Sue Grafton – författare

My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private investigator, licensed, bonded, insured; white, female, age thirty-two, unmarried, and physically fit. That Monday morning, I was sitting in my office with my feet up, wondering what life would bring, when a woman walked in and tossed a photograph on my desk. 'Somebody killed my husband.' Published thirty one years after A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton's Kinsey and Me, is her first compendium of short stories. It features nine Kinsey Millhone short stories, each a gem of detection, as well as autobiographical pieces written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much Kinsey Millhone is a distillation of her creator’s past, even as they reveal a child who, free of parental discipline, read everything and roamed everywhere. But the dark side of such freedom was that very parental distance . . .This dazzling and often moving collection displays the depth and range of Grafton’s writing and reminds us of her unique talent as a storyteller.

T is for Trespass is the twentieth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.It was like being in the presence of a snake, first hissing its presence and then coiled in readiness. I didn’t dare turn my back or take my eyes off of her. I stood very still. I let go of my fight-or-flight defense and decided to play dead. If you run from a bear, it gives chase. That’s the nature of the beast. Likewise a snake. If I moved, she might strike.When her elderly neighbour Gus has an accident, Kinsey Millhone is relieved when his niece organizes a nurse for him. Verifying a background check on Solana Rojas doesn’t turn up anything suspicious. But Kinsey’s not convinced – especially when Gus seems to be getting worse under his nurse’s tender care.Realizing that her neighbourly concern isn’t going to get her past the front door Kinsey turns to more unorthodox methods to step up her investigation. And gets far more than she bargained for . . .Not only is Solana not who she seems to be but she’s more than able to play Kinsey at her own game. Suddenly the tables have turned and it’s Kinsey who’s on the wrong side of the law . . .

U is for Undertow is the twenty-first in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.In 1960s Santa Teresa, California, a child is kidnapped and never returned . . .When the case is reopened after twenty years, a man - Michael Sutton - contacts private detective Kinsey Millhone for help. He claims to have recalled a strange and disturbing memory which just might provide the key to the mystery. He may have stumbled across the kidnappers burying Mary Claire Fitzhugh’s body . . .But Michael’s account is indistinct – he was only six years old at the time of the kidnapping; and even members of his family try to discredit his evidence. But Kinsey is certain there is something vital within Michael’s recollections. And even when what is eventually unearthed isn’t what anyone expected, she can’t quite let go of the case.As Kinsey gradually brings to light the stories of the protagonists involved in the tragedy, from Country Club parents to their free-living, hippy children, the truth finally begins to emerge. And while stepping back into the past, Kinsey discovers more about her own history too . . .

V is for Vengeance is the twenty-second in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton. Las Vegas, 1986. A young college graduate is murdered when he is unable to pay back a loan funded by notorious criminal Lorenzo Dante.Two years later private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds herself assisting to apprehend a shoplifter - Audrey Vance - in a shopping centre. Events take a much darker turn when Audrey's body is discovered beneath the Cold Spring Bridge, a local suicide spot.Unable to believe she took her own life, Audrey's fiancé Marvin Striker hires Kinsey to investigate. It soon emerges that the shoplifter had become caught up in a much larger operation.Meanwhile Lorenzo Dante has begun to grow weary of his life in organized crime and frustrated with his violent and impulsive younger brother Cappi. While the police net begins to close in on him, Dante meets the beautiful Nora, who exerts a powerful pull over the gangster.As Kinsey’s enquiries reach a dramatic head, it becomes clear that she and Dante have one thing in common – they must be careful who they trust . . .

W is for Wasted is the twenty-third in the Kinsey Millhone alphabet mystery series by Sue Grafton. Two dead men changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I'd never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.The first was a local private investigator of suspect reputation. He'd been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He'd been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with private investigator Kinsey Millhone's name and number was in his trouser pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange links begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey finds the key to his identity . . .In this multi-layered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised . . .

My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private investigator, licensed, bonded, insured; white, female, age thirty-two, unmarried, and physically fit. That Monday morning, I was sitting in my office with my feet up, wondering what life would bring, when a woman walked in and tossed a photograph on my desk. 'Somebody killed my husband.' Published thirty one years after A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton's Kinsey and Me, is her first compendium of short stories. It features nine Kinsey Millhone short stories, each a gem of detection, as well as autobiographical pieces written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much Kinsey Millhone is a distillation of her creator’s past, even as they reveal a child who, free of parental discipline, read everything and roamed everywhere. But the dark side of such freedom was that very parental distance . . .This dazzling and often moving collection displays the depth and range of Grafton’s writing and reminds us of her unique talent as a storyteller.

S is for Silence is the nineteenth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.Just after Independence Day in July 1953 Violet Sullivan, a local good time girl living in Serena Station Southern California, drives off in her brand new Chevy and is never seen again. Left behind is her young daughter, Daisy, and Violet's impetuous husband, Foley, who had been persuaded to buy his errant wife the car only days before . . .Now, thirty-five years later, Daisy wants closure.Reluctant to open such an old cold case Kinsey Millhone agrees to spend five days investigating, believing at first that Violet simply moved on to pastures new. But very soon it becomes clear that a lot of people shared a past with Violet, a past that some are still desperate to keep hidden. And in a town as close-knit as Serena there aren't many places to hide when things turn vicious . . .

V is for Vengeance is the twenty-second in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton. Las Vegas, 1986. A young college graduate is murdered when he is unable to pay back a loan funded by notorious criminal Lorenzo Dante.Two years later private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds herself assisting to apprehend a shoplifter - Audrey Vance - in a shopping centre. Events take a much darker turn when Audrey's body is discovered beneath the Cold Spring Bridge, a local suicide spot.Unable to believe she took her own life, Audrey's fiancé Marvin Striker hires Kinsey to investigate. It soon emerges that the shoplifter had become caught up in a much larger operation.Meanwhile Lorenzo Dante has begun to grow weary of his life in organized crime and frustrated with his violent and impulsive younger brother Cappi. While the police net begins to close in on him, Dante meets the beautiful Nora, who exerts a powerful pull over the gangster.As Kinsey’s enquiries reach a dramatic head, it becomes clear that she and Dante have one thing in common – they must be careful who they trust . . .

W is for Wasted is the twenty-third in the Kinsey Millhone alphabet mystery series by Sue Grafton. Two dead men changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I'd never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.The first was a local private investigator of suspect reputation. He'd been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He'd been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with private investigator Kinsey Millhone's name and number was in his trouser pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange links begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey finds the key to his identity . . .In this multi-layered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised . . .

R is for Ricochet is the eighteenth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.Kinsey Millhone, employed by Nord Lafferty to drive his daughter home from her incarceration at the Californian Institute for Women, marvels at the simplicity of the task. But Reba Lafferty emerges feisty and rebellious, and Kinsey is soon fighting to prevent her charge from breaking the conditions of her parole.As she finds herself befriending the ex-gambler, ex-alcoholic and ex-con, Kinsey discovers that Reba had taken the fall for her boss, also her lover, when he conducted a highly-crafted money laundering scam. Alan Beckwith has so far escaped the clutches of the FBI. Now they believe he is laundering money for a Columbian drug cartel - they just need the proof.When Kinsey is asked by the police to persuade Reba to unveil crucial evidence guaranteed to put Beckwith behind bars, she doesn’t expect cooperation. But when she hears of shocking new information about her lover, Reba is suddenly all too eager to do everything she can to ruin him.Embroiled in a cunning challenge of wits, and meanwhile bemused by her own blossoming romance, Kinsey must try to control the bitter, angry Reba as she launches her dangerous revenge . . .

O is for Outlaw is the fifteenth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.First there was a phone call from a stranger, then a letter showed up fourteen years after it was sent. That's how I learned I'd made a serious error in judgement and ended up risking my life . . .'The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. Last weekend he bought a stack. They had stuff in them – Kinsey stuff. For thirty bucks, he'll sell her the lot. Kinsey's never been one for personal possessions, but curiosity wins out and she hands over a twenty (she may be curious but she loves a bargain). What she finds amid childhood memorabilia is an old undelivered letter.It will force her to re-examine her beliefs about the break-up of her first marriage, about the honour of her first husband, about an old unsolved murder. And it will put her life in the gravest peril.

I is for Innocent is the ninth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.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 . . .

Grafton masterfully tells the story of Kinsey Millhone in A is for Alibi, the beginning of a must-read mystery series. The Alphabet series continues with another gripping investigation in B is for Burglar.My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private investigator, licensed by the state of California. I’m thirty-two years old, twice divorced, no kids. The day before yesterday I killed someone and the fact weighs heavily on my mind . . .When Laurence Fife was murdered, few cared. A slick divorce attorney with a reputation for ruthlessness, Fife was also rumoured to be a slippery ladies’ man. Plenty of people in the picturesque Southern California town of Santa Teresa had reason to want him dead. Including, thought the cops, his young and beautiful wife, Nikki. With motive, access and opportunity, Nikki was their number one suspect. The Jury thought so too.Eight years later and out on parole, Nikki Fife hires PI Kinsey Millhone to find out who really killed her husband. But the trail has gone cold and there is a chilling twist even Kinsey didn’t expect . . .

Winner of the Anthony Award for Best Novel, C is for Corpse is the third in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a licensed private investigator . . . thirty-two, twice divorced. I like being alone and I suspect that my independence suits me better than it should . . .Kinsey met Bobby Callahan in the gym on Monday morning.His story was hard to credit: a murderous assault by a tailgating car on a lonely rural road, a roadside smash into a canyon 400 feet below, his Porsche a ruin, his best friend dead, and his memory severely impaired. He was convinced someone was trying to kill him.By Thursday, he was dead.But Kinsey wasn’t going back on a deal. She had been hired to prevent a murder. Now she was looking for the murderer . . .

J is for Judgement is the tenth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.On the face of it, you wouldn't think there was any connection between the murder of a dead man and the events that changed my perceptions about my life...For Kinsey Millhone, the investigation started with a surprise visit from an ex-colleague at California Fidelity - the company that had fired her nine months previously.Fives hours later she was on a plane to Mexico, hot on the trial of a suicide who'd allegedly just come back to life. After a five year wait, Wendell Jaffe's widow had finally succeeded in having the real estate swindler declared dead, collecting half a million dollars for her pains. Now it looks like a 'pseudocide' - and Kinsey's ready to risk everything to get to the truth . . .

Winner of the first Anthony Award for Best Novel, B is for Burglar is the second in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.Female, age thirty-two, self-employed and wiser than she used to be. For Kinsey Millhone, private investigator, only one thing stays the same. When a client sits down in the chair across the desk, she never knows what’s going to happen next . . .There was nothing about Beverly Danziger to cause Kinsey concern. She was looking for her sister. There was a will to be settled. She paid up front. And if it seemed a lot of money for a routine job, Kinsey wasn’t going to argue.She kicked herself later for the things she didn’t see – Beverly Danziger did not look as if she needed a few thousand dollars and she didn’t seem like someone longing for a family reunion. But just as Kinsey begins to suspect foul play and start asking questions, Beverly Danziger pulls her off the case and fires her . . .

Q is for Quarry is the seventeenth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton and is based on a true crime.She was a 'Jane Doe', an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on, and after months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved.That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case . . . and they turn to Kinsey Millhone to help them find closure.But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.Based on an unsolved homicide that occurred in 1969, Q is for Quarry and Grafton's interest in the case have renewed police efforts. The body has been exhumed, and a facial reconstruction made that appears in the last pages of the novel. It is hoped that the photograph will trigger memories that may lead to a positive identification.

H is for Homicide is the eighth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.It was one of those occasions when I suddenly realised how happy I was. I was female, single, with money in my pocket . . . I had nobody to answer to and no ties to speak of. As usual I’d forgotten how surges of goodwill merely presage bad news.After a three-week-long investigation, Kinsey couldn’t wait to get home.What she needed most was a few quiet days by herself – but two things happened to change all her plans. First she ran into a murder case. Then Kinsey met Bibianna Diaz, and before the night was over they were sharing a prison cell . . .

N is for Noose is the fourteenth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.Sometimes I think about how odd it would be to catch a glimpse of the future, a quick view of events lying in store for us. Some moments we saw would make no sense at all and some, I suspect, would frighten us beyond our endurance . . .Early spring in the Sierra Nevada, bringing the usual driving sleet and snow. Private investigator Kinsey Millhone is on her way west when she detours into Nota Lake (pop. 2356) to check out a new client. And encounters a chill she can scarcely believe.Only six weeks have passed since sheriff’s detective Tom Newquist died of a heart attack. His widow is sure he was keeping secrets from her just before he died – and she hires Kinsey to find out exactly what.But all Kinsey can uncover is that Newquist led an exemplary life, so what could he possibly have to conceal? And why has the town, to the last threatening redneck, closed ranks on her?Kinsey’s on the point of giving up. Until she discovers a chilling new clue: a childish drawing of a thick length of rope – fashioned into a hangman’s noose . . .

L is for Lawless is the twelfth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.It was the week before Thanksgiving when Kinsey Millhone first heard the sad story of the late Johnny Lee, the World War II fighter pilot of whom, rather mysteriously, the military authorities have no record. His family are concerned – perhaps Kinsey could make a few calls, straighten things out?Then Johnny's apartment is ransacked. In the debris a hidden safe is uncovered – and in that safe is a mysterious key marked LAWLESS.That night Kinsey's on a plane to Dallas, at the start of a thrilling rollercoaster ride through Texas and Kentucky on the trail of long-buried treasure. Unfortunately there's a fire-raising psychopath on her tail . . .And she's going to be late for a very important wedding . . .

G is for Gumshoe is the seventh in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.For the record, the name is Kinsey Millhone. Private investigator. One hundred and eighteen pounds of female in a five-foot six-inch frame. Just turned thirty-three (after what seemed like an interminable twelve months of being thirty-two) . . .Three things happened on May 5, the day everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Kinsey Millhone.The repairs were completed on her apartment, and she moved back in. She was hired by Mrs Clyde Gersh to bring her mother back from the Mojave Desert.And lastly, a real surprise. The news that she’d made one of the top slots on Tyrone Patty’s hit list . . .

F is for Fugitive is the sixth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m thirty-two years old, twice married, no kids, currently unattached and likely to remain so given my disposition, which is cautious at best . . .Seventeen years had passed since Jean Timberlake’s body had been found at the foot of the sea wall.At the time, Bailey Fowler, an ex-boyfriend of hers, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Now he’d changed his tune.Kinsey Millhone is called in to solve the case – then she stumbles on the dark secrets of a family’s buried past . . .

K is for Killer is the eleventh in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.Lorna Kepler was beautiful and wilful, a loner who couldn't resist flirting with danger. She has also been found dead in mysterious circumstances and her death pulls Kinsey Millhone into a netherworld of deception, betrayal and unavenged murder . . .

E is for Evidence is the fifth in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton.Anyone who knows me will tell you that I cherish my unmarried state. I’m female, twice divorced, no kids and no close family ties. I’m perfectly content to do what I do . . .It was two days after Christmas when Kinsey Millhone received the bank slip showing a credit for five thousand dollars.The account number was correct but Kinsey hadn’t made the deposit.Then came the phone call and suddenly everything became clear. The frame-up was working and Kinsey was trapped . . .