The ABCs Of Sue Grafton
There is no question that Sue Grafton has mastered the ABCs of mystery writing. She introduced us to private investigator Kinsey Milhone 22 years ago with "A is for Alibi." Now, the 19th book in the series, "S is for Silence," hits stores this week.
Her quirky naming convention has kept both Grafton and her readers focused on the eventual end of the popular series, and the letter "Z" is either way too distant or too close, depending on your perspective.
On a visit to The Early Show to introduce her latest, we pointed out to Grafton that she's running out of letters. "I hope so!" she jokes. "I pray every night, shorten the alphabet! Do omnibus editions towards the end!"
Mail from her readers, she says, only confuses the issue. "Some say, 'stretch it out, stretch it out, take your time.' Others — I have got a letter from a woman who said, 'I'm 65. Would you hurry up, please?' " The reply? "I said to her, 'I'm 65. I'm the one you've got to worry about.' "
The real question, though, is how Kinsey Milhone has managed to keep readers' interest and affection through so many murders and misadventures.
"I think it's because she's down to earth," says the author. "She's unpretentious. She's got a potty mouth on her, unlike myself. I'm very polite. She owns one dress. She cuts her hair with a pair of nail scissors. She has an old beat-up VW and lives in a studio apartment about this size."
In "S Is For Silence," set in 1987, the detective investigates a crime that took place in 1953. In this series, time is not as inexorable as the alphabet. Since the first in the series was introduced 22 years ago, Kinsey has aged only five years, and the 21st century is still in the distant future. That solves a couple of problems for the writer.
"In 1982, I didn't understand what kind of trap I had set," Grafton says. "I knew I intended to write 26 books, and if she aged one year for every book it would start getting ridiculous towards the end, with her chasing after bad guys. So, I thought, let's age her more slowly. So she ages one year for every 2 1/2 books. She was 32 in the first book. She's now 37. Which I think is cool."
It also means that Kinsey can't rely much on technology and science to help her solve crimes.
"She doesn't google anybody. In those days, there wasn't DNA testing, so she does old-fashioned gumshoe work and uses her wits," Grafton says.
So, we know this much already about Sue Grafton's next book: It will still be the late 1980s. Kinsey Milhone will still be in her 30s. And the title will start with a "T."