A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series, 1)

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The writing style puts in enjoyable humor in serious situations, but it's mainly kept to the point and focused on the story at hand. Either way, I’ll need the tweezers, and there’ll be more poking and prodding and I’m probably not going to like that much either. An autopsy and lab tests showed that he’d died as a result of ingesting oleander, ground to a fine powder and substituted for the medication in the capsule he took: not a masterly plot, but one employed to good effect. I first read Grafton's alphabet series many many years ago and decided to start them again on my kindle mainly because Millhone herself was still very memorable to me even though I can remember nothing of the stories themselves. Her second marriage was with Al Schmidt in 1962 but it ended with protracted divorce and custody proceedings over their daughter.

Interesting debut for this character, and no doubt a refreshing take of the detective genre when first published. A slick divorce attorney with a reputation for ruthlessness, Fife was also rumoured to be a slippery ladies’ man. MY THOUGHTS: Is there anyone out there who has never read one of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books? She discovers Fife's death has been linked to that of a woman in Los Angeles, his law firm's accountant; both died after taking poisonous oleander capsules, which had been substituted for allergy pills. I don’t really have a problem with her being slightly unlikable, since interest and intrigue keeps me turning the pages, and she does exhibit both qualities rather nicely.

And make no mistake: Millhone may get herself into danger but she’s neither foolhardy nor a stereotypical ‘damsel in distress. Kinsey and Me (2013) – a collection of nine Kinsey Millhone short stories along with 12 other short stories about Grafton's own mother.

For the record, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of forgiveness as long as I'm given the opportunity to get even first. I like my cars cramped and this one was filled with files and law books, a briefcase where I keep my little automatic, cardboard boxes, and a case of motor oil given to me by a client. But she does take her work seriously; in fact, it’s more important to her than just about anything else. Maybe you’ve heard this one before,"she went on, "but I didn’t kill Laurence and I want you to find out who did. His name was Parnell Perkins, and until shortly after midnight, he'd been a claims adjustor for California Fidelity.In the end, Nikki is grateful to Kinsey for proving her innocence, and Kinsey reflects on the case, acknowledging that she has grown both personally and professionally. A lot of skimming is necessary when reading about the characteristics of a rooftop or which streets she passed while jogging.