Sue Grafton, author extraordinaire, is the author of the Alphabet series of mystery stories. Private investigator Kinsey Milhone is the leading character in the books. Along with the Milhone mysteries, Grafton has written screen plays as well as television scripts. Her works have been published in 28 countries and translated into 26 different languages.
Grafton believes in the premise that justice is always served, and she writes her novels to correspond with that ideal. In other words, Kinsey always gets her man, one way or another. Some readers think that Grafton bases the character of Kinsey on herself. However, there are a number of huge differences. Kinsey is single and divorced, while Grafton has been married for twenty years to Steve Humphrey. Kinsey has no children, while Grafton has three children and two grandchildren. Grafton loves gardens, good food and cats. Kinsey is a fast food junkie who isn’t particularly fond of animals.
However, the character was born of some of Grafton's deepest thoughts and desires. At the inception of the Alphabet mysteries in the early 1980s, Grafton was in the middle of a devastating divorce. She claims she would lie in bed and think of ways to eliminate her ex. One night, she decided to write down her thoughts and with that came the birth of Kinsey Milhone. The Alphabet series started with A for Alibi and will continue until Z for Zero is written.
