Sue Grafton
'A' Is for Alibi (1982)
Author: Sue Grafton
Genre: Mystery (Private Detective)
Plot Summary:
Nikki Fife has served eight years in prison for poisoning her husband, Laurence, by dosing his antihistamine capsules with ground oleander. Yet upon her release, Nikki still maintains her innocence, hiring private investigator, Kinsey Millhone to expose the real murderer. The list of suspects is a long one: as a divorce attorney and notorious womanizer, Laurence Fife had more than his fair share of enemies. The complexity mounts when Kinsey's search through the police department's homicide dossier on Laurence Fife reveals a second murder which seems related to the first: Just days after Fife was killed, Libby Glass, the young accountant for Fife's firm, was poisoned to death by ingesting a tranquilizer capsule filled with ground oleander. Key players in the mystery are Fife's law partner, Charlie Scorsoni, who is not very expansive on the subject of either murder, but is nevertheless willing to become Kinsey's lover until she realizes the folly of sleeping with a suspect; Gwen Fife, Laurence's former wife whoin her initial interview with Kinsey seems to have put her past with Laurence behind her; Lyle Abernathy, Libby Glass's former boyfriend who is now a brooding, frustated, pot-smoking construction worker; Charlotte Mercer, an embittered, alchoholic judge's wife with whom Laurence Fife has a fling until he decides to leave her for something "young and hot"; and Sharon Napier, Fife's sarcastic, secretary who seems to have had some sort of power or leverage over the attorney. SPOILER: Gwen Fife is the "something young and hot" for whom Laurence Fife drops Charlotte Mercer like a cold potato. The affair rekindles all of Gwen's frustrations with her former spouse so that ultimately she decides to murder him. Fife's murder also offers Charlie Scorsoni the perfect cover up for his embezzling activities, which have come to the attention of the firm's accountant, Libby Glass. Scorsoni not only poisons Glass, he also murders Gwen Fife and Sharon Napier when it becomes clear that these two women could help
Kinsey put all of the pieces together.
Geographical Setting: Santa Teresa, California; Los Angeles, California; Las Vegas, Nevada.
Time Period: Early 1980's
Series: Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series
Appeal Characteristics:
Clearly, one of the chief appeal characteristics of Grafton's first Alphabet series novel is the main character, Kinsey Millhone. Far from being some sort of idealized heroine, we like Kinsey as much for her weaknesses as her strengths. Kinsey's seemingly endless contradictions make her somehow more real to us: She is a dedicated jogger; yet her spurts of physical fitness often end with a trip to McDonald's for a Quarter Pounder with fries. She has a tough as nails exterior while repeatedly revealing a softer, more vulnerable interior. Secondly, the story is nicely paced. Grafton seems to make this work by contrasting action scenes (in which someone pursues or is pursued) with several leisurely interludes (in which Kinsey unwinds at her small studio, indulging in a little introspection as well as some "I've been single too long"-style cuisine). This pacing works hand in hand with another appeal which concerns Grafton's implementation of a puzzle-style plot. With the end of each chapter, one cannot help but turn each character over in one's mind, wondering, "Who is the murderer?" We are left dangling until about the last third of the book, when the pieces begin to fall into place and the intensity is turned up a notch or two. A final appeal characteristic concerns the mood and atmosphere of the story. On the one hand, this is largely achieved through Kinsey's narrative voice and through the story's dialogue scenes, both of which effectively render the hard-boiled world of cynical cops, shyster lawyers, insurance scammers, sleazy hotel clerks, and so on. On the other hand, the mood is further embellished by the atmospheric backdrop of Santa Teresa, the city where most of the story's events take place. With its palm trees, Spanish architecture, winding streets and mountain/ocean views, Santa Teresa is like a silent character whose presence we nevertheless often see and feel.
Read-alikes: If readers enjoy 'A' is for Alibi, then they will very likely want to try some of Grafton's other Alphabet Series books. Other authors who similarly feature a sharp, slightly offbeat, female private investigator are: Marcia Muller (Wolf in the Shadows, 1993, an Anthony Award-winner); Linda Barnes (Snapshot, 1993, an Anthony and Shamus Award-winner); Sara Paretsky (Bloodshot, 1988, a Dagger Award-winner); and Laura Lippman (Charm City, 1997, an Edgar and Shamus Award-winner). Readers may also enjoy the Anna Pigeon mysteries of Nevada Barr, such as Track of the Cat (1993), an Anthony and Agatha Award-winner. Honorable mention should also go to Ross MacDonald (pseudonym of Ken Millar) whose novels Underground Man (1971) and The Blue Hammer (1976) are set in Santa Teresa (the author's alias for his permanent residence, Santa Barbara). As a sort of hommage to MacDonald, and perhaps due to the fact that she is herself a Santa Barbara resident, Grafton would also adopt Santa Teresa as the setting for most of her mysteries.
Red Flags: Violence, profane language, sex.
'B' Is for Burglar (1985)
Author: Sue Grafton
Genre:Mystery (Private Investigator)
Plot Summary:
What starts out as a routine missing person case turns into a complicated who done it. Beverly Danziger is looking for her sister Elaine Boldt, and asks private detective Kinsey Millhone to find her. Kinsey soon finds out that this is anything but routine as she finds herself caught in the middle of something much more sinister.
Geographical Setting: Santa Theresa, California (fictional version of Santa Monica, CA)
Time Period: 1984
Series: second book in the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries (“The Alphabet Mysteries”) starting with 'A' is for Alibi. Sue Grafton is now up to the letter 's'.
Appeal Characteristics:
The story line is complex and well thought out, it keeps you guessing throughout the story. Kinsey Millhone is a great character, with character flaws and personal baggage if you will, which helps readers identify with her. The setting while in California lacks the big town feel, and feels much more like a place where nothing really exiting ever takes place. It almost seems like a ghost town the way Sue describes neighborhoods. Life in the town moves in slow motion and you get the feeling that almost everyone works elsewhere. Similar to the slow pace of the town the pace of the story is even slower. Sue offers a lot of detail for her places and characters but this seems to be unhelpful to the pace. While the whole case takes less than a week, it seems like a lot longer.
Read-alikes: Jan Burke wrote a book on writing mysteries with Grafton and her Irene Kelly mysteries (the first is Goodnight, Irene) feature a female sleuth; Linda Barnes’ Carlotta Carlyle mystery series (the first is A Trouble of Fools) features a female P.I. in Boston; Janet Evonovich’s Stephanie Plum series (the first is One for the Money) has a female investigator with a bit more humor; also try Barbara D’Amato’s Cat Marsala series (the first is Hardball) and Nancy Bartholomew’s Sierra Lavotini mysteries (the first is The Miracle Strip).
Red Flags: strong langauge, graphic scenes of violence
'K' is for Killer (1994)
Author: Sue Grafton
Genre: Mystery (Private Investigator)
Plot Summary:
Twenty something Lorna Kepler was found lying face down dead wearing nothing but her underwear. Her body was already so far into decomposition that the police were not able to determine a cause of death. Some months later, a pornographic tape starring Lorna is anonymously sent to her mother. With tape in hand Mrs. Kepler hires the sassy and seasoned private investigator Kinsey Millhone to uncover what really happened to her daughter. SPOILER: Through many twists and turns of character, Kinsey discovers that Lorna's sister sent the tape to discredit her 'good girl' image, that Lorna was a full-time high class prostitute, and that she was killed for who she knew rather than what.
Geographical Setting: Santa Teresa, California; San Francisco, California
Time Period: Contemporary (1994)
Series: 11th book in Kinsey Millhone Mysteries (aka the ‘Alphabet’ Series)
Appeal Characteristics:
Grafton's writing is fast paced and refreshingly natural with an entertaining frankness to it. Kinsey Millhone is strong but still able to cheek around without being corny. The female P.I. has a faintly familiar persona of a sarcastic old friend. The secondary characters Kinsey comes across in her journey are also intriguing through many plot twists. Grafton's cinematic writing provides a detailed urban setting and a slightly humorous however hard edged tone to her sassy PI's voice.
Read-alikes: For someone who enjoyed the sunny California setting and Kinsey Millhone's hard edge try Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone mystery series beginning with the first title Edwin of the Iron Shoes about finding the killer of an antique dealer in San Francisco. For someone who enjoyed the memorable secondary characters, but still wants a 'Kinsey' try Barbara D'Amato's Cat Marsala Mysteries beginning with Hardball. Cat is a Chicago journalist turned amateur sleuth when a drug legalization activist is bombed to death before her eyes she refuses to stand idly by and uses her well-connected close friends around the city to find the killer. Readers may also enjoy Jewish Los Angeles true-crime writer turned detective Molly Blume in Rochelle Krich's series beginning with Blues in the Night. While writing an article for her local paper Molly cannot help becoming involved with the hit and run murder of a woman found in her nightgown in the middle of nowhere. For those who enjoyed the nitty-gritty clues, try one of Ann Rule's true crime novels. Perhaps Rule's latest, Green River, Running Red, which gives great detail to the reasoning behind and the search for the serial killer of almost 50 women, is a good starting point. For a visual equal to Grafton's lovable P.I. try the television series Magnum P.I. starring Tom Selleck released by Universal Studios. Magnum casts the same bright light on Hawaii that Kinsey does for California while solving crime too difficult or strange for the local law enforcement to handle. His adventures are just as curious, fun, and dark at times - sure to be intriguing for any lover of the Private Investigator sub-genre.
Red Flags: The book centers around the life of a prostitute. There is a scene with a cross-dresser, some graphic violence, and some language.
'R' Is for Ricochet (2004)
Author: Sue Grafton
Genre/Subgenre: Mystery/Detective
Plot Summary:
The protagonist is Kinsey Millhone, a thirty-something private detective. She is hired by the wealthy Nord Lafferty to watch over his daughter, Reba, during her first few days out of prison in order to keep her from violating the terms of her parole. In spending time with Reba, Kinsey discovers that Reba went to prison to cover for her former boss, who was also her lover. Her former boss, Beck, is laundering money and under surveillance by the authorities. The man that Kinsey begins a relationship with, Cheney, also a police officer, solicits her help in procuring Reba’s aid in building a case against Beck. After discovering that Beck is dating her best friend, Reba begins acting erratically, drawing Kinsey into illegal actions against Beck. Kinsey has to negotiate Reba’s unpredictable behavior, Nord’s urging to help Reba, Cheney’s request to keep her distance from Reba and Beck’s growing suspicions.
Geographical Setting: Santa Teresa, California
Time Period: Late 1980s
Series: Part of the Kinsey Millhone "alphabet" mysteries
Appeal Characteristics:
The book delves into the personality and lives of all its characters. The book is relatively even-paced until the last few chapters, when the action speeds up considerably. The intended audience is women.
Similar Authors: Linda Barnes, Carlotta Carlyle, Nevada Barr, Anna Pigeon, etc. [see also]
Red Flags: the book contains sexual references but no graphic description. A little strong language is included.
|top|
|
