The “Alphabet Mysteries” are the works of author Sue Grafton. While going through a long and painful divorce and custody battle for her children, Grafton used to imagine ways to kill and maim her ex-husband-to-be. Her imaginings were so vivid that she decided to write them down.
While trying to establish a writing career, she decided to use her personal crisis to fuel her novels. In attempting to find a “hook” on which to hang her mystery stories, she came across a children's book that used the alphabet to describe creepy, scary things. She had also always admired the works of John D. MacDonald and Harry Kemmelman, who used colors and days of the weeks in their titles. She sat down and tried to think of as many words as she could that described crimes, trying for every letter of the alphabet.
Her novels started with “A” is for Alibi. Her detective is a female, Kinsey Millhone. The novels are set in Santa Theresa, California in the 1980s. The first novel is set in 1982, and the novels follow a time line much slower than the actual amount of time that has passed. Kinsey uses a typewriter, does not have a computer or cell phone, and does not worry about the price of gas. There have been 20 novels written, so far, with the latest being, “T” is for Trespass. Grafton has stated that the last Kinsey novel will be “Z” is for Zero.
