Book ~ "Kinsey and Me: Stories" (2013) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to Kinsey Millhone. Thirty years later, Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue, a number-one bestselling author. To mark this anniversary year, Sue has given us stories that reveal Kinsey’s origins and Sue’s past.

"Kinsey and Me" has two parts: The nine "Kinsey" stories (1986-93), each a gem of detection; and the "And Me" stories, written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much of Kinsey is a distillation of her creator’s past even as they reveal a child who, free of parental interventions, read everything and roamed everywhere. But the dark side of such freedom was that very parental distance.

The same unique voice and witty insights readers fell in love with in "A Is for Alibi" permeate the Kinsey stories. Those in the "And Me" section trace a remarkable voyage, from anger to understanding, from pain to forgiveness. They take us into a troubled family, dysfunctional as most families are, each in their own way, but Grafton’s telling is sensitive, delicate, and ultimately, loving. Enriching the way we see Kinsey and know Sue, these stories are deeply affecting. 

I'm not a fan of short stories but I'm a fan of Kinsey Millhone (I've read all of the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone) so that's why I checked out this book.

I thought the first half of the book was okay.  They were short stories featuring Kinsey Millhone solving quick cases.  I was looking forward to the second half to learn more about Sue Grafton.  But the stories were (I'm assuming) from parts of Grafton's life as a neglected child of alcoholics but not in her voice (they are characters).  I didn't find them as interesting (I found them boring) and stopped after a couple.  As a head's up, there is some swearing.

I discovered the "alphabet series" in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year and enjoyed most of them.  I read Y is for Yesterday last year so this brings the series to an end once again for me.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "X" (2015) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ When a glamorous redhead wishes to locate the son she put up for adoption thirty-two years ago, it seems like an easy two hundred bucks for P. I. Kinsey Millhone. But when a cop tells her she was paid with marked bills and Kinsey's client is nowhere to be found, it becomes apparent this mystery woman has something to hide. Riled, Kinsey won't stop until she's found out who fooled her and why.

Meanwhile, the widow of the recently murdered P. I. - and Kinsey's old friend - Pete Wolinsky, needs help with her IRS audit. This seemingly innocuous task takes a treacherous turn when Kinsey finds a coded list amongst her friend's files. It soon leads her to an unhinged man with a catalogue of ruined lives left in his wake. And despite the devastation, there isn't a single conviction to his name. It seems this sociopath knows exactly how to cause chaos without leaving a trace.

As Kinsey delves deeper into the investigation she quickly becomes the next target of this tormentor. But can Kinsey prove her case against him before she becomes the next victim?

It's 1989 and Kinsey Millhone is a private investigator in Santa Theresa, CA.  She is hired by a rich woman to find the adult son she gave up for adoption when she was young.  Kinsey gets the job done but her involvement doesn't end.

Kinsey's former colleague, Pete, was killed the previous summer.  His widow has asked Kinsey to go through some of his personal effects.  She comes across a padded envelope full of mementos and a cryptic note.  She becomes involved with a not-so-nice person as she is determined to deliver the envelope to its owner 20+ years later.

In the meantime, Kinsey and Henry have new neighbours.  An older couple have moved in next door and are continually imposing on them for favours.

I thought this book was okay.  I like the writing style.  The writing could have been tighter, though, as there were a lot of details and descriptions.  As a head's up, there is some swearing.

During this time, there was a drought and everyone was asked to be diligent about water conservation.  Henry, Kinsey's landlord, was doing his part in cutting back and still found that his water bill was increasing, which was driving him crazy.  There was waaaaaay too much time spend with Henry going into great detail about irrigation, water usage, etc.

This is the twenty-fourth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  I read Y is for Yesterday last year so this brings the series to an end once again for me.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "W is for Wasted" (2013) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Two dead men changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I’d never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.

The first was a local PI of suspect reputation. He’d been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He’d been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with Millhone’s name and number was in his pants pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.

Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.

But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange linkages begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey literally finds the key to his identity. “And just like that,” she says, “the lid to Pandora’s box flew open. It would take me another day before I understood how many imps had been freed, but for the moment, I was inordinately pleased with myself.”

In this multilayered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised.

W is for ... wanderer ... worthless ... wronged ...

W is for wasted.

It's the late 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in her late thirties in Santa Teresa, CA.  The body of a homeless man is found on the beach with Kinsey's name and phone number. When contacted, she has no idea who he, Terrance Dace, an alcoholic and drug addict, is. She discovers that Dace is a long lost relative and she is the beneficiary of his estate valued at almost $600,000. This prompts Kinsey to investigate and she discovers Dace has three adult children and an ex-wife who now want to lay claim to the money, even though they had kicked him out of their lives years ago and turned him away months before when he went to visit them.

A second story involves a shifty PI named Pete Wolinsky who was hired by a husband to tail his wife who he suspects is having an affair. Pete discovers there is more to this. Dodging bill collectors, he sees a way to take advantage of what he has learned and goes for it. All he wants to do is raise some cash so he can take his beloved wife, Ruth, on a fabulous cruise for their 40th anniversary next year. Unfortunately, Pete is killed, an apparent victim of robbery.

The stories seemingly have nothing to do with each other ... it's not 'til near the end that they come together and we find out how they are connected.

I thought this story was okay.  The two stories kept going back and forth and I was wondering how they would be interconnected ... everything comes together in the end.  I found the Dace story more interesting than the Pete story.  It was in first person perspective when it was Kinsey's story and third person perspective when it was telling Pete's story. As a head's up, there is swearing.

This book challenges Kinsey's lack of need/want for a family because she comes across relatives on her father's side she didn't know existed. It also shows a more softer side of Kinsey because she befriends Dace's homeless friends (despite their rough edges) and Henry's new cat, Ed.

This is the twenty-third in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "V is for Vengeance" (2011) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ A woman with a murky past who kills herself - or was it murder? A spoiled kid awash in gambling debt who thinks he can beat the system. A lovely woman whose life is about to splinter into a thousand fragments. A professional shoplifting ring working for the Mob, racking up millions from stolen goods. A wandering husband, rich and ruthless. A dirty cop so entrenched on the force he is immune to exposure. A sinister gangster, conscienceless and brutal. A lonely widower mourning the death of his lover, desperate for answers, which may be worse than the pain of his loss. A private detective, Kinsey Millhone, whose thirty-eighth-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose.

It's 1988 and Kinsey Millhone is a soon-to-be 38-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  Kinsey is in Nordstrom's and witnesses a woman shoplifting. She tells a clerk, who alerts store security, and they capture and arrest the woman (Audrey), who eventually commits suicide ... or does she?  Audrey's boyfriend, Marvin, can't believe she was part of a shoplifting ring and hires Kinsey to investigate.

Audrey was indeed part of a shoplifting ring, headed by Dante, who is also a loan shark.  In a side story, Dante meets Nora, an unhappy rich wife of a lawyer, when she tries to sell some jewelry in case she wants to leave her husband.  They are attracted to each other and hook up.  I wasn't crazy about Nora but did like Dante, even though he is a "bad guy".

I thought this story was okay.  There was a lot going on and lots of side stories!  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice but in third person perspective when it's in Nora and Dante's voices.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the twenty-second in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "T is for Trespass" (2007) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ A miser and a hoarder, Gus Vronsky is so crotchety that after he takes a bad fall, his only living relative is anxious to find him some hired help and get back home as soon as she can. In an effort to help, Gus's neighbor, private investigator Kinsey Millhone, runs a check on an applicant for the job, Solana Rojas. Social Security, driver's license, nursing certification: It all checks out. And it sounds like she did a good job for her former employers. So Kinsey gives her the thumbs-up, figuring Gus will be the ideal assignment for this diligent, experienced caregiver. 

And the real Solana Rojas was indeed an excellent caregiver. But the woman who has stolen her identity is not, and for her, Gus will be the ideal victim.

It's late 1987 and Kinsey Millhone is a 37-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  Her cantankerous neighbor, Gus, is badly injured in a fall.  His only living relative is a niece in New York and can't care for him so she hires Solana Rojas, a private nurse, to help him while he recuperates.  The niece hires Kinsey to check out Solana and everything seems okay.  But Kinsey becomes suspicious of Solana when Solana doesn't allow anyone to see Gus, is cleaning his place out and is rude.

In the meantime, Kinsey is investigating a case of possible insurance fraud involving a woman who drove into another car. The female passenger in the other car had serious injuries and she and her husband are suing.  Kinsey must track down a reluctant witness who can tell what really happened.

I thought this story was okay.  It was interesting to see how manipulative a person can be and get away with it.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice but in third person perspective when it's Solana's voice.   As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the twentieth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "R is for Ricochet" (2004) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Kinsey Millhone, employed by Nord Lafferty to drive his daughter home from her incarceration at the Californian Institute for Women, marvels at the simplicity of the task. But Reba Lafferty emerges feisty and rebellious, and Kinsey is soon fighting to prevent her charge from breaking the conditions of her parole. 

As she finds herself befriending the ex-gambler, ex-alcoholic and ex-con, Kinsey discovers that Reba had taken the fall for her boss, also her lover, when he conducted a highly-crafted money laundering scam. Alan Beckwith has so far escaped the clutches of the FBI. Now they believe he is laundering money for a Columbian drug cartel - they just need the proof. 

When Kinsey is asked by the police to persuade Reba to unveil crucial evidence guaranteed to put Beckwith behind bars, she doesn't expect cooperation. But when she hears of shocking new information about her lover, Reba is suddenly all too eager to do everything she can to ruin him. Embroiled in a cunning challenge of wits, and meanwhile bemused by her own blossoming romance, Kinsey must try to control the bitter, angry Reba as she launches her dangerous revenge.

It's the late 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a 37-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  She is hired by an elderly ill man to pick up his daughter, Reba, who is being released from prison, bring her home and ensure she gets to the meeting with her parole officer the next day.  An easy job!  They kind of become friends and Reba hooks up the next night with Alan, her former boyfriend and boss who she had embezzled money from, hence the reason she went to prison.  But Reba discovers Alan isn't as honest as she thought he was so considers turning evidence against him to the police and FBI when she's approached.

In the meantime, Kinsey is now dating Cheney, a police office, who she has been attracted to for a few years.  Things get hot and heavy very quickly.  Henry, Kinsey's elderly landlord, is having issues with his love life.  A woman he met on a recent cruise has been visiting but Henry's older brothers interfere in the potential romance.  Instead of telling his brothers to buzz off, he wimps out and backs off, which I thought was dumb.

I thought this story was just okay.  Kinsey was hired basically as a babysitter for a couple days and for some reason she, who has always been a loner, is interested in becoming friends with Reba.  She even looks to Reba for fashion advice, which seemed out of character for Kinsey (she's never cared about clothes and would trim her hair when necessary with nail scissors).  I found the Kinsey/Cheney relationship odd and unbelievable.  As far as she knew, he was married.  It turns out he was but it only lasted less than two months.  Kinsey and Cheney get together very quickly and he's all she seems to be thinking about.  It didn't seem like the Kinsey we've gotten to know.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.   As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

This is the eighteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "Q is for Quarry" (2002) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wound, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved.

That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to help with their legwork and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued and agrees to the job.

But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

It's the late 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a 37-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  She is contacted by Con Dolan, a police officer and friend, to help him and his former partner, Stacey Oliphant, solve a murder from 18 years earlier.  A young girl had been found murdered and they couldn't figure out who this Jane Doe was.  Both men are getting old and aren't in the best of health and would like to have closure on this cold case.

With the few clues they have, they figure out who the girl was (lots of legwork and luck) and then start working on who killed her, which could have been many people in the small town the girl was from.

I thought this story was just okay.  It wasn't overly exciting and I found it hard to keep track of all the characters at times.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.   I found it ended rather quickly and would have liked a bit more of a wrap-up.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the seventeenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "U is for Undertow" (2009) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ It's April 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth birthday, and she's alone in her office catching up on paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he'd be carded if he tried to buy a beer but Michael Sutton is twenty-seven, an unemployed college dropout. 

More than two decades ago, a four-year-old girl disappeared and a recent newspaper story about her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial and could identify the killers if he saw them again. He wants Kinsey's help in locating the grave and finding the men. It's way more than a long shot but he's persistent and willing to pay cash up front. Reluctantly, Kinsey agrees to give him one day of her time.

But it isn't long before she discovers Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he's the boy who cried wolf. Is his story true or simply one more in a long line of fabrications?

It's April 1988 and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, who will soon be 38 years old.  She has been hired by Michael Sutton to investigate a memory that he claims to have recovered of two people burying a body in the woods in 1967 when he was six years old (they told him they were pirates looking for treasure).  Michael suspects it's has something to do with the famous unsolved kidnapping of a four-year-old named Mary Claire.  The kidnappers had requested a ransom but never picked up the money after police were called and she was never found.

Rain, the four-year-old granddaughter/adopted daughter of the couple who owned the land where Michael saw the "pirates", had also been kidnapped in a similar way just before Mary Claire.  She was returned unharmed, though, after her parents paid a ransom using marked bills, which never turned up.

Meanwhile as Kinsey is investigating Mary Claire's disappearance, her own past is becoming present for her.  Kinsey is invited to a family event and she doesn't want to go as she feels her family had abandoned her and her Aunt Gin after her parents had died when she was young.  She discovers, though, that this isn't the case and that her grandmother had actually tried to get custody of her at that time.

I enjoyed this story.  It bounces back and forth between 1988 and 1967.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice but also in third person perspective in various voices depending on where the action was.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

This is the twenty-first in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "P is for Peril" (2001) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ It is now nine weeks since Dr Dowan Purcell vanished without trace. The sixty-nine-year-old doctor had said goodnight to his colleagues at the Pacific Meadows nursing home, had climbed into his car and driven away - never to be seen again.

His embittered first wife, Fiona, is convinced he is still alive. His second wife, Crystal - a former stripper forty years his junior - is just as sure he is dead. Enter private investigator Kinsey Malone, hired by Fiona to find out just what has happened to the man they loved.

Enter also Tommy Hevener, an attractive flame-haired twenty-something who has set his romantic sights on Kinsey. And Tommy is a man with a very interesting past.

It's 1986 and Kinsey Millhone is a 36-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  She has been hired by Fiona, the first wife of Dr. Dowan Purcell, to find her ex-husband.  He disappeared nine weeks ago ... Fiona wants to know if he has taken off (he has done this in the past a couple times) or if he's dead.  The doctor's current wife, Crystal, is a former stripper he met on a trip to Las Vegas and is convinced he is dead.  In her investigation, Kinsey discovers fraudulent Medicare activity at the clinic where Purcell worked as the medical director ... is he responsible and taken off or killed himself because he knows it's going to be revealed?

In the meantime, Kinsey is looking for new office space and finds one for rent nearby.  She is attracted to Tommy, one of the owners of the office space ... until she discovers he has a shocking past.

I thought this story was okay.  There are lots of people in this story and many who could have "dunnit" including Dr. Purcell himself.  The story ends abruptly and the usual epilogue isn't there.  There was still one aspect of the story left outstanding.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the sixteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "O is for Outlaw" (1999) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. Last week he bought a stack. They had stuff in them - Kinsey stuff. For thirty bucks, he'll sell her the lot. Kinsey's never been one for personal possessions but curiosity wins out and she hands over a twenty (she may be curious but she loves a bargain). What she finds amid childhood memorabilia is an old undelivered letter. 

It will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of that first marriage, about the honor of that first husband, about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril.

It's 1986 and Kinsey Millhone is a 36-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  She gets a call from a man who has bought some of her possessions at an auction of defaulted storage locker items.  She recognizes the box as stuff she left with her first husband, Mickey, when she left him 14 years ago.  She walked out after eight months of marriage because she had thought Mickey had done something and he had asked her to lie about it.  In the box, she finds a letter written to her back then which she never got.  Kinsey realises she may have let Mickey down and should have given him the benefit of the doubt so starts to look for him.  When she discovers he has recently been shot and is in a coma, she decides to try and clear his name.

I thought this story was okay.  It was interesting to find out something more about Kinsey personally.  I found it a bit unbelievable, though, that she would get so involved in preserving Mickey's name now since she hasn't talked to him in fourteen years and he was a cheating dog while they were together.  Considering how he treated their marriage, he didn't deserve it. 

It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  I found there were a lot of characters, which I found confusing at times.  There is a secondary story in addition to Kinsey trying to find out what happened to Mickey that added more characters to keep track of.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the fifteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "N is for Noose" (1998) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Kinsey Millhone should have done something else - she should have turned the car in the direction of home. Instead, she was about to put herself in the gravest jeopardy of her career. 

Tom Newquist had been a detective in the Nota Lake sheriff's office - a tough, honest cop respected by everyone. When he died suddenly, the townsfolk were saddened but not surprised.  Just shy of sixty-five, Newquist worked too hard, smoked too much and exercised too little. That plus an appetite for junk food made him a poster boy for an American Heart Association campaign. 

Newquist's widow didn't doubt the coroner's report. But what Selma couldn't accept was not knowing what had so bothered Tom in the last six weeks of his life. What was it that had made him prowl restlessly at night, that had him brooding constantly? Selma Newquist wanted closure and the only way she'd get it was if she found out what it was that had so bedeviled her husband. 

Kinsey should have dumped the case. It was vague and hopeless, like looking for a needle in a haystack. Instead, she set up shop in Nota Lake, where she found that looking for a needle in a haystack can draw blood. Very likely, her own..

It's the late 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her mid-thirties.  She has been taking care of her boyfriend, Dietz, who just had knee surgery.  On her way home, she takes on one of his cases.  Selma's husband, Tom, was a sheriff's officer who had died of a heart attack a few weeks before.  There was something that was bothering him at the time of his death and Selma wants Kinsey to find out what it was.

As she investigates, Kinsey follows up on the last case that Tom was working on ... the case of a petty criminal, Alfie Toth, whom he had traced to a hotel in Santa Teresa before Toth died in what might have been a murder or a bizarre suicide.  Five years ago, a prison associate of Toth's had passed away in the same way.  There's no way this could be a coincidence.

I found this story boring and dull and I was happy when it was over.  The "whodunnit" and the why come out of the blue at the end.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the fourteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "S is for Silence" (2005) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Cases don't get much colder than that of Violet Sullivan, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven-year-old named Daisy. But P.I. Kinsey Millhone has promised Daisy she'll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. Kinsey tries to pick up a trail by speaking to those who remember her - and perhaps were more involved in her life than they let on.

But the trail could lead her somewhere very dangerous. Because the case may have gone cold, but some peoples' feelings about Violet Sullivan still run as hot as ever.

It's 1987 and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her mid-thirties.  She is hired by Daisy to find out once and for all what happened to her mother, Violet, who disappeared in 1953.  Daisy was seven-years-old and the last time she saw her mother was when Violet was getting ready to go out for the evening.  Violet, her brand new car and her puppy were never seen again after that night.  Violet had a trampy reputation around town (which was justified) and no one knows whether she is dead (killed by her jealous husband who had a history of beating her up) or took off with another man.  Either scenario could be true.

This was an interesting story but could have better.  I found it a bit confusing because there were so many characters.  Plus it jumps back and forth from 1953 and 1987 with the same characters.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice in 1987 and third person perspective in 1953.  None of the characters were really likable.  I found the ending wrapped up really quickly and I went "huh?" when the whodunnit was revealed.  There was no explanation as to how or why.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity (between minors).

This is the nineteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "M is for Malice" (1996) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ "M" is for money. Lots of it. 

"M" is for Malek Construction, the $40 million company that grew out of modest soil to become one of the big three in California construction, one of the few still in family hands.

"M" is for the Malek family: four sons now nearing middle age who stand to inherit a fortune - four men with very different outlooks, temperaments and needs, linked only by blood and money. Eighteen years ago, one of them - angry, troubled and in trouble - went missing.

"M" is for Millhone, hired to trace that missing black sheep brother.

"M" is for memories, none of them happy. The bitter memories of an embattled family. This prodigal son will find no welcome at his family's table. 

"M" is for malice.

And in brutal consequence, "M" is for murder, the all-too-common outcome of familial hatreds.

"M" is for malice . . . and malice kills.

It's 1986 and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her mid-thirties.  Her cousin, Tasha, who is a lawyer, hires her to find an heir of the wealthy Malek family.  When Bader Malek died, everyone assumed his $40 million estate would be split between his three sons Donovan, Bennet and Jack ... but the will also names his disinherited son, Guy.  Guy was the black sheep of the family who had left home almost 20 years ago and hasn't been seen nor heard of since.   Kinsey is able to locate Guy, who comes back to the family home hoping for a happy reunion, but she is soon sorry that she had.

I liked this story and thought the reveal of the whodunnit at the end had a nice twist.  The book shows a more emotional side of Kinsey with her interactions with Tasha (who she meets for the first time in this book), the return of her former love, Robert Dietz, and finally dealing with the grief of the deaths of her parents and her aunt years ago.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the thirteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "L is for Lawless" (1995) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ When Kinsey Millhone's landlord asks her to help deceased World War II vet Johnnie Lee's family find out why the military has no record of his service, she thinks it'll be a cinch. But she is about to meet her match in world-class prevaricators who take her for the ride of her life.

When Lee's apartment in burgled and a man named Ray Rawson, who claims to be an old friend of Lee's, is beaten up, Kinsey soon finds herself on the trail of a pregnant woman with a duffel bag. Soon the intrepid P.I. is following leads halfway across the country and encountering another man from Lee's past - a vengeful psychopath.

Stalked by a new enemy and increasingly suspicious of Rawson - not to mention running out of time and money - now Kinsey must steer a collision course to solve a decades-old mystery that some would like better left unsolved.

It's the 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her thirties.  She is asked by her landlord, Henry Pitts, to help out Bucky, the grandson of their recently deceased neighbor, Johnnie Lee.  Bucky is trying to ensure his grandfather has a military burial but seems to be getting the runaround while trying to get his records and the cost covered.  As Kinsey investigates, free of charge, she discovers that Johnny wasn't as he seemed.  What she thought was going to be a quick and easy favour ends up taking her to Texas as she follows a suspicious-looking pregnant woman leaving Johnnie Lee's old apartment.  The next thing she knows she on the run for her life and running out of money.

In the meantime, Henry's brother, William, is marrying Rosie, the owner of Kinsey's local bar, are getting married in a couple days and Kinsey has to make it back to Santa Teresa in time for the wedding.

I wasn't crazy about this story.  Kinsey started out doing Henry a favour out of the goodness of her heart.  I don't know why she hung on as long as she did considering how dangerous it had gotten, she didn't even know the family she was helping and she had no money ... I would have left a lot sooner.  I didn't find the characters likable or believable.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the twelfth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  I read the latest, Y is for Yesterday, in October and with the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "K is for Killer" (1994) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ When Kinsey Millhone answers her office door late one night, she lets in more darkness than she realizes. Janice Kepler is a grieving mother who can't let the death of her beautiful daughter, Lorna, alone. The police agree that Lorna was murdered but a suspect was never apprehended and the trail is now ten months cold. 

Kinsey pieces together Lorna's young life: a dull day job a the local water treatment plant spiced by sidelines in prostitution and pornography. She tangles with Lorna's friends: a local late-night DJ, a sweet funny teenaged hooker, Lorna's sloppy landlord and his exotic wife. 

But to find out which one, if any, turned killer, Kinsey will have to inhabit a netherworld from which she may never return.

It's the 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her thirties.  She is hired by Janice to investigate the death of her daughter, Lorna.  Lorna had been found dead and badly decomposed ten months earlier in her home and the police rules she had died naturally as a result of an allergic reaction.  Janice hasn't been coping well with Lorna's death and wants Kinsey to find out the truth.

Lorna was a receptionist at a water treatment plant by day and a successful high class prostitute by night.  As Kinsey investigates, she becomes friends with Danielle, a teenage prostitute, who hung out with Lorna.  Despite being hired by Lorna's mother, there is a lot of opposition to the investigation by Lorna's father and sisters.

I liked this book and found the story was okay.  The "whodunnit" is a bit convoluted, though, and there seemed to be a lot of information that could have been tighter or deleted.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the eleventh in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them this year.  I read the latest, Y is for Yesterday, in October and with the author's death this week, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "I is for Innocent" (1992) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Lonnie Kingman is in a bind. He's smack in the middle of assembling a civil suit, and the private investigator who was doing his pretrial legwork has just dropped dead of a heart attack. In a matter of weeks the court's statute of limitations will put paid to his case. Five years ago David Barney walked when a jury acquitted him of the murder of his rich wife, Isabelle. Now Kingman, acting as attorney for the dead woman's ex-husband and their child (and sure that the jury made a serious mistake), is trying to divest David Barney of the profits of that murder. But time is running out, and David Barney still swears he's innocent.

When Kinsey Millhone agrees to take over Morley Shine's investigation, she thinks it is a simple matter of tying up the loose ends. Morley might have been careless about his health but he was an old pro at the business. So it comes as a real shock when she finds his files in disarray, his key informant less than credible, and his witnesses denying ever having spoken with him. It comes as a bigger shock when she finds that every claim David Barney has made checks out. But if Barney didn't murder his wife, who did? It would seem the list of candidates is a long one. In life, Isabelle Barney had stepped on a lot of toes.

It's the 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her thirties.  She is renting space from her lawyer, Lonnie Kingman.  Six years ago, David Barney was acquitted of killing his estranged wife, Isabelle Barney, by shooting her through the spy hole of her front door.  Isabelle's first husband, Kenneth Voigt, is suing David in the civil courts to secure the fortune for his and Isabelle's daughter, Shelby, and has hired Lonnie as his lawyer.  After Morley, Lonnie's private detective, passes away suddenly, Lonnie hires Kinsey to continue with the investigation.  Kinsey discovers that David has an alibi and everything he says seems to be true.  There are many who could have killed Isabelle so Kinsey doesn't lack possible killers.

In the meantime, William, the hypochondriac brother of her elderly landlord, Henry, is visiting from out of town.  He and Rosie, the cranky owner of the local Hungarian tavern, surprisingly hit it off.

I liked this book and found the story interesting.  I did find there were a lot of characters and I had a bit of a hard time remembering who was who.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the ninth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  Since the series will soon come to an end (I finished the latest, Y is for Yesterday, in October), I am starting at the beginning and rereading them.

Book ~ "J Is for Judgment" (1993) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Wendell Jaffe looks great for a dead man! He’s been six feet under for five years ago - until his former insurance agent spots him at a dusty resort bar in Mexico. Now California Fidelity wants its insurance money back. Can P.I. Kinsey Millhone get on the case?

Just two months earlier, Jaffe’s widow pocketed $500,000 in insurance benefits after Jaffe went overboard. Was his “pseudocide” a last-ditch effort to do right by his beloved wife? Perhaps. But how would that explain the new woman in Jaffe’s second life?

Kinsey is in for the long haul as she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Jaffe’s life and death ... and discovers that, in family matters as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve judgment.

It's the 1980s and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her thirties.  Wendell Jaffe was assumed to have died five years ago in a boating incident and his body was never found.  Just recently his wife was able to finally have him declared dead and collect on the insurance policy.  Two months later Jaffe, is seen vacationing in Mexico and Kinsey's former employer, California Fidelity Insurance who paid the insurance to Mrs. Jaffe, hires her to investigate.

Kinsey's parents had been killed in a car accident when she was very young and she was raised by her mother's aunt, Virginia.  While she was looking for Jaffe, who she suspects has returned to California, she discovers her late mother's family that she didn't know existed.

I liked this book and found the story interesting.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  It's the first time that Kinsey's family has been introduced in her life.  Up until this point, she thought she had no relatives and she was okay with that.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the tenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  Since the series will soon come to an end (I finished the latest, Y is for Yesterday, in October), I am starting at the beginning and rereading them.

Book ~ "H is for Homicide" (1991) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ H IS FOR HUSTLER

When PI Kinsey Millhone's good friend and colleague, Parnell Perkins, is found murdered in the parking lot behind California Fidelity Insurance, she can't believe he had any enemies. The only clue that raises a red flag for Kinsey is one of Parnell's files on a Bibianna Diaz, who appears to have made a lucrative career out of scamming insurance companies with phony claims.

H IS FOR HAZARDOUS

Taking an alias, Kinsey goes undercover to befriend Bibianna, hoping she'll get close enough to catch the con artist at her own game. But Kinsey never dreams that hanging out with Bibianna will get them both thrown in jail. And when they're released, Bibianna's very jealous, very dangerous ex-fiancé, Raymond Maldonado, is waiting for them.

H IS FOR HOMICIDE

Kinsey soon discovers the short-tempered thug is the kingpin behind Bibianna's and countless other phony insurance claims. But was Raymond also responsible for Parnell's death? All Kinsey knows is that she'll have to think quick to nab one of the most treacherous criminals she's come face to face with - and keep herself alive.

Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, and is in her thirties.  She does occasional freelance work for an insurance company in return for office space.  She is working on the claim file of a woman named Bibianna for possible car insurance fraud.  To get close to Bibianna, Kinsey pretends to be Hannah Moore.

Bibianna has an ex-boyfriend named Raymond, who wants her back in Los Angeles ... bad enough that he sends his brother to bring her to get her.  It doesn't work out as Raymond planned and Kinsey ends up getting arrested with Bibianna to stay close to her.  There she's approached by the police to go undercover to get more information on Raymond, who they suspect is the head of huge car insurance fraud ring.  When they are released from jail, Raymond is there and, against their will, takes them back to Los Angeles.

I wasn't crazy about this story.  I found it hard to believe that Kinsey would risk her life and allow herself to be basically kidnapped for about a week by a psycho like Raymond.  Though watched, she did have opportunities to leave and/or contact the police but she hung on to get evidence on Raymond.

The story is written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  I didn't find many of the characters likable and since she was out of town for this book, I missed Henry and Rosie.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

This is the eighth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  Since the series will soon come to an end (I finished the latest, Y is for Yesterday, last month), I am starting at the beginning and rereading them.  They are all set in the 1980s before everyone had a computer, cell phone, people still smoke in public places, etc.  Raymond did have a "car phone", though.

Book ~ "F is for Fugitive" (1989) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ When Kinsey Millhone first arrives in Floral Beach, California, it’s hard for her to picture the idyllic coastal town as the setting of a brutal murder. Seventeen years ago, the body of Jean Timberlake - a troubled teen who had a reputation with the boys - was found on the beach. Her boyfriend, Bailey Fowler, was convicted of her murder and imprisoned, but he escaped.

After all this time, Bailey’s finally been captured. Believing in his son’s innocence, Bailey’s father wants Kinsey to find Jean’s real killer. But most of the residents in this tight-knit community are convinced Bailey strangled Jean. So why are they so reluctant to answer Kinsey’s questions? If there’s one thing Kinsey’s got plenty of it’s persistence. And that’s exactly what it’s going to take to crack the lid on this case.

As Kinsey gets closer to solving Jean’s murder, the more dirty little secrets she uncovers in a town where everyone has something to hide - and a killer will kill again to keep the past buried.

Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, and is in her thirties.  She has been hired by Royce Fowler, whose son, Bailey, was arrested 17 years ago for murdering his teenage girlfriend, Jean.  Bailey had escaped from prison shortly thereafter and had been recently found.  Royce, who is dying of cancer, wants Kinsey to find out who the real killer is so Bailey can be released.

As Kinsey begins to investigate, she discovers that Jean had been promiscuous so there are many who could have killed her.  Everyone in the town, though, has no doubt that Bailey killed her except his family.

I thought this book was okay.  I liked the writing style.  It is written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  I didn't find many of the characters likable and since she was out of town for this book, I missed Henry and Rosie.  I was okay with the "whodunnit".  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the sixth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  Since the series will soon come to an end (I finished the latest, Y is for Yesterday, a couple weeks ago), I am starting at the beginning and rereading them.  They are all set in the 1980s before everyone had a computer, cell phone, people still smoke in public places, etc.

Book ~ "D is for Deadbeat" (1987) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ When Alvin Limardo walks into P.I. Kinsey Millhone's office, she smells bad news. He wants Kinsey to deliver $25,000. The recipient: A fifteen-year-old boy. It's a simple matter. So simple that Kinsey wonders why he doesn't deliver the money himself. She's almost certain something is off. But with rent due, Kinsey accepts Limardo's retainer against her better judgment.

When Limardo's check bounces, Kinsey discovers she's been had big time. Alvin Limardo is really John Daggett - an ex-con with a drinking problem, two wives to boot and a slew of people who would like to see him dead. Now Kinsey is out four hundred dollars and in hot pursuit of Daggett. 

When Daggett's corpse shows up floating in the Santa Teresa surf, the cops rule the death an accident. Kinsey thinks it's murder. But seeking justice for a man who everyone seemed to despise is going to be a lot tougher than she bargained for - and what awaits her at the end of the road is much more disturbing than she could've ever imagined.

Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  She is hired by Alvin Limardo to deliver a cheque for $25,000 to a 15-year-old boy named Tony.  According to Limardo, Tony helped him through a tough time in his life, leaving him indebted.  When the retainer cheque bounces, she discovers that Limardo is actually John Daggett, who had recently been released from prison.  As it turns out, Daggett had been driving drunk a couple years ago and ran into a car, killing everyone but Tony.  Daggett is then found dead on the beach a couple days later.  The police say he got drunk and drowned but Kinsey thinks he was murdered.

Kinsey is then hired by Daggett's daughter, Barbara, to find out what really happened.  Daggett wasn't well-liked so there could a lot people who wanted him dead.  And who was the blonde woman he had been partying with the night he died?

I thought this book was just okay.  I liked the writing style.  It is written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  I found there were a lot of characters involved and I had a hard time keeping them straight.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.  I wasn't crazy about the ending ... I found it kind of sad and think it could have ended better.

This is the fourth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  Since the series will soon come to an end (I finished the latest, Y is for Yesterday, yesterday), I am starting at the beginning and rereading them.  They are all set in the 1980s before everyone had a computer, cell phone, people still smoke in public places, etc.