Mystery Annotation: "A" is for Alibi

 "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

Read-Alikes

• 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

References for the Mystery Element Section:

Wyatt, N. & Saricks, J. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd ed.). ALA Editions.

Week 7 Prompt

 For this week's prompt I am going to talk a little bit about hoaxes and about when I learned as a child the difference between fiction and nonfiction works. 

The New Yorker article we had to read about was fascinating to me. I think the biggest takeaway I got from it is that people want to believe in the story that is in front of them. Some people will not care if the author is false and others will think it is the most appalling act to the literary world and the books should no longer be taken seriously. To those who are appalled I just have one question, do you not like the book because you found out the author is not who you wanted it to be? If a book can be read authentically by people and win awards then what is the big deal? Everyone reads certain books for a reason. I think with nonfiction work people forget that authors have to write something that draws them in and keeps readers wanting more. This means stories will be dramatized and possibly fictionalized. 

For me, I think people, including myself, care too much about the person behind the book. I could even say this branches out to other industries like film. People have become fascinated with writers and creators of works and if the person does not live up to their expectations they can see the works in a different light. I am someone who will look up authors and actors/actresses to find out what their life stories are. I am not saying I don't hope they are slightly what I picture in my head. I also am one that cares more about what I think about the work that is being put before me than who created it. I want the story, not the person behind it. If it is an autobiography I look at it the same way I look at "reality" television. It cannot be completely true and unscripted. I do not see the big deal with the hoaxes of authors writing under different names. I say this because many beloved authors used/use pseudonyms to branch out from their known genre. Look at Nora Roberts for example. She writes under multiple names and where I work all her books get checked out. I think it is funny that the J.D. Robb books also have her real name on them and not just the pseudonym. Does anyone else laugh about that when they are in the stacks and come across her books?

As for why I feel the way I do. It all started with Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was obsessed with her as a child. So much so that I wore my hair in pigtails far too frequently (I still would if I could braid my own hair) and begged my parents to take me to her house, that is a museum, so I could see where she lived. For the record, I was never taken but will go there someday! I wanted to know everything about her. I read all the chapter books, watched the show, and would look up things about the other people in her life. Then when I got in later elementary school I realized that her books were fictional. I did not realize there was a difference as a small child between what she wrote about and what was real. I did not know that there were different genres because I was a kid that just read for pleasure and not to know the difference between fiction and nonfiction or fantasy and historical fiction. I assumed that it was all real because she used her own name in the books. Granted she did base some events on her real life but they were mostly fictional events. I was crushed for a while. She was my favorite author and I did not understand why Laura would do such a thing. I got over it pretty quickly, and much to my mother's disdain, continued to watch the show and read the books (many times). I take how I bounced back as a child with Laura Ingalls Wilder as the way I look at other works. I may care about who the author is but deep down I want a good story to read. I also never forgot the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Hoaxes are always going to be a thing. I might as well care about the story and if I think it was well written and a fun read then it does not matter who the author is or is not.

On a side note I found out in college that Laura Ingalls Wilder also had picture books. I accused my mom of purposefully hiding their existence when I went home. She laughed and never really told me why I was not told about the picture books. I went to the library, checked them all out, read them, and even did a report on a few for an English class in undergrad. 

New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/literary-hoaxes-and-the-ethics-of-authorship 

Week 6 Prompt

 A little history before I tell you my idea:

Every year the town I work in puts on a Founder’s Day Parade. It is followed by booths and local businesses near downtown doing activities throughout the day at Paradise Springs (a local place that has a TON of events). The library has participated since it began a few years ago by dressing up as recognizable book characters, passing out candy, and doing face painting. It has been one of the best ways we can get people to recognize us in public and we generally see people come to the library in the following days to get cards or checkout materials. It is also coincidentally a month before Halloween. One year we had Frankenstein themed candy that went along with our book discussion and programs that we were putting on but we have never done a theme for all of us to dress up as. That same year we did a zombie walk. Two years ago we had Waldo, the Cat in the Hat, and Alice in Wonderland grace the streets of Wabash. I’ve passed out candy while wearing a library t-shirt and had a blast! We generally have a couple board members help us out by carrying our banner.

My twist on Founder’s Day with the library…

For this year’s Founder’s Day Parade we all dress up as horror characters. Not too scary but recognizable characters and authors from books, movies, or even games that will grab people’s attention. The characters just need to make people think of a scary character but not freak people out. Then after the parade we can have a booth of scary face paintings and a display of both books, movies, and board games that are horror themed for patrons to check out. Some ideas for characters that people would recognize are Carrie, It, Norman Bates, any Walking Dead character, Edgar Allan Poe, Dracula, Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas characters, and Frankenstein’s Monster. Staff can pick whatever character they want as long as it is someone that we have within any of our collections. These outfits can be made easily from thrift store finds or we can look for costumes online like we have in the past. We can keep these costumes in storage for future program use. If staff members already have costumes that fit the theme they are more than welcome to wear them! We can pass out candy like we usually do and base it on the theme of horror, i.e. eyeballs or bloody fingers. We will put our library logo stickers on the candy so kids recognize who gave them the goodies. Once the parade is over we all stay in our outfits and head over to our booth in shifts. We will take books and movies that we dressed up as and even games like Betrayal on the House on the Hill, Mysterium, Villainous, and more. We can have a table set up for face painting and a table set up for our display. The stations can have staff members who are knowledgeable on the materials we have brought and a tablet so patrons can check out materials on site. If we don’t have a book, movie, or game they want to check out we can always place a hold on it for them to pick up. The books will span different age ranges and horror eras. We can have classics that everyone thinks about and some new authors. If we want to be creative with our display we could always deck out one of our carts and take it down with us instead of a table. The movies can be some of the ones we normally pull out for our Halloween display and we can put out some of the ones we dressed up as. Traditionally we do recognizable book characters for children but this year we should try to appeal to all ages while promoting the many items we have within our various collections. We would need to purchase outfits and candy but anything else we use will be items we already have.

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis: A Kirkus-Style Review

Orphaned Beth Harmon is the newest child prodigy of chess. At age 18 will she beat the unstoppable Russians?

This novel is fast paced and follows orphaned Beth from eight years old until she is eighteen in Moscow facing the best chess players in the world, the Russians. Beth ends up in the Methuen Home, an orphanage for Christian girls, after a car crash claims her mothers life. Methuen is where Beth starts taking tranquilizers that will haunt her throughout the entire novel. She is brilliant in her studies and gets the honorary task of cleaning the erasers in the basement. There she meets Mr. Shaibel, the janitor, who teaches her chess and finds a child prodigy in the process. However, when she is 12 years old she is adopted and never sees Mr. Shaibel again. Beth begins playing in tournaments as a teen and learns that she is an outsider in this world just like she was at the orphanage and in school. She is one of the only girls who plays and she almost always wins. Beth and her adopted mother, Mrs. Wheatley, learn that chess can make them lots of money and help them live life comfortably. Beth plays chess in new and exotic places throughout her teen years while Mrs. Wheatley vacations and drinks to her heart’s content. Readers can follow Beth through the highs and lows of her teen years. She struggles with addiction and intimacy as she climbs higher in the chess world that does not favor women. This book makes non chess players want to delve deeper into the game and see if little Beth Harmon can outwit the Russians.

Tevis’ work is detailed and makes you visualize the chess boards and Beth’s home life as if you were in the room with her. Chronological chapters allow you to piece together Beth’s life from the time she was orphaned to being on top of the world. The ending is as expected but with a few twists and turns along the way.

Week 5 Prompt

 Ebooks are underrated in the review world. I did not realize that there were any reviews done on them at all until this prompt. I think in terms of collection development this can hinder the access patrons have to a wider range of books. If librarians who are developing the collection have no way of knowing what people think of the book how can they accurately judge if it is a good fit for their collection? When developing the collection, a librarian must think of the community they serve. If they cannot read a review of the book it is a lot harder to decide if the book is right for the collection. Where I work reviews can make or break us buying some of our materials. I do have one question for those of you who are reading this, what genres have books that are published only in eBook form? I know about a few popular authors based-on patron requests at the library but have never dived into what genres get only this format for some of their books. I think eBooks need to be taken more seriously because patrons across all age ranges are starting to read them more and more. Librarians who develop online collections need to be just as informed as those who purchase print materials.

The reviews from the blog and Amazon were not well written and they make me wary of purchasing the book for my library. There are words and periods missing from them. I do not think either one was reliable. I got my hopes up for the second review because it appeared more professional. I think the reason I do not see them as reliable is because it felt like a draft someone wrote, did not proofread, and decided to publish willy nilly. I did get a sense for the book. It sounded like a Hallmark movie, but I pieced together both reviews to get a sense of what it should be about, and I do not think in a review that I should leave wondering if it is worth reading. The second review confused me more than the first review. The reviewer made it sound like they only liked it because it was the holiday season. If I were a collection development librarian that would make me not purchase it. I want quality books for my patrons.

These reviews make me want to read Angela’s Ashes. I have heard of Frank McCourt and his works but have never read them myself. I read the reviews that were provided and a few others online to get a sense of what people thought about the book. These reviews make readers want to know why the book is titled after his mother and what happened in this man’s childhood to lead to him writing about it. The professional reviews made me more aware of what was going on without outrightly saying what the reviewers thought. I could tell that the book had wretched and funny scenes without being told what they were. I would add the book to my collection.

I do not think it is fair that one type of book gets overly reviewed and others have none. It creates a divide in what people think they want to read. For all I know the eBooks are great works but since I do not see professional reviews, I would be hesitant to buy them for my collection. Due to this it greatly affects a library’s collection because librarians look at reviews all the time to purchase books. I personally like reading both good and bad reviews. I think it gives me a better perspective on how the community I serve would feel about the book. As to if it is appropriate, why wouldn’t it be? I would rather know a book is bad than buy it under the assumptions that it is some glorious masterpiece. I work at a smaller library and I oversee ordering databases, reference materials, and DVDs. Most of the first two I buy online databases for but for DVDs they are all print materials. I personally take some reviews with very little worth. When I am looking at movies to buy, I first watch the trailer to get a sense of what the producers want me to think of the movie. Then I look at critic reviews and lastly, I look at the reviews of ordinary people. Depending on what the message of the movie is depends on how seriously I take a critic review. I have learned that for movies it is better to look at viewers’ reviews for my patrons. They tend to like the ones that critics cannot stand but that those who have posted a review after watching it enjoy. Since I do not order books I cannot say if I think professional reviews should be used more. I know from talking with my coworkers that they all look at reviews, popular author websites, and library blogs to make their decisions. For DVDs I mostly look at Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, the Dove Foundation, Pure Flix, PBS, Hallmark, and YouTube.

Personally, I like reading what readers have to say over professional reviews. They seem more down to earth. However, when I am looking for a good book, I tend to go with word-of-mouth suggestions, friends’ favorite reads, or the good old fashioned browsing the shelves. I love browsing bookshelves, even the ones at my own home. If I am looking for eBooks, I tend to just read the description of the book to see if it appeals to me. Online for my personal searching I like to look at some of my favorite authors’ websites, Goodreads, Amazon, and bookstore recommendations. I will say I look at Library Journal, Kirkus Review, Publisher’s Weekly, and a few others but I like reading the articles before the reviews more than the reviews. I think it is because I do not get to order books for the library I work at and feel like it is more of a way for me to know some recommendations for patrons that come in asking me for help finding a good book. I also get to look at them because my library passes them around at work to those of us who do any type of collection development.

Secret Shopper Summary

The Interview

I went to a small library shortly after they opened on Monday morning. I approached the Information Desk and asked if I could have help finding a good book. The librarian was excited and asked me what I had read recently that I enjoyed or authors I like to read. I told him Agatha Christie is one of my favorites and I like that I want to keep turning the page to find out what happens. I also let him know I had recently started the Queen’s Gambit and like it for the same reason. He said it sounded like I enjoy thrillers and suspense as well as mysteries. He is very correct. I enjoy trying to guess what happens before the book ends. Then he asked if I would be open to Young Adult or Children’s books. I told him I like reading any books as long as the story is good. He then asked if there are any authors I particularly like in those areas. I told him I keep up with Rick Riordan’s books and his fantasy writing appeals to me. 

Recommendations

After this he said he had a few authors in mind and searched his catalog to see if they were in. He described the authors' books in great detail and gave me reasons why he thought they would match what I normally read. The first author’s books were all checked out but he said Tana French had some that were in. He showed me where they were and said that the first book was out but her series do not have to be read in order. He left me to go find another author he thought I would like and said that if the books did not sound good that it would not hurt his feelings and he would look for a better fit. I read the descriptions of the stories and both of French’s books sounded like ones I would have a hard time putting down. He had given me Broken Harbor and Faithful Place. Then he came back with a Kate Atkinson book and said he thinks I would like her books because she writes many of the genres I described during our conversation and that her books could be for different moods I am in. He said he was going to go look through the catalog more while I looked over the books. After reading the third book’s description I decided it was the best match for me and checked it out. Before I did he asked if I wanted any Young Adult or Children’s recommendations, but I declined because I wanted to go home and start Atkinson’s book.

End Results

Overall I had a great RA conversation. He made me feel welcome and like I was not being rushed to get out. I got help from him for about 45 minutes. He also clarified aspects of the books I enjoyed and why I tend to favor them over other genres. I know from the past few weeks of readings that knowing why a person likes a book and listening carefully to what the patron is describing about the book is very important. Different people can like the same book for completely opposite reasons. I also appreciate that he asked if I was open to more than the adult collection even though I only started out talking about adult books and authors. I am an avid reader of any age ranged book and was pleased he thought to ask about children’s books. I would say it would have been nice to be asked about books I do not like to read and why. I also do not know why he only looked in their catalog. I have a hunch it was because he knew all the authors/genres and understood why I liked the books. I just know that since I am not a regular it might have been smart to look at a RA website. I had a great experience and intend on going back and asking him for more recommendations.

Week 3 Prompt

 1. I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!

The fourth book is called The Lunatic Café. I chose to search by series. The search results showed a graphic novel series and the novel series. I went with the novel series and found the fourth title. I would also like to check with the patron to see which series they want without assuming they only want to read the novels.

2. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.

The first thing I did was look up the book to read the reviews and get a sense of what the patron meant by her language comment. I also wanted to understand what type of book they wanted before recommending anything. After that I looked at the read-alike suggestions to see if I could find a couple to recommend to the patron based on what they requested about language and pace. I found a few that were faster paced and some that seemed slower. I would recommend the faster paced ones since that is what the patron is wanting. One I chose was Something Rich and Strange by Ron Rash. I chose this one because it is a collection of short stories. This would mean the stories would be faster paced and the language style matches what the patron requested. I also would recommend Bloodroot by Amy Greene. It is fast paced and has lyrical and simplistic writing style similar to Kingsolver. The geographic location of the Prodigal Summer is the same as these two suggestions.

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

I did a keyword search for Japan then used the Refined Results to narrow down the options. I chose historical fiction, set in Japan, and a richly detailed writing style. I also read the descriptions to make sure they were set in Japan and historical. With this search I would recommend The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell. I chose these because they had a strong sense of Japan and were from different time periods. I want the patron to have options for the time periods. 

After this I refined my search for adult, Japan, the 11th century, and a strong sense of place. I chose The Fires of the Gods for this search. The patron wanted something that was descriptive and historical. This book also is a mystery and I wanted to get a genre that was not just historical fiction.

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

 

A couple of  books I would recommend are Dorothy L. Sayers’ Whose Body? and Martha Grimes’ The Man with a Load of Mischief. Since they enjoyed a book in Scotland they can try out these novels set in England. Dorothy Sayers is one of the queens of the mystery genre. Martha Grimes’ books are a cross between suspense and a cozy mystery. They are not as creepy as John Sandford. Since the book’s tone says violent I would also recommend some that have more descriptors with violence or the like. A few that were on the read-alike list that I would recommend are P.D. James’ Cover Her Face and Peter Robinson’s Gallow Views. I would warn the patron that these both contain violence. 

Also, since the patron enjoyed Elizabeth George I looked to see if it was part of a series and it was. If they are wanting to read more of her novels I would also recommend the rest of the series and let them know the next book is A Suitable Vengeance.

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

I looked at both books read-alike lists to determine a couple of books that the husband might enjoy. For books similar to World War Z I would recommend The Zombie Autopsies by Steven Schlozman. This book follows a doctor who wants to find a cure for the zombie epidemic but then he starts turning into a zombie. For a book similar to The Walking Dead I would recommend the Resurgam trilogy by Joan Frances Turner. Jessie must choose between helping save both humans and zombies or the life she now lives as a zombie. Both these suggestions have subject headings similar to the titles the husband has read and the same feel as the zombie books he’s been enjoying.

6. I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.

I did a search by genre for literary fiction then refined the search with adult books, books to movies, and doing anything from 2015 to now. I chose 2015 because 2021 just began and did not want to only have a month of results for one of the years. From the results I would suggest The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle, The French Exit by Patrick DeWitt, and Cherry by Nico Walker. They are all literary fiction and are book to movie adaptations. I tried to pick three books with different genres besides only having literary fiction to give the patron options of what type of literary work they would enjoy reading.

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

I did a search for thrillers and gentle reads. I would suggest looking at Chasing Cezanne by Peter Mayle and any Stephanie Black novels. I did not yield many results from my first search and found Stephanie Black from searching for chaste thrillers. A handful of books by her popped up and they are all clean reads.

How do I find books?

I browse titles through the stacks at work to find books or get recommendations from my friends and coworkers. As for sites and lists I like using Bookseriesinorder.com for authors, GoodReads for read-alikes, and I look through catalogs like Library Journal, Publisher Weekly, and School Library Journal. The library I work at gets the catalogs to share among the staff. I also like to look by genre on Overdrive, Libby, and Hoopla to get ideas that I never would have thought of. For the most part I tend to take the recommendations I get from word of mouth. I have a couple coworkers, friends, and patrons who like to let me know if they have read anything that would appeal to me. The Youth Services Librarian I work with is used to me going into the Children's Room and just asking what is good. I like trying new things with children's books and some of my favorite authors have come from getting recommendations based off what she has read and liked. Now that I have explored NoveList more I am definitely going to start utilizing it when I want to find something new!