A Is for Alibi

A is for Alibi is the first book in Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series,
Kinsey Millhone a 32-year-old Private Investigator living in California. I have just started this series, but I really enjoyed this book. The mystery keeps pages turning as it fascinating, suspenseful and a real fast read. The character Kinsey is very independent, you feel as you now know her, and she is portrayed as somebody you do know. Nikki Fife has just been released from prison after doing 8 years for the murdering her husband, Laurence. Nikki wants Kinsey to find the person who really killed Laurence Kinsey begins to investigate and finds out about another murder committed only days after Laurence's that is extremely similar. The victim was the accountant for Laurence's law firm, Libby Glass, and she was killed using an identical method of poisoning. This trail is 8-years-old, and Kinsey knows it won't be easy to find the truth. Kinsey begins to put together a picture of the people involved and the circumstances that led up to Laurence's murder. But somebody is not too pleased with Kinsey investigating and unveiling facts that could lead to the true murderer. Kinsey gets herself into danger, and as she struggles to put the pieces together, someone is trying to stop ( )

I have been meaning to read these for years, and I just never got around to it. So when I needed something different this week, I picked it up fromm the library and chugged on.

It starts out a bit slow but once you hit about the 70% mark, the rest of the book seems to fly by in heart pounding action. I have read largely young adult novels for the last couple of years, so a good mystery seems to be just what I had needed right now.

Kinsey Millhone is the type of character that any woman can relate to. She could be any one of us. No special powers, no hidden abilities, just raw nerves of steel and the refusal to let a question go unanswered.

The characters in this novel are complex and while part of me saw the ending coming, feeling like it had been choreographed a bit, I was still surprised at the ending and how it played out.

If you want a good heart pounding, intense mystery, this is definitely the book to read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. ( )

As a librarian, I knew about this series of books. I ordered them for the library and was happy when they were checked out. However, I had never read one myself. So where better to start than the beginning of the series?

So I started "A" is for Alibi and read it through quickly. I wasn't ever bored with it, although I felt sort of guilty whenever Kinsey went jogging, and I was sitting around reading. Since Kinsey jogs at the drop of a hat, I felt vaguely guilty throughout the book.

What I liked about the book is that it did feel like a slice of Kinsey's life. She is working on more than one case at a time. She does have to track down information (this is set before the ubiquitous smartphone or even laptop) to verify what is happening. What's more, she isn't perfect. She makes mistakes but tries to fix the problems they cause. Some of her choices are less than wise but don't we all make that sort of error?

The mystery was a good one, although I guessed the murderer before it was officially announced. That's okay because it meant the author played fair with the readers.

So it is onward with the next book in the series. At least they are easy to keep in order! I'd suggest this for anyone who likes PI novels. It only got four stars because it has the feel of a "first novel" with perhaps too much description. ( )

I had read a few Grafton novels when I was a kid and decided to try her work on as a grown-up. It's about as I remembered it, though with a little more sex and swearing than I had recalled (I mean, it's still pretty vanilla, though). This was about on par for me with the rest of mysteries I've read this year. Kinsey Millhone isn't as fun or memorable as a personality as some of the others (she no Nero Wolfe or Miss Marple or Poirot or Holmes), but she's fun enough to spend a few hundred pages with. ( )

Laurence, a two, three, four timing, attorney is dead. His wife was convicted of the murder and released after serving her time.
She's determined to find out who actually killed her husband cause it wasn't her. She hires Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone to crack the case.
Numerous characters and possibilities exist taking Millhone to Vegas, LA, the Salton Sea and back to her home base of San Francisco.
Reading the first in this series is like opening a time capsule. Written in 1982, the author refers to the fitness boom, exercise, diet and weight-loss techniques, Barry Manilow and Olivia Newton John, answering services and Dictaphones are office necessities. Millhone's business ethics are, at times, questionable and she's so darn apologetic when it comes to her irate new lover.
It will be interesting to see if Millhone will change over the course of the series.
The conclusion was exciting but ends rather abruptly.
I look forward to continuing on to B is for Burglar. ( )