"S is for Silence" (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) by Grafton, Sue Hardcover

4.0 on Goodreads 29,954 ratings

California private investigator Kinsey Millhone is hired to solve a decades-old cold case in this “undeniably entertaining” (Los Angeles Times) #1 New York Times bestseller from Sue Grafton.

Cases don't get much colder than that of Violet Sullivan, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven-year-old named Daisy. But PI Kinsey Millhone has promised the now adult Daisy she'll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. All signs point to a runaway wife—the clothes that disappeared; the secret stash of money Violet bragged about; the brazen flirtations she indulged in with local men, including some married ones.

Kinsey tries to pick up a trail by speaking to those who remember Violet—and perhaps were more involved in her life than they let on. But the trail could lead her somewhere very dangerous. Because the case may have gone cold, but some people's feelings about Violet Sullivan still run as hot as ever...