"A" is for Alibi
Author: Sue Grafton
Genre: Mystery/Crime/Detective Fiction/Thriller
Publication Date: April 15, 1982
Number of Pages: 275
Publisher: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston
Geographical Setting: Santa Teresa, California, LA, California and Las Vegas, Nevada
Series Information: This is the first book of the Kinsey Millhone or "Alphabet" series. This series ended on the letter Y when the author passed away and asked that her series not be written by a ghost writer.
Subject Headings: Women detective, women private investigator, mystery, California, cold case
Summary: Kinsey Millhone is an ex-cop turned private investigator. Kinsey is straightforward, likes her wine, a loner, and does not like when her clues don't add up. Nikki Fife shows up at her doorstep wanting Kinsey's help to figure out who murdered her husband 8 years ago. Nikki has already served time for the crime and Kinsey is intrigued enough to take the case. She appreciates Nikki's honesty and reasoning behind wanting the case reopened. As she starts to look into the murder of Laurence Fife she finds another murder that occurred within days of Laurence's. She finds it odd that the police never tried to connect the two since Laurence knew the accountant, Libby Glass, and they died the same way. Kinsey goes from Santa Teresa to LA to Las Vegas to track down who committed the crime. She wants justice for those who have died and as the case goes on she starts to question if her gut instincts about those who were in Laurence's life and if they could have committed murder. Laurence was not a good man so there were many people who preferred him dead 8 years ago. In the end Kinsey finds out who did it and is thrown for a loop.
Mystery Elements:
Order (justice) to be reestablished is a big theme throughout the book. Kinsey comes into contact with all the people who knew Laurence Fife best and his death has had different impacts on each of them. Kinsey sees how much Nikki wants justice and as she delves deeper into the crime at hand she wants justice for Laurence Fife and Libby Glass. This comes in twists and turns as clues come to light that are not interconnected. Kinsey wants her life to go back to normal as the plot thickens.
Focus on the investigator is another key element throughout the story. Readers find out about who Kinsey Millhone really is and reasons behind why she not only investigates in a certain way but why she quit the force. This story follows Kinsey's life as much as it follows the investigation. We learn about her day to day life and what brought her to where she is today.
3 Terms to describe the book:
- authentic main character
- plot-driven
- suspenseful
- Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
- One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
- Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky
- Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
- 1st to Die by James Patterson
Abby,
ReplyDeleteGreat annotation! I feel like I really got a feel for this book. I appreciate that you included information about the author's passing. My grandma has read this entire series and was so devastated when the author passed before she could finish the last one. I hadn't heard that she requested to not have a ghost writer, I will definitely need to pass that along to my grandma as she has still been holding out. Great job!
Hi Darla,
DeleteThank you! I loved the book and cannot wait to read the others. The library I work at did a display for her and her books when we found out she had passed. I had not read the books but was a huge fan of hers and a few of us cried reading the statement the family put out. They wanted to respect her wishes. I also believe she had not started the last book but I may be wrong. I hope your grandma does not get too sad when she finds out.
Abby
Darla,
DeleteHer is a link (https://www.bookbub.com/blog/sue-grafton-z-is-for-zero-mystery-book) to an article that talks about her series and the comment made by the family when she passed. It explains what will never happen with the Kinsey Millhone series.
I do admit, I love a story with women detectives as the main characters! It's sad that the series ends on a cliffhanger, but your annotation definitely has me interested. I can't imagine being so close to finishing my goal and then dusting out. It's a little depressing but I think that makes the series all the more important to read. I'm glad the publisher honored the author's wishes in the end.
ReplyDeleteHello,
DeleteYeah, she had cancer for a couple of years and had made it clear she wanted to be the only writer of her series. I am also curious if she had an idea for what her last book would have been about. I'm just glad her wishes were honored. I think if you like women detectives and ones that are VERY straightforward then I highly recommend this series. Thank you for the comment!
As a huge fan of Dr. Brennan from BONES, I think being straightforward is a requirement for my lady detective characters. Thanks so much for the response!
DeleteI love Dr. Brennan. My husband and I just restarted watching the series. Happy reading!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Abby,
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to see an annotation for this book/series! I have been meaning to pick it up for years, but I always end up either reading something specific for a class or sticking with authors I know. I've read 3 out of the 5 authors on your read-alikes list, and I enjoyed all of them, especially Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I like mystery novels with women leads, so I think that this series would be right up my alley. I also appreciate you sharing information about why the series is unfinished. I knew that it was unfinished, but I wasn't sure why, and I didn't know that it was the author's wish that no one finish the series but her. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Nicole,
DeleteThank you for the comment! I was worried about my choices for read-alikes since I have not read them before. I'm glad to hear I have one person that has read part of them and enjoyed them! I hope you get a chance to read more books for fun.
This series is still soo popular! I've never read any of her books but like you I was sad (and heartened) by the statement her family made about honoring her wishes and leaving the series as is. EXCELLENT annotation. Full points!
ReplyDelete