was a little voice piping up in an outraged tone: "Oh come on. You`re not serious. This is really it?" It was a Monday early in December when Kinsey Millhone first got involved in the Isabelle Barney murder case. She was out of work. Attorney Lonnie Klingman`s usual private investigator had just dropped dead of a heart attack. Kinsey was more than happy to oblige. The trouble started on the very first day of the investigation. Either Kinsey`s predecessor was incompetent -- or someone had been getting away with murder. And next time it might turn out to be hers ...`Terrific build-up to a satisfyingly shocking climax. This edges Kinsey to the top of my personal American private-eye hit parade` The Times