In her late twenties, she went freelance and still doing it.
P.I. Kinsey Millhone was offered a job to find the missing fourth son of Bader Malek, who recently died. When this missing brother Guy Malek left home 18 years ago because of arrests for drugs and drinking, his father wrote a new will, leaving nothing to his prodigal son. But now that will is missing , so Guy will inherit $5 million, if he is still alive. Three Malek brothers; Donovan, Bennet, and Jack are hoping that Guy is dead or unfindable so they can split his share of the fortune. But Kinsey discovers Guy, living a few hundred miles away from Santa Teresa, working as a gentle and attractive church janitor. On page 161, Kinsey says, "Guy Malek had emotional accounts to pay. At the time he left home, he was messed up on drugs. He"d been in a lot of trouble and alienated just about everyone. Once he was settled in Marcella, he cleaned up his act, but he"d left a lot of unfinished business. He said he wanted to make his peace." Kinsey thinks Malek family is immature, so she advises Guy against accepting their invitation to visit until he has seen a lawyer. She fears they will pressure him to turn down his inheritance and make life miserable for him. She isn't fond of Guy's three brothers who are never-do-well, quarrelsome, and loathsome. But Guy does return, and real unpleasantness begins. Kinsey has to sort through Maleks, Money, Missing people, and Memories.and what she ends up with you will never guess is Murder. She figures the murder is linked to Guy's troubled past and sets out successfully to prove her point. On page , Kinsey says, "I was struck by the fact that Guy's circumstances were oddly reminiscent of mine. Both of us trying to assimilate fractured family connections. At least he welcomed his, though he"d misunderstood the purpose of my visit." When Guy is found dead, Kinsey understands a fact that she has developed an affection for Guy, perhaps because his family problems remind her of her own troubled past.