A IS FOR ALIBI
Sue Grafton, Kinsey Millhone #1
Sue Grafton wrote a series of murder mysteries based in Southern California – Santa Teresa and areas surrounding Los Angeles (at least in this first novel). The titles of her novels begin with a letter of the alphabet – A Is for Alibi, B Is for Burglar, and so on. The main character, Kinsey Millhone, is a private investigator who doggedly tracks down the killers, putting information together like pieces in a puzzle.
Nikki Fife has just been released, on parole, from prison after serving eight years for murdering her husband, Laurence Fife. She says she did not do it and has hired Kinsey Millhone to find the real murderer. Laurence Fife was a philandering husband involved in numerous affairs. He pushed his first wife, Gwen, out of their marriage, taking with him all the money and assets, along with their two children. He then married Nikki.
Another death took place shortly after the death of Laurence Fife. Libby Glass died in the same manner, something Kinsey finds very intriguing, and the question arises: are they connected? Once she begins her investigation, two more people die.
Ms. Grafton skillfully weaves quite an interesting and dangerous web.
Next up:Death at La Fenice, by Donna Leon
Harriet Engle, a Staff Assistant at the Manheim Community Library, is an avid reader of several authors who write murder mystery series. Look for her weekly reviews highlighting each of these series.
Note: If you decide to start one of the series being reviewed and wish to read the next in the series, go to www.fantasticfiction.com, type in the author, and scroll down to see which book was written next under that series. The Manheim Community Library may not have the book you want, but staff will be happy to order it for you from another library.
You can also find and request the next book in the series right from the LSLC catalog. Search the book you have just read from the search bar at the top right of manheimlibrary.org. Click on the title to open up the book information and then scroll down to the section marked “Series”. At a glance, you can see the series and where the book you searched is in the series. For series of more than 14 titles, click on the button below that says “See Full Series”. To request another title from this section, just click on the cover and it will take you to the screen to request a copy from the Library System of Lancaster County to be delivered to Manheim Community Library (or another library in the LSLC.)