Alphabet Series

The Alphabet mystery series features Kinsey Millhone, a fictional female gumshoe with spunky independence. She is a unique individual who drives a beat-up Volkswagen, cuts her own hair, and lives in a garage. She has just the kind of eccentricity that gives her character some depth and makes her interesting; readers never know what she will do next. Kinsey is the star of each mystery in the series, centered in the fictional southern California town of Santa Teresa, and she works within the restraints of the technology that was available in the 1980s. This gives the plots and story lines kind of a Sherlock Holmes air, where reasoning and deduction play an important role in how the facts fit together to solve the crimes.

The series, authored by Sue Grafton, will be 26 books total when it reaches its end, as there is one book for each letter of the alphabet. Titles like A is for Alibi and P is for Peril grab readers right away if they are browsing bookshelves. The most recent book, T is for Trespass, was published in 2008. Grafton used to turn out one book in about every 12 months to please her publisher, but lately she has slowed the pace and reserves a year or so between books to recharge.

The Alphabet books are available in libraries and bookstores everywhere, and also online. They have been recorded as audio books. However, Grafton has vowed never to allow Kinsey to be used in Hollywood, and she has made her children promise to abide by that decision.