Line #66 Literature/KinseyMillhone


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7	''Kinsey Millhone'' is a series of mystery novels sometimes referred to as the 'Alphabet Mysteries', created by Sue Grafton. They follow the titular Kinsey Millhone, a private investigator in the fictional Santa Teresa, California. Reportedly: "Kinsey is 5'6" and weighs about 118 pounds. She has short, dark, thick hair that she trims with nail scissors, being generally uninterested in her physical appearance."
8
9	Each book is named for letters of the alphabet, the final one being ''"Y" is for Yesterday''. The series began in 1982 and ended in 2017, though in universe only six years had passed. The final book was to be published in 2019; it would have been called ''"Z" is for Zero'' and have taken place in 1990. Sadly, Grafton's passing in December 2017 (and lack of interest in working with a ghostwriter) meant that Y would be Kinsey's final adventure.
10
11	The books in the series are:
12
13	* ''[[Literature/AIsForAlibiAKinseyMillhoneMystery "A" Is for Alibi]]'' (1982)
14	* ''[[Literature/BIsForBurglarAKinseyMillhoneMystery "B" Is for Burglar]]'' (1985)
15	* ''[[Literature/CIsForCorpseAKinseyMillhoneMystery "C" Is for Corpse]]'' (1986)
16	* ''[[Literature/DIsForDeadbeatAKinseyMillhoneMystery "D" Is for Deadbeat]]'' (1987)
17	* ''[[Literature/EIsForEvidenceAKinseyMillhoneMystery "E" Is for Evidence]]'' (1988)
18	* ''[[Literature/FIsForFugitiveAKinseyMillhoneMystery "F" Is for Fugitive]]'' (1989)
19	* ''[[Literature/GIsForGumshoeAKinseyMillhoneMystery "G" Is for Gumshoe]]'' (1990)
20	* ''[[Literature/HIsForHomicideAKinseyMillhoneMystery "H" Is for Homicide]]'' (1991)
21	* ''[[LiteratureIIsForInnocentAKinseyMillhoneMystery "I" Is for Innocent]]'' (1992)
22	* ''[[Literature/JIsForJudgmentAKinseyMillhoneMystery "J" Is for Judgment]]'' (1993)
23	* ''[[Literature/KIsForKillerAKinseyMillhoneMystery "K" Is for Killer]]'' (1994)
24	* ''[[Literature/LIsForLawlessAKinseyMillhoneMystery "L" Is for Lawless]]'' (1995)
25	* ''[[Literature/MIsForMaliceAKinseyMillhoneMystery "M" Is for Malice]]'' (1996)
26	* ''[[Literature/NIsForNooseAKinseyMillhoneMystery "N" Is for Noose]]'' (1998)
27	* ''[[Literature/OIsForOutlawAKinseyMillhoneMystery "O" Is for Outlaw]]'' (1999)
28	* ''[[Literature/PIsForPerilAKinseyMillhoneMystery "P" Is for Peril]]'' (2001)
29	* ''[[Literature/QIsForQuarryAKinseyMillhoneMystery "Q" Is for Quarry]]'' (2002)
30	* ''[[Literature/RIsForRicochetAKinseyMillhoneMystery "R" Is for Ricochet]]'' (2004)
31	* ''[[Literature/SIsForSilenceAKinseyMillhoneMystery "S" Is for Silence]]'' (2005)
32	* ''[[Literature/TIsForTrespassAKinseyMillhoneMystery "T" Is for Trespass]]'' (2007)
33	* ''[[Literature/UIsForUndertowAKinseyMillhoneMystery "U" Is for Undertow]]'' (2009)
34	* ''[[Literature/VIsForVengeanceAKinseyMillhoneMystery "V" Is for Vengeance]]'' (2011)
35	* ''[[Literature/WIsForWastedAKinseyMillhoneMystery "W" Is for Wasted]]'' (2013)
36	* ''[[Literature/{{X A Kinsey Millhone Mystery}} "X"]]'' (2015)
37	* ''[[Literature/YIsForYesterdayAKinseyMillhoneMystery "Y" Is for Yesterday]]'' (2017)
38
39	----
40	!!Provides Examples Of:
41
42	* TheAloner: Kinsey herself. Twice divorced, no kids, no pets, and no interest in altering the arrangement, although she does form increasingly close friendships with colleagues and neighbours as the series goes on.
43	* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: See the list above.
44	* AssholeVictim: Quite frequently, Kinsey winds up digging for the truth behind the murder of one of these. Standouts include an alcoholic bigamist who beat up his second wife and killed a car full of people, including children while driving drunk, and a Ponzi scheme perpetrator who faked his own death, abandoned his wife and children without leaving them a cent, and absconded with the cash of hundreds of investors, many of whom lost everything.
45	* AxCrazy: Pat Usher[[spoiler:/Marty Grice.]]
46	** [[spoiler:Dr. Fraker.]]
47	** [[MadBomber Chris Emms]].
48	* ClearMyName: Kinsey is accused of conspiring to commit insurance fraud in ''"E" is for Evidence'' and has to go about trying to exonerate herself. It's made a bit harder when California Fidelity suspends their working relationship over it.
49	* CoolOldGuy: Kinsey's neighbor and landlord Henry is definitely one of these.
50	* CostumePorn: The outfit of every character will be described every time you meet them.
51	* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Averted. Kinsey's parents died in a car crash when she was five. She was ''in the car with them''. She makes no bones about the fact that it screwed her up for life.
52	* DescriptionPorn
53	* DefectiveDetective: Kinsey considers herself one.
54	* DirtyCop: [[spoiler:Lt. Priddy from ''"V" is for Vengeance''. It comes back to bite him in the ass when Dante, who had fled the country, throws him under the bus by having Kinsey get the former's crimes (and attempt to take over the latter's operation) exposed one way or another.]]
55	* DirtyHarriet: Kinsey would have been this if she hadn't quit the police force and gone freelance.
56	* ADogNamedDog: ''"H" is for Homicide'' features a dog named Perro... Spanish for "Dog".
57	** In ''"U" is for Undertow'', there was a wolfdog named Ulf, which is from the Old Norse word for "wolf".
58	* EvenEvilHasStandards: From ''"V" is for Vengeance'', Dante is a mob boss with a code of honor.
59	* EveryoneIsASuspect: Frequently.
60	* FakePregnancy: A character in ''"L" is for Lawless'' does this, hiding money inside a fake belly. Kinsey figures it out after finding tampons in the woman's purse.
61	* FamilyThemeNaming[=/=]FloralThemeNaming: The Wood family in ''"E" is for Evidence''. The Wood women are named Ash, Ebony, and Olive, all kinds of tree/wood.
62	* FirstPersonSmartass: Kinsey can be a cynical piece of work and it shows up in the narration.
63	* FriendOnTheForce: Jonah.
64	* GivingThemTheStrip: Towards the end of "A Is For Alibi", Kinsey is forced to remove her shoes and take off her pants to escape the story's main killer.
65	* GoodIsNotNice: Kinsey, a great detective and an overall good person, does have some jerkass tendencies. Her salty mouth and her overall loner personality doesn't help.
66	* ImmediateSequel: ''B Is For Burglar'' takes place almost two weeks after the ending of ''A Is For Alibi'' although it's not really established until about 6 chapters in, when Kinsey mentions how just two weeks ago she [[spoiler: killed her persuer]].
67	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Kinsey. Despite her anti-social tendencies, casual approach to the law, and willingness to manipulate and lie to people to get what she wants, she really does take her clients' cases to heart, does her best to see justice done, and will go to hell and back for her loved ones.
68	** Rosie, the owner of a local restaurant Kinsey frequents [[spoiler: and eventual sister-in-law to Henry]], is brash, bossy, and abrasive, but really wants the best for Kinsey.
69	* KarmaHoudini:
70	** At the end of ''"V" is for Vengeance'', [[spoiler:Dante, who gains points for being a sympathetic character, flees the country with his girlfriend]].
71	** Renata Huff in "J" is for Judgement is implied to be one of these in the epilogue.
72	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Despite being nimble, smart, and in good physical shape, Kinsey is not a superhero and this shows repeatedly in the series. More often than not, books end with her being hunted by a desperate criminal ready to kill to protect their secrets, and she has to run and hide until she can either escape the situation or get her hands on a weapon.
73	* LikesOlderMen / LikesOlderWomen:
74	** Kinsey finds her eighty-year-old landlord quite sexy, and wonders whether the fifty year age difference would be a hindrance to a relationship.
75	** Lawrence Fife, the victim in ''"A" is for Alibi'', had a liking for older women.
76	** Anna Dace, [[spoiler: a distant relative of Kinsey’s]], who is 12 years Kinsey’s junior, shows some attraction towards Cheney Phillips in ''"W" is for Wasted''.
77	* LongRunners: Had 25 books in 35 years.
78	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: In almost every book. As an example, "D is for Deadbeat" starts with a bounced check [[spoiler:and ends with a murder-suicide.]]
79	* MissingMom: Kinsey has to find one of these in ''S is for Silence''.
80	* MotiveRant: Not every book has it, but sometimes Kinsey will have pushed her target so far around the bend that they'll calmly and methodically expound on all their evil deeds to her, either while trying to kill her [[spoiler: or while preparing to commit suicide.]]
81	* OddNameOut:Every book follows the "(letter) is for (noirish word)" name scheme except for the second to last, called simply "X".
82	* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: Mark Bethel]]'s fate in ''O is for Outlaw''.
83	* PrivateDetective: Kinsey's a private investigator.
84	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Dante from ''"V" is for Vengeance'' is this by mob standards, even agreeing to take Phillip's car to satisfy his gambling debt in the first chapter and later proving himself AFatherToHisMen. His brother Cappi, though, is a through-and-through nasty piece of work, [[YouHaveFailedMe double-crossing Phillip as soon as they get to the car]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and murdering a seasoned shoplifter who he has reason to believe will tell the police everything]], among other acts of [[KickTheDog puppy-punting]].
85	* SceneryPorn: Grafton often describes and explains the back story to different parts of the fictional Santa Teresa.
86	* ShoutOut: Grafton set her books in Santa Teresa as an homage to [=Ross Macdonald=], who created the fictional city as the setting for his Lew Archer novels.
87	* TheSnarkKnight: Kinsey, as expected of a hard-nosed lady P.I. She tends to keep it to herself, see under FirstPersonSmartass, but she's more than capable of cutting loose face-to-face.
88	* TheSneakyGuy: Kinsey's very good at this, and more than once it's the only thing that's saved her life.
89	* SteelEardrums: Averted. Kinsey is forced to shoot a man in self-defense at the end of the first book, and her ears don't stop ringing for weeks. It's later mentioned that she never gets all her hearing back. The fact that she was hiding in a metal trash can probably didn't help matters.
90	* TheSociopath: In ''T is for Trespass'', the major antagonist Solana is one.
91	** Brian Jaffe.
92	* TheStoic: Kinsey describes herself as one.
93	* SupportingProtagonist: Kinsey describes herself as one at the end of ''R is for Ricochet'', with Reba Lafferty being the [[AntiHero actual heroine.]]
94	* ThatOneCase: "Q is for Quarry" has Kinsey help a couple of aging cop buddies solve one of these. Grafton also based the story on a real-life unsolved murder and appealed for help solving the cold case in a note at the book's end.
95	* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler: Guy Malek]] was one of the kindest characters in the series, and Kinsey found him the most likeable out of his family too. Then he gets bludgeoned to death midway through his story.
96	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Kinsey and her Quarter Pounders with cheese.
97	** And her peanut butter 'n' pickle sandwiches.
98	* VillainousRescue: That injury Kinsey sustained to the face on her 38th birthday? [[spoiler:That was Dante saving her life.]]
99	* WebcomicTime: Over thirty years have passed since the first book was written, but only a handful of years have passed in the books themselves.
100	* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: Perhaps most prominently with John Daggett of "D is for Deadbeat". Literally ''nobody'' liked the guy and almost everyone in his life had a reason to want him dead.
101	----
102	--> ''Respectively submitted,''
103	--> ''Kinsey Millhone''

Context Literature / KinseyMillhone