BlackHat Mystery BookstoreSue Grafton [1940-2017]
& Kinsey Millhone
& Kinsey Millhone
![mystery author Sue Grafton [1940-2017] with a red scarf](images/SueGrafton-redscarf.jpg "mystery author Sue Grafton [1940-2017] with a red scarf") | short profile |
"Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats."
"Let's be optimistic. It doesn't cost anything."
"If high heels were so wonderful, men would be wearing them."
— Sue Grafton
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
b 4/24/40 in Louisville, KY; lived in Santa Barbara & Louisville, KY (96); died of cancer in Santa Barbara, California on 28 December 2017.
browse the Sue Grafton Store {returns 180+ results} at Amazon
Sue Grafton's official website
Sue Grafton entry at Wikipedia
Kinsey Millhone entry at Wikipedia
Kinsey Milhone 'Alphabet' Mysteries Series
Kinsey Millhone is a former cop living in Santa Teresa (subbing for Santa Barbara, California) who finds work
as an insurance investigator and later becomes a very-independent private investigator.
browse A-Z series books at Amazon
Kinsey Millhone entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"A Is For Alibi" [Henry Holt 1982]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"B Is For Burglar" [1985]
"Kako Kara no Koe" TV movie [Japan 1988] /tt1650538/
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"C Is For Corpse" [1986]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"D Is For Deadbeat" [1987]
"Wangan ni Kieta Onna" TV movie [Japan 1989] /tt1663953/
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"E Is For Evidence" [1988]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A-B-C-D-E Box Set [1991]
Bantam Dell slipcover mass pb set [10/91] 5 books - out of print/used
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"F Is For Fugitive" [1989]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
 |
Omnibus D-E-F in paperback, hardcover & audiobooks
Pan Books 7½x5¼ pb [10/95] out of print/used Wings Books hardcover [4/2001] out of print/many used Random House Audio ABR audio CD [11/2005] for $19.77 |
"G Is For Gumshoe" [Holt 1990]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"H Is For Homicide" [1991]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"I Is For Innocent" [1992]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
 | Omnibus G-H-I in hardcover & audiobooks Wings Books 9½x6¼ hardcover [8/2002] out of print/many used Random House Audio ABR audio CD [11/2005] for $21.86 |
"J Is For Judgment" [1993]
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"K Is For Killer" [1994]
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"L Is For Lawless" [1995]
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
 | Omnibus J-K-L in hardcover Wings Books 9¼x6½ hardcover [9/2007] out of print/used |
"M Is For Malice" [Holt 1996]
Dietz visits; hired by cousin about missing will, lost legatee
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"N Is For Noose" [Holt 4/1998]
Dietz healing, small town in Sierras & dead Sheriff
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"O Is For Outlaw" [Macmillan UK 10/99]
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
 | Omnibus M-N-O in hardcover Wings Books 9½x6¼ hardcover [6/2008] out of print/used |
"P Is For Peril" [Putnam 2001]
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Q Is For Quarry" [Putnam/Marian Wood 10/2002]
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"R Is For Ricochet" [Putnam/MWood 7/2004]
rich man’s daughter just out on parole
book entry at Wikipedia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"S Is For Silence" [#19 = 12/2005 bestseller]
 | Alternating chapters set in 1953 and in 1987 tell the story of a woman who hires Kinsey to solve the long-ago disappearance of her mother. Berkley Trade 8x5 pb [10/2011] for $12.86 Berkley mass pb [11/2006] for $7.19 Putnam/Marian Wood 9x6¾ hardcover [12/2005] for $17.79 book entry at Wikipedia |
"T Is For Trespass" [#20 = 12/2007]
 | When cranky neighbor Gus busts his shoulder, Kinsey hires a nurse who turns out to be a psychopathic killer. Berkley mass pb [11/2008] for $7.99 Putnam hardcover [12/2007] out of print/many used book entry at Wikipedia |
"U Is For Undertow" [#21 = 12/2009]
 | A young man hires Kinsey to investigate a repressed memory of a burial in Horton Ravine when he was six years old; the police dig up a dog that was euthanized back then, but Kinsey persists and uncovers two kidnappings for ransom and murders then and now.
Kindle Edition from Berkley / Penguin Publng [12/2009] for $7.99 Berkley mass pb [11/2010] for $7.99 Putnam/Marian Wood 9x8 hardcover [12/2009] for $11.27 book entry at Wikipedia |
"V Is For Vengeance" [#22 = 11/2011]
 | A series of small clients and suspects – a woman who committed suicide (or was it murder?); a teenager deep in debt to gamblers; a professional shoplifting ring; a wandering husband; a dirty cop; and a lonely widower mourning the death of his lover – ultimately lead Kinsey to the elegant and powerful businessman at the center of the web of crime in Santa Teresa.
Kindle Edition from Putnam / Penguin Publng [11/2011] for $14.99 Pan Macmillan/Mantle 9x6 pb [11/2011] for $47.75 {sic} Pan Macmillan import mass pb [11/2011] out of print/used Marian Wood/Putnam 9x6½ hardcover [11/2011] for $15.98 book entry at Wikipedia |
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"W Is For Wasted" [#23 = 9/2013]
 | Kinsey is asked to investigate two seemingly unrelated deaths, of a local private investigator and of an unidentified homeless man – one is a murder, the other apparently by natural causes. Kindle Edition from Putnam/Penguin [9/2013] for $12.74 Marian Wood/Putnam 9x6 hardcover [9/2013] for $17.37 book entry at Wikipedia |
"X: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery" [#24 = 8/2015]
 | A remorseless serial killer leaves no trace of his crimes. Can Kinsey prove her case against him before she becomes his next victim? Kindle Edition from Putnam/Penguin [8/2015] for $9.99 G.P. Putnam's Sons mass pb [8/2016] for $7.48 Marian Wood Books/Putnam 9¼x6½ hardcover [8/2015] for $18.22 book entry at Wikipedia |
"Y Is For Yesterday" [#25 = 8/2017] 
 | Four teenage boys sexually assault a class member and film it; the tape goes missing and the suspected thief is murdered; one boy turns state’s evidence and two of his peers are convicted – but the ringleader escapes without a trace. Ten years later, one of the boys is released from prison, a copy of the tape is delivered to his wealthy parents with a ransom demand, and the family hires Kinsey . . .
Kindle Edition from Putnam / Penguin Publng [8/2017] for $14.99 Marian Wood/Putnam 9x6½ hardcover [8/2017] for $18.90 book entry at Wikipedia (empty) |
"Z Is For Zero" [#26 = not written]
When Grafton died in December 2017, the family said that no 'Z' novel was written and that 'the alphabet ends at Y'.
Other Books by Sue Grafton
browse the Sue Grafton Store {returns 150+ results} at Amazon
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Keziah Dane: A Novel" [1967]
 | A recent flood devestated the Kentucky town where Keziah lives, and her husband was drowned. She befriends a drifter, who tries to rape her daughter; the girl kills her attacker, and they dump his body in the floodwaters, but unexpected complications nonetheless follow.
Macmillan hardcover [1967] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia |
"The Lolly Madonna War" [1969 novel]
 | Two hillbilly clans have been feuding for years; the Feather boys concoct a prank to kidnap one of the Gutshall girls, but capture an innocent bystander instead. Then Zack Feather and the girl fall in love . . .
Sphere movie tie-in mass pb [7/73] out of print/rare (costly) Peter Owen hardcover [9/69] out of print/rare (costly) book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Lolly-Madonna XXX" feature film [M.G.M. Feb 1973] Produced & co-adapted by Rodney Carr-Smith; directed by Richard C. Sarafian; co-adapted by Sue Grafton, from her novel; starring Rod Steiger, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges {as Zack}, Season Hubley (as the girl}, Randy Quaid & Gary Busey DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb |
 | "Writing Mysteries: A Handbook By The Mystery Writers of America" [1976; 2nd edition 2002] Edited by Sue Grafton Writers Digest 9x6 pb [4/2002] for $11.55 M.W.A. hardcover [10/2002] out of print/used Writers Digest 9x6¼ hardcover [3/92] out of print/many, many used |
 | "Telling Lies For Fun & Profit: A Manual For Fiction Writers" [orig 1981] by Lawrence Block, Introduction by Sue Grafton Contents are four years' worth of Block's monthly fiction-writing column from Writer's Digest Magazine Harper 9¼x6 pb [rev 2/94] for $10.29 |
 |
"Kinsey and Me: Stories" [1991] by Sue Grafton A collection of Kinsey Millhone short stories along with other short stories about Grafton's mother Kindle Edition from Putnam/Penguin [1/2013] for $11.99 Berkley mass pb [12/2013] for $8.99 Marian Wood/Putnam 9x6¼ hardcover [1/2013] for $18.76 |
 | "Deadly Allies: Private Eye Writers of America & Sisters In Crime Collaborative Anthology" [1992] Edited by Robert J. Randisi & Marilyn Wallace Crimeline mass pb [6/93] out of print/many used Doubleday hardcover [3/92] out of print/many, many used Phoenix Audio UNABR audio CD [8/2009] for $14.95 8 stories in the audiobook: by Sue Grafton ("A Little Missionary Work"), Loren D. Estleman, Jeremiah Healy, Rob Kantner, John Lutz, Margaret B. Maron, Lia Matera, Sara Paretsky & Julie Smith; 12 more stories in the books: by Sarah Andrews, Max Allan Collins, Michael Collins, Susan Dunlap, Jan Grape, Carolyn G. Hart, John Lutz, editor Randisi, Nancy Pickard, Benjamin M. Schutz, Sandra Scoppettone & editor Wallace |
 | "The Best American Mystery Stories, 1998" Edited by Sue Grafton & Otto Penzler Mariner Books 8¼x5½ pb [10/98] for $20.95 Houghton Mifflin 8½x5¾ hardcover [10/98] out of print/used |
 | "Female Sleuths: Selections From A Woman's Eye" [2003]
Media Books Audio Publng audio CD [2/2003] out of prodn/used 8 short stories by Sue Grafton ("Full Circle"), Liza Cody, Susan Dunlap, Antonia Fraser, Carolyn G. Hart, Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pickard & Carolyn Wheat |
Stageplays, Movies, Other Media
Sue Grafton has promised her children that if they sell the movie rights to the Kinsey Milhone books
to Hollywood, then she will come back from the grave and haunt them.
Sue Grafton's credits [since 1973] at Internet Movie Database
"Nurse" 25-episode TV series [Viacom/CBS-TV 1981-82]
Developed & co-written by Sue Grafton • not available on DVD/Blu-ray •
full credits at IMDb
 | "Women of Mystery: Three Writers Who Forever Changed Detective Fiction" [docu-film 1996] Directed by Pamela Briggs Interviewees are Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller & Sue Grafton distributor webpage (videos available there) credits at IMDb |
Works About Sue Grafton
 | "G Is For Grafton: The World of Kinsey Millhone" [orig 1980, rev 1997] by Natalie Hevener Kaufman & Carol McGinnis Kay Some information on Sue Grafton's life, but emphasis on fictional character Kinsey Millhone, thru "O Is For Outlaw" Kindle Edition from Holt/Macmillan [9/00] for $7.99 Holt 8x5½ pb [9/2000] out of print/many used Henry Holt & Co. 8¼x5¾ hardcover [11/97] out of print/hundreds used |
Family & Friends
Sue Grafton was born in 1940; her 'Alphabet Series' mystery novels began in 1982; she died in Santa Barbara, California in December 2017 after publishing "Y".
★
father C.W. Grafton [1909-82]: entry at Wikipedia
|
"The Rat Began To Gnaw The Rope" [Murray Hill Books 1943] by C.W. Grafton winner of the Mary Roberts Rinehart Mystery Contest Prize; short, chubby, and awkward attorney Gil Henry inadvertently gets embroiled in classic American scandal, subterfuge, murder, and attempts on his life . . . Kindle Edition from Poisoned Pen Press [6/2020] for $7.99 Poisoned Pen Press 8½x5½ pb [6/2020] for $14.64 Dell #180 'map back' mass pb [1947] long out of print/scarce Mercury Mystery Magazine #93 ABRIDGED pb [1946] long out of print/scarce Triangle/Blakiston hardcover [1943] long out of print/used |
"The Rope Began To Hang The Butcher" [1944]
"My Name Is Christopher Nagel" [1947]
"Beyond A Reasonable Doubt" [1950]
★
first marriage produced one child
second marriage [1961-?] produced two children
daughter Jamie Clark
third husband Steven F. 'Steve' Humphrey - married 1978, widower 2017
★
Marion Wood [??-2020], editor at Henry Holt, 1990-99 and at G.P. Putnam, 1999-2018
L i n k s
Sue Grafton's official website
browse the Sue Grafton Store {returns 180+ results} at Amazon
browse Sue Grafton audiobooks {returns 24 books} at Amazon
Sue Grafton's credits [since 1973] at Internet Movie Database
Sue Grafton entry at Wikipedia
Kinsey Millhone entry at Wikipedia
Shadow Zone's Sue Grafton fanpage {last update 2013}
here on Blackhat Mystery Bookstore's Sue Grafton Mysteries Page
short profile • 'alphabet' mysteries • other books • other media •
works about Sue Grafton • family & friends • links
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