Kinsey had been to the trial eight years previously and formed an opinion then – she felt that Nikki was innocent but with the length of time since it had all happened, the case was definitely a cold one. She would be starting from scratch on her very first case. As she began digging into the lives of the people who had been connected to the divorce lawyer – his ex-wife, his children, his law partner – she was frustrated. She couldn’t get anything to gel; nothing felt right. She travelled from California to LA, to Vegas, to the various places that she deemed necessary; but it seemed she had a lot of paperwork and not much else. I listened to the audiobook of A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton, narrated by Mary Peiffer and published by Books on Tape via OverDrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Okay. So, Kinsey is a private investigator who is looking into an old murder after the person who was wrongfully convicted gets out of prison. This story is completely procedural as she goes through her steps of solving the crime. Did I solve it before her? Yes. Of course I did. But, there was one little detail that surprised me, so that was fun. I didn't expect two different killers. a b c d e Myers, Marc (August 22, 2017). "Author Sue Grafton's Scary Childhood Home". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017 . Retrieved December 30, 2017. Why wait this long? You could have initiated an investigation from prison and maybe saved yourself some time.”

She nodded, relaxing almost imperceptibly. I pulled the coffeepot from the bottom of the file cabinet and filled it from the Sparkletts water bottle behind the door. I liked it that she didn't protest the trouble I was going to. I put in a filter paper and ground coffee and plugged in the pot. The gurgling sound was comforting, like the pump in an aquarium. Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" ( "A" Is for Alibi, etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W. Grafton, she said the strongest influence on her crime novels was author Ross Macdonald. Before her success with this series, she wrote screenplays for television movies. Even as recently as 2017, when announcing Grafton’s death, her daughter Jamie vocally upheld the promise to never let Grafton’s books be adapted. “[Sue] was adamant that her books would never be turned into movies or TV shows, and in that same vein, she would never allow a ghost writer to write in her name,” Jamie wrote on Facebook. “Because of all those things, and out of the deep abiding love and respect for our dear sweet Sue, as far as we in the family are concerned, the alphabet now ends at Y.”Said Humphrey, Grafton’s husband, in a statement: “We are thrilled to be joining with A+E Studios to introduce Kinsey Millhone to a new and wider audience . . . with the support of her family and children, we are committed to maintaining the tone and tenor of Sue’s books that fans love.” So, looks like we’ll be seeing an undead Grafton shortly. Grafton's mother killed herself in 1960 after returning home from an operation to remove esophageal cancer brought on by years of drinking and smoking. Her father died in 1982, a few months before "A" Is for Alibi was published. [9] Writing career [ edit ] a b c White, Claire E. "A Conversation with Sue Grafton". Writers Write . Retrieved February 8, 2007.

If You Want Something Done Right . . . (Published 2020) An unpublished story found among Sue Grafton's papers by her husband after her death and originally published in ’Deadly Anniversaries, edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini . [41]Reprinted in The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021 , edited by Lee Child. As early as 1991 Grafton had announced that the final book in the series would be called Z is for Zero, but after Y is for Yesterday she became ill with cancer and was unable even to begin that last novel. Her family ruled out further adaptations of her books or any use of ghostwriters to continue the Millhone series.

In the Superego podcast Season 3 Episode 14, guest star, actor and comedian, Rob Delaney impersonates Sue Grafton. [47] Grafton first married in 1959, aged 18, to James L. Flood, with whom she had a son and a daughter. The two divorced by the time Grafton graduated from college in 1961. Her second marriage was with Al Schmidt in 1962 but it ended with protracted divorce and custody proceedings over their daughter. [34]

A wonderful character, tough but not brutish, resourceful and sensitive, a fit knight to walk those mean streets with her male predecessors.” — Los Angeles Times on the Sue Grafton series and Kinsey Millhone I had thought her eyes were dark but I could see now that they were a metallic gray. Her look was level, flattened-out, as though some interior light were growing dim. She seemed to be a lady without much hope. I had never believed she was guilty myself but I couldn't remember what had made me so sure. She seemed passionless and I couldn't imagine her caring enough about anything to kill. This is the book that introduced Kinsey Millhone and helped inaugurate a new era in crime fiction when female investigators like Millhone and Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski could go toe-to-toe with the bad guys and more than hold their own with their male counterparts like Spenser, Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. Brantingham, Barney (April 29, 2010). "Just Who Is Kinsey Millhone?". Santa Barbara Independent . Retrieved December 30, 2017. A+E Studios announced this week that it had acquired rights to Grafton’s alphabet series, with such titles as A Is for Alibi and E Is for Evidence. Grafton completed 25 Millhone books, through Y Is for Yesterday, but died in 2017 before she could write a story for Z.a b Brantingham, Barney (July 1, 2008). "W Is for Writers Conference; Sue Grafton Is Kinsey Millhone". Santa Barbara Independent. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012 . Retrieved August 2, 2011. She is survived by Steven, and by three children, Leslie, Jamie and Jay, from her previous marriages. The Lying Game (2003) – a Kinsey Millhone short story which appeared in the September 2003 special 40th anniversary Lands' End catalogue. It also appeared as a separate pamphlet given to attendees at Malice Domestic 2011 conference, where Grafton was recognized for Lifetime Achievement. It is included in Kinsey and Me. Grafton, Sue (1982). "A" is for Alibi. Thorndike Press Large Print Famous Authors, 2008, in arrangement with Henry Holt & Company. p.5. ISBN 9781410406811. urn:lcp:aisforalibi00graf:epub:0cacc403-415f-48e8-adc5-a9744c56e82e Foldoutcount 0 Identifier aisforalibi00graf Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t1xd1jt0b Isbn 0553279912

I studied her for a moment. She was forthright and what she said made sense. Laurence Fife had been a difficult man. I hadn't been all that fond of him myself. If she was guilty, I couldn't see why she would stir it all up again. Her ordeal was over now and her so-called debt to society had been taken off the books except for whatever remaining parole she had to serve. Grafton’s daughter Jamie Clark reaffirmed her mother’s vow when announcing her death four years ago, but the author’s husband and executive producer of the series, Steve Humphrey, says he and the family have agreed that the times — and the medium — have changed.Nikki nodded. "Yes it was. He said you had a good memory. I don't like having to explain everything from scratch." Kinsey has solved the case she was hired to investigate; but in a plot twist, she discovers that her previous notions about the accountant's death were entirely wrong: in fact, it was Scorsoni who killed her when she discovered he was skimming dividend money from estate accounts under his management. Scorsoni used the same method that Gwen used to kill Fife, so it would be assumed the same person committed both murders. In a final confrontation, he chases Kinsey across the beach, armed with a knife. Kinsey hides in the shore line, and she is forced to remove her shoes and pants. Before Scorsoni can kill her, she shoots him dead.