mass market paperback, 320 pages
English language
Published Nov. 1, 2005 by St. Martin's Paperbacks.
A IS FOR AVENGER. A tough-talking former cop, private investigator Kinsey Millhone has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. She's a twice-divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments but with a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes.
A IS FOR ACCUSED. That's why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she's out on parole and needs Kinsey's help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki's bad name won't be easy.
A IS FOR ALIBI. If there's one thing that makes Kinsey Millhone feel alive, it's playing on the edge. When her investigation turns up a second corpse, more suspects, and a new reason to kill, Kinsey discovers that the edge is closer--and sharper--than she imagined.
Interesting and fresh detective murder mystery series. The ending of this first books is very satisfying. Quite a bit is shown and not said about who she is so I loved the building of the main character. She has a lot of friends but is a bit of a loner. Smart but not too smart. Not a robot and she actually gets hurt quite a bit.
There are aspects of this book that I enjoyed very much, and there are also parts that I felt could have done better. It doesn't feel dated. The only thing that stood out was there was no cell phone or social media. The plot is your typical round-on-the-mill mystery thriller. A quick read for someone on the go.
So what went wrong?
The main character Kinsey Millhone did not feel like a real female to me. She is crass, which makes her seem uneducated and low-class. Attempts at presenting emotion from her were not believable; she simply came across as apathetic to the entire novel. And how she could solve any crime with the amount of alcohol she consumed in this book is beyond me.
The writing is bare-minimum stuff. It rehashed the plot from old pulp stories. I felt detached during the climactic finale, and the end of the …
There are aspects of this book that I enjoyed very much, and there are also parts that I felt could have done better. It doesn't feel dated. The only thing that stood out was there was no cell phone or social media. The plot is your typical round-on-the-mill mystery thriller. A quick read for someone on the go.
So what went wrong?
The main character Kinsey Millhone did not feel like a real female to me. She is crass, which makes her seem uneducated and low-class. Attempts at presenting emotion from her were not believable; she simply came across as apathetic to the entire novel. And how she could solve any crime with the amount of alcohol she consumed in this book is beyond me.
The writing is bare-minimum stuff. It rehashed the plot from old pulp stories. I felt detached during the climactic finale, and the end of the book seemed overly abrupt. The ultimate explanation was plausible, but not particularly intriguing, and I would have been interested to read more about the repercussions of what ultimately went down.
In Summary
It alright novel filled with your typical round of the mill mystery thriller. An easy read for someone who just wants to waste some time.
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Loved this. I wasn't sure who did it till it was revealed but that's how I like a mystery on the rare occation I read one. I'll continue with this series at some point. Kinsey's spunk is great.
"A" is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
"A" is for Alibi" is the first book in Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series, featuring Kinsey Millhone, a 32-year-old Private Investigator residing in California. I've just begun this series and found this book quite enjoyable. The mystery is compelling, suspenseful, and makes for a quick read. Kinsey's character is fiercely independent, and she's portrayed in a way that makes you feel intimately acquainted with her. Nikki Fife, recently released from prison after serving eight years for the murder of her husband Laurence, enlists Kinsey to uncover the real culprit. As Kinsey delves into the investigation, she discovers a similarly executed murder that occurred days after Laurence'sÃÆ’Æ’Æ’ÃÆ’‚¢ÃÆ’Æ’¢ÃÆ’¢â‚¬Å¡ÃÆ…
"A" is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
"A" is for Alibi" is the first book in Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series, featuring Kinsey Millhone, a 32-year-old Private Investigator residing in California. I've just begun this series and found this book quite enjoyable. The mystery is compelling, suspenseful, and makes for a quick read. Kinsey's character is fiercely independent, and she's portrayed in a way that makes you feel intimately acquainted with her. Nikki Fife, recently released from prison after serving eight years for the murder of her husband Laurence, enlists Kinsey to uncover the real culprit. As Kinsey delves into the investigation, she discovers a similarly executed murder that occurred days after Laurence'sâ€â€the victim being Libby Glass, the accountant for Laurence's law firm, poisoned in the same manner. With the trail cold for eight years, Kinsey is aware that uncovering the truth will be challenging. She starts piecing together the profiles of those involved and the events leading to Laurence's death. However, her probing does not sit well with someone who is intent on keeping the truth buried. As Kinsey edges closer to the truth, she finds herself in peril, with a determined adversary attempting to thwart her efforts.
Interesting. I am fairly certain I've read the first few of these Kinsey Millhone books, but I have no recollection of them. Pleasant surprise, I guess!
I can't believe it took me all these years to read the first in this series. It was surprisingly good - not as political as Paretsky, not as semi-cozy as Edward of the Iron Shoes, the first of the Sharon McCone series. We don't learn a whole lot of backstory about Kinsey Milhone, but we can tell she's a tough, independent, somewhat lonely and thoroughly competent professional. I like her a lot.returnreturnAnother reviewer points out the fictional setting is a town created by Ross MacDonald, which is perfect since I kept thinking how similar to Ross MacDonald the style is. And yes, love that ending. And the fact that she's not so tough that violence doesn't have an effect.
Having seen these letters around for years and never running into the "A" , I decided to try it out after finding it in a bookshifting exercise. It was satisfying like a good sandwich for lunch. The eighties references are endearing. The writing is easy and to the point. The formula is employed and it works. I like the heroine, K something, and sympathize with her frequent wine drinking.
Relatively engaging but slightly disappointing
