In more pensive moments, all of us may admit to a chromosome or two that could be pruned from the family tree, but for Garrity blood is thicker even than Tim's stump of a brain. Despite his abuse, she undertakes to track Tim down, return the money and save his rind.

Micki Garrity could also be related to Kinsey Millhone, perhaps by some ancestral marriage performed under poetic license. Where Kinsey is a female private detective who lives and works on the west coast of the U.S., Garrity is a female PI who tools around the west coast of Florida. Where Kinsey once worked for, and pulls favours from a big insurance company, Garrity once worked for a big investigative agency whose employees still look up information for her. Where Kinsey re-establishes relations with lost family, Garrity has Tim.

With several books to her history, Kinsey is a fully developed character. A Favor for Zodiac is largely plot driven. Author J. Michael Blue takes characters into adventures and locations more for the fun of the chase than because they are the next logical steps. Readers could be forgiven for occasionally thinking "Unh uh, don't go there girl." Blue provides logical explanations, but the one instance where he develops a brief sub-plot, a near-romantic relationship with another detective, the story moves smoothly up a notch. Even the quips get funnier, and there are plenty of those.

Fast and funny is what A Favor For Zodiac is about. Kinsey Millhone fans will find amusement here while Sue Grafton contemplates the next letter of her alphabet.