Sue Grafton Books

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Sue Taylor Grafton born in Louisville, Kentucky, on 24 April 1940, , is an American author for detective novels, best known for the ‘alphabet series’ which feature the investigator Kinsey Millhone in Santa Teresa in California. This city is fictional. She started writing at the age of 18 and took almost four years to complete her first book. After which she completed six manuscripts, of which two were published. She started on screenplays for the following 15 years which gave her an insight into story structure, dialogue writing and also creating sequences for action. Sue Grafton is published in 28 countries and 26 languages which include Bulgarian, Estonian and also Indonesian.

Books by Sue Grafton

Order of Kinsey Millhone Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 A is for Alibi 1982 Description / Buy
2 B is for Burglar 1985 Description / Buy
3 C is for Corpse 1986 Description / Buy
4 D is for Deadbeat 1987 Description / Buy
5 E is for Evidence 1988 Description / Buy
6 F is for Fugitive 1989 Description / Buy
7 G is for Gumshoe 1990 Description / Buy
8 H is for Homicide 1991 Description / Buy
9 I is for Innocent 1992 Description / Buy
10 J is for Judgment 1993 Description / Buy
11 K is for Killer 1994 Description / Buy
12 L is for Lawless 1994 Description / Buy
13 M is for Malice 1996 Description / Buy
14 N is for Noose 1998 Description / Buy
15 O is for Outlaw 1999 Description / Buy
16 P is for Peril 2000 Description / Buy
17 Q is for Quarry 2002 Description / Buy
18 R is for Ricochet 2004 Description / Buy
19 S is for Silence 2005 Description / Buy
20 T is for Trespass 2007 Description / Buy
21 U is for Undertow 2009 Description / Buy
22 V is for Vengeance 2011 Description / Buy
23 W is for Wasted 2013 Description / Buy
24 X 2015 Description / Buy
25 Y is for Yesterday 2017 Description / Buy

Order of Kinsey Millhone Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 Kinsey and Me: Stories 2013 Description / Buy

Order of Sue Grafton Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 Keziah Dane 1967 Description / Buy
2 Lolly-madonna War 1969 Description / Buy

Order of Sue Grafton Short Stories/Novellas

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Parker Shotgun (Short Story) 1986 Description / Buy
2 Between the Sheets (Short Story) 1986 Description / Buy
3 A Poison That Leaves No Trace (Short Story) 1990 Description / Buy
4 Full Circle (Short Story) 1991 Description / Buy
5 A Little Missionary Work (Short Story) 1992 Description / Buy

Order of Sue Grafton Non-Fiction Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 Writing Mysteries 1992 Description / Buy

Order of Deadly Allies Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Deadly Allies ( With: Sara Paretsky, Jan Grape, Susan Dunlap, Margaret Maron, Nancy Pickard, Loren D. Estleman, Julie Smith, Jeremiah Healy, Max Allan Collins, Benjamin M. Schutz, John Lutz, Robert J. Randisi, Carolyn Hart, Lia Matera, Michael Collins, Marilyn Wallace, Rob Kantner, Sandra Scoppettone, Sarah Andrews, Bob Randisi) 1992 Description / Buy
2 Deadly Allies II ( By: Susan Dunlap, Loren D. Estleman, John Lutz, Robert J. Randisi) 1994 Description / Buy

Sue Grafton Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 Mean Streets 1986 Description / Buy
2 The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories 1988 Description / Buy
3 An Eye for Justice 1988 Description / Buy
4 City Sleuths and Tough Guys 1989 Description / Buy
5 Sisters in Crime 2 1990 Description / Buy
6 A Woman's Eye 1991 Description / Buy
7 Deadly Allies 1992 Description / Buy
8 The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1991 1992 Description / Buy
9 Female Sleuths 1993 Description / Buy
10 The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1992 1993 Description / Buy
11 Great Mystery Series: Top Female Sleuths 1993 Description / Buy
12 2nd Culprit 1993 Description / Buy
13 The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1993 1994 Description / Buy
14 The Crown Crime Companion 1995 Description / Buy
15 First Cases, Volume 1 1996 Description / Buy
16 The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories 1996 Description / Buy
17 The Best American Mystery Stories 1998 1998 Description / Buy
18 The Oxford Book of Detective Stories 2000 Description / Buy
19 Crime Story Collection 2000 Description / Buy
20 A Poison That Leaves No Trace: With Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle 2002 Description / Buy
21 Most Wanted 2002 Description / Buy
22 The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction 2004 Description / Buy
23 A New Omnibus of Crime 2005 Description / Buy
24 The Shamus Winners 2010 Description / Buy
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Sue Grafton turned her attention to mystery writing after her books; Keziah Dane (1967) and The Lolly-Madonna War (1969) were published. She took to screenwriting after these books and then wrote on the mystery series. She liked the idea of writing mystery books which were alphabet based which are called ‘the alphabet novels’. In this series, Sue Grafton writes from the perspective of an investigator, Kinsey Millhone. Her first book, “A” Alibi” is set and written in the year 1982. The second novel, “B” Burglar has been published in the year 1985. This was followed by a series of books each year, right up to “M” is for Malice in 1996. Most of the books in these series were written from the first-person perspective of Kinsey Millhone, but later her books, like “S” is for Silence (2005) includes parts from a third person’s perspective of her characters.

Sue Grafton Book into Movies/TV

Sue Grafton’s career as a writer started in 1960. The book, “The Lolly-Madonna War” was made into a movie. This was in the year 1973, after which she started working as a screen writer in Hollywood. It was till the year 1980 that Sue Grafton worked for television with the “Nurse” series and the “Love on the Run” television movie.

In regards to the Alphabet series there have been a lot of studios showing interest however Grafton is adamant that her book series never make it to TV or film.

Sue Grafton Awards

Sue Grafton won the Anthony Awards for Best Novel in 1986 and 1987 for “B” Burglar and “C” Corpse. Besides this, in the year 1991, she won the Anthony Best Novel Award again for “G” Gumshoe. She has also been conferred with Shamus Awards. Besides this, in 1987, she got the Anthony Award for short story for “The Parker Shotgun”. Sue Grafton won the Achievement Award in the year 2000.

The Literary Award given to a writer from California, whose work can raise the excellence standard of literary, was given to Sue Grafton. The British Crime Writer’s Association awarded Sue Grafton the Dagger of Cartier in the year 2008, which honors a lifetime achievement in this field. It was in the year 2009, that Sue Grafton received the Award from the Mystery Writers of America and she was given the Bouchercon’s for Lifetime Achievement in the year 2013.

Best Sue Grafton Books:

Sue Grafton’s ‘alphabet’ series keeps you at the edge of your seat, wanting more. With her many strengths in writing like the deft plotting, crisp characterization and eloquent dialogue, you can opt for “W” is for Wasted. This is the 23rd entry in her list of the ‘alphabet’ series. This story line reveals how the deaths of two men which are absolutely different affect the life of Kinsey. Pete Wolinsky, the first man who was found murdered in a park, is a PI termed as ‘shady’. R.T. Dace, the second person murdered is an alcoholic who leaves her half a million bucks as he turns out to be her relative. Kinsey sets out to gather more information on R.T. Dace and the reason for him disinheriting his family. Readers will have to wade through a lot of twists and turns to get to the conclusion of this story.

“A” is for Alibi: In this book, Sue Grafton introduces the readers to the private investigator and a former cop, Kinsey Millhone, who has set up a modest detective agency and is all set out to find the real killer of Nike Fife’s husband. Nike Fife had been convicted of the murder and is out on parole and hires Kinsey to get to the bottom of the mystery.

“X”: This novel is the 24th one in Sue Grafton’s series of the ‘alphabet novels’. This is supposedly one of the most chilling and darkest novels penned by Sue Grafton. This book is about a serial killer who is remorseless and tends to leave no trace of any of his crimes. The sociopath is identified but the challenge lies in whether Kinsey is able to prove her case against him.

When Does The Next Sue Grafton book come out?

Sue Grafton doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Y is for Yesterday and was released on August, 22nd 2017. It is the newest book in the Kinsey Millhone Series.

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1 thought on “Sue Grafton”

  1. I heard about Grafton’s passing but I haven’t read any of her works. I’m curious to check her out. Is there a good place to start? I’ve heard a lot about these alphabet books but that seems like a big investment. All the reviews seem good but I’m not sure where to begin?

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