sue grafton a is for alibi first edition

The novel's style typical hardboiled detective fiction, according to the authors of ' G' is for Grafton, who describe it as 'laconic, breezy, wise-cracking'. Grafton openly admits that she conceived the story from her own 'fantasies' of murdering her husband while going through a divorce. The first printing of 'A' Is for Alibi was 7,500 copies, with initial sales of about 6,000. Although Millhone believes she has successfully documented Threadgill's deception, the insurance firm that contracted Millhone to investigate Threadgill moves to pay her claim anyway, citing potential legal costs and complications, including the risk of reprisal. Before Scorsoni can kill her, she shoots him dead.Ī secondary storyline involves Millhone's surveillance of Marcia Threadgill, suspected of insurance fraud in a trip-and-fall case. Kinsey hides in the shore line, and she is forced to remove her shoes and pants. In a final confrontation, he chases Kinsey across the beach, armed with a knife. Scorsoni used the same method that Gwen used to kill Fife, so it would be assumed the same person committed both murders. Kinsey has solved the case she was hired to investigate but in a plot twist, she discovers that her previous notions about the accountant's death were entirely wrong: in fact, it was Scorsoni who killed her when she discovered he was skimming dividend money from estate accounts under his management. Shortly afterwards, she too is dead, killed in a hit-and-run crash. Kinsey surmises that Gwen was having an affair with her ex-husband at the time of his death. Back in California, Kinsey is mystified that Nikki's son, Colin, recognizes Laurence's first wife, Gwen, in a photograph. She then goes to Las Vegas to interview Fife's former secretary, Sharon Napier, who is killed minutes before Kinsey arrives. Kinsey tracks down the accountant's parents and former boyfriend. 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. In the course of the investigation, Kinsey becomes involved with Charlie Scorsoni, the late Mr.

Upon being released from prison, Nikki hires Kinsey to find the real murderer. His murder eight years earlier was blamed on his wife, Nikki Fife. Kinsey Millhone, 32, private detective investigates the death of prominent divorce lawyer Laurence Fife. The New York Times gave the book a lukewarm review. She wrote the book during a divorce and admits about her husband that she 'would lie in bed at night thinking of ways to kill him'. Featuring sleuth Kinsey Millhone, it is set in the southern California city of Santa Teresa, the nom de plume for Santa Barbara. 'A' Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1982, is the first mystery novel in the author's 'Alphabet' series.

Sue grafton a is for alibi first edition