A. is for Alibi

and B. is for Burglar

No cover

Sue Grafton: A. is for Alibi (1993, Pan Books)

496 pages

English language

Published Feb. 1, 1993 by Pan Books.

ISBN:
978-0-330-33458-7
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OCLC Number:
221559267

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3 stars (5 reviews)

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.

31 editions

Review of '"A" is for Alibi' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

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 …

Review of 'A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This light, entertaining mystery was a nice book candy. Tasted great, not much substance behind it. I expect the series will make light filler material for me. Our protagonist is Kinsey Millhone, a twice-divorced private investigator from southern California. In this first case, she gets hired by Nikki Fite, a woman falsely accused of murdering her husband, just released from prison on parole.

The mystery itself wasn't that exciting, I pinned it on the culprit about halfway through. But I liked Kinsey, and in parts felt the story was delightfully noir. I am a big fan of the genre, and so I enjoyed myself. Probably around 3.5 stars, rounded up.