Kinsey and Me

In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to Kinsey Millhone. Over thirty years later, Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue, a number-one bestselling author. To mark this anniversary, Sue has given us stories that reveal Kinsey's origins and Sue's past

In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to private investigator Kinsey Millhone and the Alphabet series. Now Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue, a number-one bestselling author. To mark this achievement, Sue has written short stories that reveal Kinsey’s origins and Sue’s past.

My name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private investigator, licensed, bonded, insured; white, female, age thirty-two, unmarried, and physically fit. That Monday morning, I was sitting in my office with my feet up, wondering what life would bring, when a woman walked in and tossed a photograph on my desk. 'Somebody killed my husband.'

Published thirty one years after A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton's Kinsey and Me, is her first compendium of short stories. It features nine Kinsey Millhone short stories, each a gem of detection, as well as autobiographical pieces written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much Kinsey Millhone is a distillation of her creator’s past, even as they reveal a child who, free of parental discipline, read everything and roamed everywhere. But the dark side of such freedom was that very parental distance . . .

This dazzling and often moving collection displays the depth and range of Grafton’s writing and reminds us of her unique talent as a storyteller.