One rainy afternoon, about 9 years ago, I went to the local library. I had a toddler and an infant, and the library was right next door to our apartment, so we used to drop by a lot. And I would wander around and pick up random books that looked interesting for me to read while I was up with a cranky baby all night. One of the books I got on that rainy day was a dog-eared paperback called A is for Alibi. And […]
Killing Kinsey
These novels are solid time-fillers. Nothing earth-shattering, nothing (too) offensive. I’m a wee bit tired of the fat-shaming and woman-judging. It sucks me right out of the enjoyment of the mystery, but a few pages later I can forget it ever happened. G is for Gumshoe Kinsey turns 33 years old, her apartment is under loving re-construction. This mystery takes place out of town for the most part, in the Mojave Desert. She is hired by another Santa Teresa resident to locate her missing mother. […]
Kinsey Keeps Going
D is for Deadbeat starts out with a load of bullshit. We’re told from the beginning that ‘Alvin Lomardo’ is lying to Kinsey and she’s buying it. She even takes a check from him, which of course bounces three days later (ah, the days of checks). This leads Kinsey to LA in search of ‘Alvin’, where we find his very young wife with a shiner and no furniture because he sold everything right before he split. His name is not Alvin, and he’s probably back […]
The Origins of Sassy Detective
B is for Burglar and C is for Corpse, books two and three in the Alphabet mystery series by Sue Grafton. I must say Kinsey Millhone is growing on me. Or at least the writer’s style. These books remind me of the Evanovich series starting Stephanie Plum, which may have been loosely inspired by this series, wink wink. Spoiler alerts for 30 year old books. You are warned. In book two, B is for Burglar, Stephanie, er uhm, Kinsey is hired by a woman who […]
The Beginning of Something
Detective and former cop Kinsey Millhone is employed by Nikki Fife after serving her sentence for the murder of her husband eight years prior. She hires Kinsey to find out who really murdered the bastard, a very successful divorce lawyer and philanderer. Her investigation reveals another death eight years ago using the same murder weapon (ground oleander-spiked medication), and leaves a trail of bodies in its wake, natch. Millhone also works for California Fidelity, investigating small claims insurance fraud in exchange for her office space. […]