“Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they’re right – a chilling thought when you sit down to dinner with a family of five. All those potential killers passing their plates.”

Growing up, it was well known in the house that when a new Sue Grafton book came out, you did not disturb my mother; she felt about those books the way I feel about Seanan McGuire’s books (or Terry Pratchett’s when he was still alive.) And yet even with them always being around, and my inheriting my mother’s love affair for mysteries, I never did get around to picking them up. Until recently. And now I can see what all the shouting is about; this is (so far) an extremely well-written and entertaining series.

The best summation of the book is (unfortunately) not mine, but GoodReads’:

A IS FOR AVENGER. A tough-talking private investigator, Kinsey Millhone, has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. In her 30s, she’s a twice-divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments but with a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes.

A IS FOR ACCUSED. That’s why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she’s out on parole and needs Kinsey’s help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki’s bad name won’t be easy.

A IS FOR ALIBI. If there’s one thing that makes Kinsey Millhone feel alive, it’s playing on the edge. When her investigation turns up a second corpse, more suspects, and a new reason to kill, Kinsey discovers that the edge is closer–and sharper–than she imagined.

I had figured out the who (or at least one possibility) halfway through the book (but not the why), but that in no way lessened my enjoyment. Kinsey (and everyone else) is written extremely realistically, with no “super deductions”, or amazing physical prowess, or everyone adoring Kinsey, or the police not being able to solve anyone without her. (Which unfortunately is prone to happen: see the Peter Ellis Sister Fidelma series, or the Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James, or as I’ve frequently heard my mother vent about, The Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Childs.)

The one thing is that Kinsey is incredibly hypersexual; some “time alone” or a FWB might have helped her a lot. Which is surprising, because you would think all the jogging she does (and she does a lot, even if she hates every minute of it. Same girl, same.) would tire her out.

Out of all the other characters in the book, I think I liked her landlord, Henry Pitts, and the no nonsense restaurateur Rosie; how could you not love characters where one designs fiendishly difficult crosswords, and the other tells you want you’re going to eat and will not take arguments?  I am looking forward to more of them in future books (hopefully there will be more of them in future books.) Someone who also sounds interesting (but I doubt will reappear) is Nikki’s son Colin, who sounds like he’s going to be a real heartbreaker when he gets older; seriously, Botticelli angels are envious.

Maybe because it is one of my favorite series, but I am under the distinct impression that if her series was set in a fantastical version of San Francisco, October Daye and Kinsey Millhone would get along like houses on fire. (Most likely, as Terry Pratchett said in Pyramids: “Screams. Flames. People running for safety.”) Not wanting the books spoiled I haven’t asked my mother anything, so I do have some questions; will Kinsey stay a private investigator for insurance claims with murder investigations as a side hustle, or does she move more towards murder investigations? Will she ever get over her vehement dislike for dogs? Does Kinsey ever stop feeling like an adult with an “adult” job, but not a “responsible adult” life? Does every murderer think it’s normal to casually wander through a beach with a 10-inch butcher’s knife? And should I have had “All That Jazz” from Chicago running through my head during the confrontation at the end, as true to life as it may be?

I am definitely looking forward to reading more, though I’m going to pace them out. Seeing as the series ends a book short and I’m really enjoying Kinsey as a character, I don’t want to go through them that quickly.