Grafton, Sue

Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24, 1940) is a contemporary American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the 'alphabet series' ("A" Is for Alibi, etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhonein the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W. Grafton, she has said the strongest influence on her crime novels is author Ross Macdonald. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Sue Grafton is the daughter of novelist C. W. Grafton and Vivian Harnsberger, both of whom were the children of Presbyterian ministers. Grafton and her sister Ann were raised in Louisville. The town features in some of her novels. She attended both the University of Louisville (first year) and Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University) in her sophomore and junior years before graduating from the University of Louisville in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and minors in humanities and fine arts. After graduating, Grafton worked as a hospital admissions clerk, a cashier, and a medical secretary in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, California.

While reading Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies, an alphabetical picture book of children who die by various means, she had the idea to write a series of novels based on the alphabet. She immediately sat down and made a list of all of the crime-related words that she knew. This exercise led to her best-known works, a chronological series of mystery novels. In the series, Grafton writes from the perspective of a female private investigator named Kinsey Millhone, who lives in Santa Teresa. Grafton's novels have been published in 28 contries and in 26 languages, including Bulgarian and Indonesian. She has refused to sell the film and television rights to her books, as her time writing screenplays had "cured" her of the desire to work with Hollywood. Grafton has also threatened to haunt her children if they sell the film rights after she is dead.

My Opinion: I recently picked up (U is for Undertow) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Plot and characters all realistic and sleuthing was intelligent. I intend to start re-reading all of her books. I recommend her to you.

Kinsey Millhone series[edit]

1. "A" Is for Alibi (1982) (X)

   1. "B" Is for Burglar (1985)

   2. "C" Is for Corpse (1986)

   3. "D" Is for Deadbeat (1987)

   4. "E" Is for Evidence (1988)

   5. "F" Is for Fugitive (1989)

   6. "G" Is for Gumshoe (1990)

   7. "H" Is for Homicide (1991)

   8. "I" Is for Innocent (1992)

   9. "J" Is for Judgment (1993)

   10. "K" Is for Killer (1994)

   11. "L" Is for Lawless (1995)

   12. "M" Is for Malice (1996)

   13. "N" Is for Noose (1998)

   14. "O" Is for Outlaw (1999)

   15. "P" Is for Peril (2001)

   16. "Q" Is for Quarry (2002)

   17. "R" Is for Ricochet (2004)

2. "S" Is for Silence (2005) X

3. "T" Is for Trespass (2007) X

4. "U" Is for Undertow (2009) X

5. "V" Is for Vengeance (2011) X

• 1. "W" Is for Wasted (2013)

6. "X" (2015) X

• 1. "Y" Is for Yesterday (2017) X

If you want to know more about this author, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Grafton