Kinsey and me : stories

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Title:

Kinsey and me : stories

Author:

Grafton, Sue, author.

Series:

Kinsey Millhone mysteries.

Summary:

A collection of stories that reveal Kinsey's origins-- and Grafton's past. The nine stories that open the book show how fully formed Kinsey was from the beginning. The thirteen stories in the second part, written in the decade following her mother's death, feature Kit Blue, a younger version of Grafton herself, and reflect her troubled family life and the author's journey from anger to understanding and forgiveness.

General Note:

"A Marian Wood Book."

Contents:

Between the sheets -- ‡tLong gone -- ‡tParker shotgun -- ‡tNon sung smoke -- ‡tFalling off the roof -- ‡tPoison that leaves no trace -- ‡tFull circle -- ‡tLittle missionary work -- ‡tLying game -- ‡tEye for an I : justice, morality, the nature of the hard-boiled private investigator, and all that existential stuff -- ‡tWoman capable of anything -- ‡tThat's not an easy way to go -- ‡tLost people -- ‡tClue -- ‡tNight visit, corridor A -- ‡tApril 24, 1960 -- ‡tCloset -- ‡tMaple Hill -- ‡tPortable life -- ‡tQuarrel -- ‡tJessie -- ‡tDeath review -- ‡tLetter from my father.

Physical Description:

xvii, 286 pages ; 24 cm.

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

Short stories.

Biographical fiction.

Subject Term:

Millhone, Kinsey (Fictitious character) -- Fiction

Women private investigators -- Fiction.

Publisher:

G. P. Putnam's Sons, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

Publication Date:

2013

ISBN:

9780399163838

Publication Information:

New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2013.

Call Number:

GRAFTON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002744681	Adult Fiction	GRAFTON	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to Kinsey Millhone. Thirty years later, Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue, a number-one bestselling author. To mark this anniversary year, Sue has given us stories that reveal Kinsey's origins and Sue's past.
"I've come to believe that Grafton is not only the most talented woman writing crime fiction today but also that, regardless of gender, her Millhone books are among the five or six best series any American has ever written."--Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post
Kinsey and Me has two parts: The nine Kinsey stories (1986-93), each a gem of detection; and the And Me stories, written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much of Kinsey is a distillation of her creator's past even as they reveal a child who, free of parental interventions, read everything and roamed everywhere. But the dark side of such freedom was that very parental distance.
The same unique voice and witty insights readers fell in love with in A Is for Alibi permeate the Kinsey stories. Those in the And Me section trace a remarkable voyage, from anger to understanding, from pain to forgiveness. They take us into a troubled family, dysfunctional as most families are, each in their own way, but Grafton's telling is sensitive, delicate, and ultimately, loving. Enriching the way we see Kinsey and know Sue, these stories are deeply affecting.

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Author Notes

Sue Grafton was born in Louisville, Kentucky on April 24, 1940. She received a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Louisville in 1961. Her first novel Keziah Dane was published in 1967. Her second novel, The Lolly-Madonna War, was published in 1969 and she adapted it into a screenplay. After that movie was released in 1973, she worked intermittently writing for television. A series she created, Nurse, ran for two seasons on CBS in the early 1980s.

Her writing career took off when A Is for Alibi was published in 1982 and received the Mysterious Stranger Award. This was the beginning of the Kinsey Millhone Mystery series. B Is for Burglar won the Shamus and Anthony Awards and C Is for Corpse won the Anthony Award. She also received the Cartier Diamond Dagger, the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bouchercon, and the Ross Macdonald Literary Award. She died from cancer on December 28, 2017 at the age of 77.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The larger "Kinsey" part of this collection consists of nine stories that feature Grafton's durable private detective Kinsey Millhone doing what she does best: solving crimes and delighting readers, albeit in an abbreviated format that relies more on quick twists of plot than depth of character. Judy Kaye, who has been narrating the series from the start, does her usual, spot-on job of capturing the sharply observant sleuth in all her moods-from snarky and suspicious to wistful. It's the "Me" section of the collection that presents a surprise: 13 linked semi-autobiographical stories, written after the death of Grafton's mother that follow the life of a woman named Kit Blue, from her youth as the resentful, guilt-ridden child of alcoholic parents to her late 20s, when she receives a letter from her father that helps her make peace with the past. Kaye's rendition of these stories is flawless. Her Kit even sounds like a young Kinsey Millhone, sharing the same suspicious outlook, the same reaction to disappointment and-on rare occasions-to happiness. A Marian Wood Book/Putnam hardcover. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Review

Kinsey Millhone, PI, captures vengeful murderers, exposes elaborate scams, and outsmarts the criminals in her usual witty, lovable way in nine stories written between 1986 and 1991 and first privately published in a limited edition of 300 copies. These tales are every bit as engaging to read as Grafton's (U Is for Undertow) full-length novels. Grafton's humor shines through in every story, particularly in "The Lying Game," which was written for the 40th anniversary of the Land's End catalog. The second section of this collection features the character of Kit Blue as the author herself, writing a fictionalized history of her own difficulties growing up as the child of alcoholic parents. Readers will also appreciate Grafton's thoughts on writing short stories, contained in the foreword, as well as the introduction in which she explains how the character of Kinsey came to her mind as her "alter-ego." Verdict Along with regular followers of Grafton's series, fans of mysteries and short stories will enjoy this collection.-Linda Oliver, MLIS, Colorado Springs (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.