A is for Alibi: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series Book 1)

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Grafton died at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara on December 28, 2017, after a two-year battle with cancer of the appendix. [1] [22] [38] [10] Grafton was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, the Ross Macdonald Literary Award, three Shamus Awards, and many other honors and awards. Kinsey at the time of his book is 32 and twice divorced. A private investigator who is able to pay the bills. She is hired by a woman who was convicted of murdering her husband. The woman claimed she is innocent and wants to find out who really killed her husband. Kindly ends up investigating this and another case of a young woman who also died by the same means. In this one, it's all about divorce and a cheating ex-husband. Nikki, not very likable, is released from prison and goes straight to Kinsey for help. She served time for killing her husband, but she claims she didn't do it. Years later, she wants answers so she can move on with her life. And she gets them. Kinsey finds a second body and actually has to protect herself. Right out of the gate, you know this series won't be a traditional cozy. But at the same time, it's a very formulaic story. And that's OK... I like those, too. The series begins with "A" Is for Alibi, published and set in 1982. "B" Is for Burglar, followed, then "C" Is for Corpse, each novel's title combining a letter with a word, except X. After the publication of "G" Is for Gumshoe, Grafton was able to quit her screenwriting job and focus on her writing. [16] Since the publication of "A" is for Alibi, a new episode was released each year or so. [19] The name of each book was a source of speculation. [20] In May 2009, Grafton told Media Bistro that she was "just trying to figure out how to get from "U" is for Undertow to "Z" Is for Zero" [21] and that "just because she knows the endgame title for Z [...] doesn't mean she knows what V, W, X, and Y will be". [19] Grafton said that the series would end with "Z" Is for Zero, but she died before she could begin writing it. Her daughter said Grafton would never allow a ghostwriter to write in her name and "as far as we in the family are concerned, the alphabet now ends at Y." [22]

Genzlinger, Neil (December 29, 2017). "Sue Grafton, Whose Detective Novels Spanned the Alphabet, Dies at 77". The New York Times . Retrieved December 30, 2017. 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's introduction of a young, no-nonsense female private detective in the Alphabet Mystery series was ground-breaking at the time when A is for Alibi was first released in 1982. Until the creation of Kinsey Milhone and V.I. Warshawski, created by Sarah Paretsky, in Indemnity Only, also in 1982, private detectives in fiction were almost always male. [42] 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. 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.A" Is for Alibi is the first mystery novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series, and was published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1982. Featuring sleuth Kinsey Millhone, it is set in the southern California city of Santa Teresa, the nom de plume for Santa Barbara. She wrote the book during a divorce and admits about her husband that she "would lie in bed at night thinking of ways to kill him". [1] The New York Times gave the book a lukewarm review. 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. Why wait this long? You could have initiated an investigation from prison and maybe saved yourself some time."

And, despite this reading a little bit like an old Murder She Wrote episode, I liked Kinsey. She was very human and easy to understand. She wasn't a special snowflake. She wasn't so beautiful that every guy wanted her. She wasn't even the smartest person in the room most of the time. But, I found her likable because of all of that. Maybe you’ve heard this one before,” she went on, “but I didn’t kill Laurence and I want you to find out who did.”

She had motive. She had access. The grand jury heard the evidence and returned an indictment. Once she got into court, it was simply a question of who could persuade twelve citizens of what. Apparently the D.A. had done his homework. Nikki hired Wilfred Brentnell from Los Angeles: a legal whiz with a reputation as the patron saint of lost causes. In some sense, it was almost like admitting her guilt. The whole trial had a sensational air. Nikki was young. She was pretty. She was born with money. The public was curious and the town was small. It was all too good to miss. Grafton never wanted her novels to be turned into movies or TV shows. According to her family she would never allow a ghost writer to write in her name. Because of these things, and out of respect for Sue’s wishes, the family announced the alphabet now ends at “ Y” Kim, Victoria (December 29, 2017). "Famed Mystery writer Sue Grafton loses battle against cancer". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 16, 2018.